I know there are a few Karters on this board. Do any of you have experience with Rotax Max, Parilla Leopard or any TaG class racing? Pros? Cons?

One of my kids is showing a little interest, and I would love to race a kart.... "please give me a sweet hit off the GFCP".

 

http://Ekartingnews.com also do a search there have been a few threads about Karts

 

How old is your kid? A Rotax (30 hp) may be a little extreme for a first time karter. An 80cc Comer kart package may be a little more friendly. Regardless, they are still cheap and competitive.

AJ

 

You might want to check in to the Easykart 60cc,100cc or Rotax Minimax depending on how old your kid is. Ekartingnews.com will be your best bet for detailed info.

 

Victor,

The local clubs, Coastal and Westwood, have strict rules on the age of your child and what classes they're eligible for. Check http://www.cartbc.com for the Chilliwack track info and the links to boths clubs as well as bckca, the governing body tied into ASN. Also for yourself, if you've never driven a kart before, you won't be allowed to run shifters, at least not at a sanctioned race.

In general, Westwood runs only 2 strokes,regardless of the configuration and Coastal runs 4 strokes and Rotax. The are some exceptions to this of course.

The Tag classes are gaining in popularity relative to the traditional CIK classes due to initial costs and ongoing maintenance. The local tracks offer the Parilla, the Rok and Rotax. Each motor choice has preferred local shops that deal with them as well as the clubs themselves.

Karting is a unique world that you should investigate prior to spending money. The rules and procedures are initially confusing and they, like roadracing, do a poor job of distilling the information to the novice. Each person/shop you speak to has a bias, you just have to gleam enough information to know what that bias is.

My son ran the Coastal club last year in his first season. Ending up winning his series and we've purchased a Rotax for his move to the Senior ranks. My daughter picked up a 5.5hp Honda and will run it this year as well. I hope to run the Rotax as well to show the kid who the real racer is .

Ran some laps in a friend's Rotax kart as well as my son's JICA kart last year and it was a blast. Its a helleva lot more physical than your Type R and you're sweating pretty hard after only 6 laps. The grip is unbelieveable and the acceleration is something to behold. It takes two hand to hold the steering wheel and I don't know how the shifter guys manage to actually shift !

Good luck.

Robert J.

 

MR. NOODLES!!?? How are you? Does anyone understand? "My son is showing a little interest", is code for "Victor wants a new toy/diversion/waste of time and money". Sheesh!! Thanks for the tips, pointers and links. (ekartingnews.com is ) I picked up Memo Gidley's "Secrets of Speed for 2 stroke racing " today and will give it a read.

I will be back with more ?? later.

Thanks

 

Victor,

There is a practice weekend at Chilliwack mid March. Check the cartbc.com site for complete shedules. This is a good weekend to meet the various club officials / shops and see who is racing what. Most guys are there to set up their new carts and test their over the winter modifications.

If you're the one racing, look at the three Tag configurations I mentioned and ask about the field sizes. Rotax is the largest and has the most diverse group of drivers. Most Tag motors spin only 14k so they're good for 50 hours before rebuild. Run on 94 octane and not C12 racing fuel and in some classes, the tires are spec so its not a battle of whose wallet is the thickest. I did my investigation and chose Rotax. You might decide differently depending on many factors but do your homework.

Actual racing starts April 2 with a Westwood sanctioned race. I'll be in California during the mid March period but feel free to drop by that first weekend in April.....just look for me in the pits and my kid will be in the Rotax class races.

There are about 10 Westwood and 10 Coastal club weekends plus a couple of regionals and several away races (Quesnel, Port Alberni) that you'll easily burn out yourself, the kart and your wallet if you so desire. There is no rush as the racing is very plentiful ( 4 weekends in April alone we have to attend ) so take your time and investigate your options.

On the roadracing side, sold the Suzuki and built an ITA CRX last year. Ran one race at Mission, turned a 1:24 flat [ poor suspension setup...my fault....poor scrapyard motor that blew a helleva lot of oil ] then parked it for the year while my son's racing monopolized my time. Rebuilt the motor and did some other legal unmentionable goodies over the winter, hoping be the fastest CRX at Mission (record is a high 1:21 at present) but then the schedules came out for the karts and they conflict with EVERY race at Mission in 2005 . Only Seattle and Portland are open and that's assuming the two kid's racing doesn't eat into MY racing fund.

You still have the Type R?

rdj

 

Well, after buying a couple of books and 1/2 a dozen mags and running into Mr. Noodles at Italian Motors (local Kart God shop) I am overwhelmed with the choices to be made, even at a local level. I am pretty well convinced that I personally would run a TaG class. Now, to choose between Rotax, Parilla or Rok ?????

Thanks all for the pointers!

 

unless he plans to participate in the RMC or int'l big races, then i think leopards are the way to go esp out in BC

it's quicker than a RM on most kart tracks (the RM will eat it for lunch if you do TAG races on road circuits), and the carb is one that you can adjust as u'r driving. (something the rotax doesn't have)

i ran a rotax last season; it was good and all, but I didn' tlike the carb nor the engine characteristics; bought myself a sonik for this season.

 

I ran a full season and recieved lots of help from Italian Motors(and Michael)and they deal with leopards.
Noodles, looking forward to racing against your new and improved CRX.If you can only make seattle and/or portland make sure you go you won't regret it.

 

Victor

I have a 2000 Mari chassis with a Parillia motor, stand, body work, spare seat that I am just about willing to give away if you are interested.... It just takes up too much garage space. Don't look for any technical support from me but with Noodles and others around, it would be a great way to get you feet wet. You could try some practice days ect and then decide what class to buy into.

Dave