going go-karting for the first time this friday, what should i be expecting? is it very different from regular driving? any pointers? do techiniques like trail-braking..etc. still apply to karts?

 

On corners, lean to the outside. The contact patch is the same no matter how u lean, but the outer tires are going faster than the inner ones and need more weight on them to avoid sliding.

How many HP are they?

 

is this at lemanns? that place kicks ***!
Just go and have fun man, try not to drift too much, the karts don't have that much power to keep you going after your wheels regain traction.

if you get on the track with someone more experienced, watch them and learn.
But go and have fun the first couple times.

I still come in last and my best lap time at lemanns with the current track is 23 seconds.

 

it's actually across the coast in boston. going to a friend's wedding there, and they organized a karting track day before the rehearsal dinner. haha.

 

I've gone to lemanns once. It ripped. I got OWNED by the Santa Cruz Subaru staff. OWNED. got 9th of 10. but my lap times got better when I got out in front of the person in 10th. And I was still recovering from knee surgery...think I showed up on my crutches. knee hurt like hell that's all I remeber. (excuses for getting owned..haaaa)

definately different than real driving. Definately fun as hell. Like they said...try to lean on the outside wheels..it makes a big difference in your track times. For fat asses like me it's not the easiest thing to do and natural tendancy is to lean into the turns.

just remember...sliding is fun..but not time efficient. have a blast.

 

oh you'll have a fun time doing it. You can tap on the brake late into the turn and then tap the gas along the way throughout the turn. Use the accel pedal to pull you through the turn by just tapping it instead of stepping on it or holding it down. It gains traction faster and you go through the turn faster. You can lean to aid the weight transfer. Bring your own gloves. As you will need this to help you grab and hold the steering wheel during turns. Your probably going to drive several laps. If you don't have good gloves, ie.mechanix like gloves, your hand grip will have a lot of fatigue towards the end and you will have to grip the steering wheel tighter than you need to while your driving.
Remember you don't have to be going too fast in the turns or you'll spinout or slide...hehehe

 

If the karts are the 5HP variety, you're not gonna want to lose too much speed in a corner, so try not to go in too fast, especially if you're trying to overtake. Make your turns as smooth as possible to maximize exit speed. Try to modulate the throttle mid-corner if you feel you're going off-line, most karts are responsive to throttle steer.

On more powerful karts (I've driven 25HP ones, back in the day), you can get away with a faster entry, slow midturn, fast exit, as those karts can really pull. You could lalso do things like very late braking, very sharp turns, then hitting the gas.

 

And don't forget to adjust your spoiler accordingly!!!!

 

Be smooth, try not to slide and memorize all braking points. Trail braking might help but it depends on the track itself. Throttle control is important too.

Good luck and have fun at the wedding.

 

(NOTE)....one of the SC subaru crew that OWNED me.

 

get a suit that fits properly. last time i went i had a suit that was too small. i couldnt move at all.

 

U did good....for a first timer.

 

thats nothing man. I had to take my pants off to fit into the one I had and I had a hole in the crotch....windy.

 

LOL thats pretty shotty man. i couldnt lean forward, or id get a wedgie, and if i leaned forward, id get a frontal wedgie.
it sucked.