Learning to Drive a Shifter Kart! This thing is CRAZY FAST!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มี.ค. 2022
- Its not recommended to start karting in a shifter kart. Why? Because they have hard to control power, are complicated to drive due to shifting gears, and they are the most expensive to own. Challenge accepted. In this video I take you through my very first 3 track day sessions learning to manage this beast.
#shifterkart #karting #gokarting
Hey everyone. My driving skills have come a long ways over the next few months after this video was posted. I'm much faster, carrying much more speed through corners, later braking points and the kart runs fantastic with the new Lectron carb. I'm actually able to run the speed at this track with an experienced pro driver which shocks me. I was getting discouraged on my lap times (i finally bought a MyChron5 which I love) but I stuck to it and every new session I progressed pretty quickly. Learned to trust the tires and keep the throttle on through certain corners. Been taking time off from karting during the hot months and did a full rebuild on the engine. Cooler days are coming so I'll be coming back with fresh videos.
Hopefully you've kept going, shifter is a tough beast to handle! It's so satisfying when you get it right
Judging fron your driving, i would’ve started off with a 125cc TAG engine. You get the chance of actually learning the way a karting chassis behaves. Even though shifterkarts are great fun, if you havent learned how to handle the chassis without gears, it will be more of a job to learn with gears. Also remember the setup! (Most important part) softer/harder rear axle? Longer or shorter wheel mounts, and even stiffenibg rods from your seat to the rear of the chassis, and camber/caster. Everything has to be put into the perfect formula for the day. Remember the main objective of getting the inside rear wheel to lift on the entry/mid corner. Ive had setups that handled like shit!!! And saved everything with a harder rearend.
Love your content, and cool to experience your learning curve in the sport
There is a lot you can do to 'tune' the chassis handling. There are a lot of ways to change the grip level of the kart, not just tyre pressures.
Moving the wheels inwards and outwards (narrowing and widening the track) by removing and adding spacers to the axles does a lot to influence the grip. A narrower track will make the tyres bite harder and increase the grip. A wider track obviously does the opposite.
You can also loosen the bolts that secure the floor pan slightly. This will allow the chassis to 'flex' more and increases the grip. The same applies to the mounting bolts for the sidepods.
But beware!!!! As wrong as it may sound at first, you can have too much grip.
If the kart is set up perfectly then it should slightly lift the inside rear wheel under very hard cornering.
If you have too much grip then the kart will start to 'hop' and bounce, or skip in hard corners.
Experiment with chassis settings until you find the best combination for you.
I hope this helps and good luck with the kart and above all..... Have fun!!!!
Try to keep your upper body limp in the seat. Don't lean into the turns. That keeps the chassis from doing it's magic.
I started in shifter just like you. Lots more to think about than just line choice. Practice by slopping your torso to the outside of the seat as you approach the corner. If you can steer by pushing up on the wheel instead of pulling down to turn, it helps get your torso weighted in the correct direction in the seat. Oh ya, don't forget to breath lol
Riverside, I used to race BMX at the old school Corona track with the huge downhill. All summer I was at that track 114’ F heat
I don't think it's smart to start in a shifter kart, but if you do have dirt biking experience I think it translates. Pretty cool to see your first time and see all the issues...sounds about right.
Right now I'm replacing the seals on a PRD 125cc TAG (single speed) and filming it for my first youtube video. I've been racing about 18 years now with about 3-4 years on and off in karting.
Great you are going to pay someone to teach you mechanics! I have a mentor who won 9 Duffys and goes back to the 60s. He races an alcohol kart that makes 100hp or something. It's a great sport. Teaches so much and so cheap to participate in.
Loved this video man. I'd try a TaG as well if you can. It's like the spec Miata class of karting. Maybe we can trade seat time lol.
Lol that’s pretty much what I did! Bad dirt bike accident and went to a karting school where you only drove kt100 karts. To slow for me so I went and bought a shifter kart! Boy was that a fun machine! Raced against Graham Rahal for a little bit. Once you get things sorted out you’ll realize you need to be in good shape to run a full day at the limit! Looking forward to your journey…toying with getting back into karting!
honestly though i was watching a famous vlogger or something, then realized you have 260 subs.. AMAZING video man keep it up i hope you go viral one dayy!!!
Kind of in this same boat. 10 plus years of karting and would like to take a shot at going a little faster. If I was to sum up you're experience and what I learned from it I'd say I would have bought the kart and maybe had Billy M looking over my shoulder while I did it and then turned the kart over to him to make it right. Next I would have scheduled a track day with him or one of his mechanics. Probably could have made those first few sessions really fun rather than frustrating. Thanks for the lessons learned. I currently do a reasonable about of business with Ruthless Karting in Phoenix. I'm starting the process of scheduling the track day. Happy Karting!
Tyres can go off even with decent tread depth, the compound dries and hardens
Hey guys, thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed my adventure into the Karting world. I'm having a blast! Make sure to subscribe to see more upcoming content. Lots going on over here at the Kart Pilot Garage. KP
The front hubs take an Allen wrench to loosen up and they slide in and out there marks to keep them equal. Rear hub spacing you gotta change the whole hub.
Also use your legs to get the chassis to work. Heel pressure in the turns makes a big difference.
Just because tires have the “dimples” does not mean there good. Heat cycles play a Huge part in tire life. Heat cycles make the tires harder.
It will take some heat in the tires to get the working somewhat. Still new tires are always better.
Looks like fun. I used to race 250 c.c. superkarts. Try twice the hp and around 130+ mph!!
the best sound
I went from a 5hp honda gx 1speed autoclutch to cr125 shifter when I was 11 and needed a pillow behind my back to reach the pedals, didnt race but still there was nothing "hard" about the driving a shifter. I kept up with some 100cc properly race-suited rich kids that had been circling the track probably a good 20x more than me 💀
Some adults that tried the kart did 1-2sec faster times than me and IIRC our times were around 50-52seconds and the track record was about 46 or 44sec back then😅
Commented on your first vid...mess with the brake per portion... take some of the rear brake pressure out....that is what the knob and mechanism is for... use it! Pretty sure I think it is why you keep locking it up in the rear, it's too much . Good Tires do help though! Keep asking for help.. go on a race day look at others setups and keep asking; Keep trying! It is all about the setup! If something does not work or feel right...make changes and keep track of what your doing. Your reaction has me smiling ear to ear...don't be discouraged..this is not easy at all. What do you say to the indoor thing now?? Just for fun I like to run at one of my tracks with the rentals...they will let me. My goal is to see how many times I can lap the lead kart...so funny to see how they react when they hear me coming...pass them with care of course...lol!
My recomendation would be driving 125cc tag with 30hp fisrt to learn the basics after that you can look Rotax DD2 with 34hp or KZ kart with 45hp.
Your tires should be sliding and breaking loose everywhere except the straits. Once you balance out the hubs you’ll have no problem drifting the turns.
I want to get into this sport with a passion.
Where you playing around with air pressure? Did you ask around about how to run different setups?
Are you running more than 15 psi in your tires? Also the front hub spacing is adjustable if they’re set too far out for the rear axle length it will grip up front and be loose in the rear. If the fronts are spaced too narrow it’s the exact opposite your front will push and rears will grip more. Mess with the front hubs and find the sweet spot where it’s balanced out bro.
I'd try a harder compound tire .....with any kart be prepared for tire and wheel combo as an expense ....I rode a water-cooled 250 on a Swiss hutless frame and it would trash a brand new set of tires in fifty laps ....The guy who owned the kart would bring several sets mounted ready to change as they lost their grip
How much does the kart weigh? I’m a kart racer considering getting a shifter.
Whats Billy Musgrave to Willy the mx'er from the 90's? I'm assuming they're related.
Loose is free and fast. Get use to it by lots of time on track. Only need new tires for big race. Birel is awesome. I had some fast times and a track record all on used tires at my track. Maybe you need more weight. Find Kimball Williams. Fast old guy chassis guru.
It could be possible that those tire went thru to many heat cycles even though they appeared to look like they had enough life in them. That could be the reason they had a grip issue .
Narrow your rear track with if you have rear traction problems also besides changing tires
straight axle xD
Hey its vanilla ice twin😂🤣😂
Oh and don't forget about tire pressures...it changes all day. Got a good gauge? You will need one.
They do have a faster series of shifter karts. There's a 250 cc and a 250 cc super kart.
You need new tires.. jetting is really important too. It changes daily.
Stock 125 probably not that much. And that's from MRCs mouth..
Hey see my comment about letting us know your setup so we can maybe help you get a good baseline. Probably too much tire pressure to start out..
@@simpsonservicesllc2987 my motor is from MRC and the manual they gave me stresses jetting so i'm not sure where the conflict would be. I raced all last season and noticed differences in performance with jetting changes based on the weather.
Yeah I’ve already mounted up my 2nd fresh set. Eats tires like no tomorrow. Lol.
@@JeffGlackin MRC is near my house and I took my kart there and first thing Billy did was change the jetting and other techs have chimed in at the track. I’m bouncing from a 174 main to a 180. Jetting seems to be very fluctual. And critical
@@kartpilot5093 what air pressure ?
POMONA CALIFORNIA 🙋🏽♂️,, I want to be part of the team
judging by how i see you drive, i would say you are not aggressive enough and, as a result, your tires are not hot enough thus the lack of traction. speaking from experience, you have to be very aggressive with those. Buying a shifter as a first kart probably not the best idea!!
You gotta break the rears loose in the corners all the way because of the live axle to keep up corner speed.
Ran out of gas?
Dude grow a pair and race that kart! You will learn much faster actually competing I saw you drive in your video you are ready.
Lol. Thanks man. I was actually able to hang with a pro racer at a local track so I just might take you up on that. I do realize that chasing faster drivers makes you faster. Just like my Moto days. Thx bud
@@kartpilot5093 don’t race until your confident in your ability you’ll enjoy it a lot more
i have drove a shifter kart before and let me tell you these karts are fun to drive but they are not for beginners.
Yellows are stickier
Complaining about buddy on the phone while making videos while you're driving...
Those tires are trash
Start karting and want to tune a shifter
hahahhahaha
and u are the worst drive of the nation or what?