As the title states. I've always liked them and have always thought about getting one. I've been looking into them recently but don't know much about them. I'm not looking to get into competitions at all just looking to have fun with them. I found out I have a track 10 mins from my house and a $250 yearly pass gets you a key to the track that you can use anytime you want when they are not racing. Anyway I was just curious to see if anyone here is into the and what kind of info you can offer as far as motor size, lol I be been looking at some with 250's on them.
Anyone into shifter karts?
- Thread starter Quik Z06
- Start date
I race them. My advice....buy a World Formula.
Shifter karts are a thrill but they're difficult to drive on smaller sprint tracks, and the maintenance on them is impossible to tackle alone. In an 8 hour track day we have 4 20 minute sessions and I spend nearly every minute in between working on the kart. If you don't have a group of experienced karters willing to help you wrench, tune, and loan you parts it's an impossible task to tackle without experience. It would be easier if there were guides or a chilton's manual on how to run them but it's all some sort of black art voodoo crap and it's very easy to get something like jetting wrong and blow a $4,000 - $7,000 motor. To put things in perspective a Briggs and Straton world formula motor is $1,000k and the shelf life is indefinite. High string shifter engines don't last nearly as long.
If they're popular where you are I recommend a World Formula (they're huge here in Phoenix) for the following reasons:
- more people race them
- you'll only go through 1-2 sets of tires a year (shifters will blow a set of tires in a few sessions...I bring one new set and an old set every weekend. A set of tires is $200.
- they have a lower cost of entry
- No maintenance
- No on track tuning needed
- fewer parts to break
- concentrating on lines and momentum is crucial because you can't power out of mistakes so you'll become a better driver MUCH faster
- the racing is WAY better because it's basically a spec class. The only thing you need to worry about is gearing. That's it.
World Formulas offer awesome racing. The drafting is similar to super speedways in NASCAR and because the karts are spec they stay in huge packs together so they are constantly passing, bump drafting, diving in on each other, etc. It's nuts. If you barf up a few corners and the pack disappears all it takes to catch back up is hook bumpers up with another kart and push each other back to the front. It's not uncommon to be within a few feet (if not touching) another kart for the entire race. The shifters tend to spread out, especially in road racing, and you'll spend the entire day driving by yourself. It's much more exciting to fight for positions or have a chance to catch up when you fall behind. Not to mention that because the shifters are on a different planet when it comes to speed they stay much further away from each other where as the world formulas go wheel to wheel all race.
Expect to buy the following:
- Trailer
- Kart specific racing suit. Nomex shreds so kart suits are skid proof/non flame retardant.
- Helmet (either motorcycle or kart specific)
- Gloves
- Racing shoes
- Rib Protector
- Stand
- Gears
- Tire pressure gauge
Optional things you'll end up buying:
- Tire changing tools (bead breaker, tyre pryer, tire spoons). Not common with World Formula
- Gas cans
- Data logger and a host of sensors (not as common on World Formulas but essential for a shifter)
- Enough spare parts to build another kart (if you buy a shifter).
- Air tank
Once you get everything running and ready to go expect to spend a little more on specialty tools and the like. The upfront cost is significant. It was the nickle and dime things that killed me. Compared to racing cars it costs nothing though.
I'm not saying shifter karts aren't fun because holy hell they're mind blowing fast (you'll be miles faster than a supercar on a medium sized road course) but the maintenance and tuning is a lot to tackle for a beginner. A lot of guys get in them and don't have the skill or lack of self preservation to operate them either.
Finally, a good read:
http://www.autoblog.com/tag/introduction+to+karting/
Shifter karts are a thrill but they're difficult to drive on smaller sprint tracks, and the maintenance on them is impossible to tackle alone. In an 8 hour track day we have 4 20 minute sessions and I spend nearly every minute in between working on the kart. If you don't have a group of experienced karters willing to help you wrench, tune, and loan you parts it's an impossible task to tackle without experience. It would be easier if there were guides or a chilton's manual on how to run them but it's all some sort of black art voodoo crap and it's very easy to get something like jetting wrong and blow a $4,000 - $7,000 motor. To put things in perspective a Briggs and Straton world formula motor is $1,000k and the shelf life is indefinite. High string shifter engines don't last nearly as long.
If they're popular where you are I recommend a World Formula (they're huge here in Phoenix) for the following reasons:
- more people race them
- you'll only go through 1-2 sets of tires a year (shifters will blow a set of tires in a few sessions...I bring one new set and an old set every weekend. A set of tires is $200.
- they have a lower cost of entry
- No maintenance
- No on track tuning needed
- fewer parts to break
- concentrating on lines and momentum is crucial because you can't power out of mistakes so you'll become a better driver MUCH faster
- the racing is WAY better because it's basically a spec class. The only thing you need to worry about is gearing. That's it.
World Formulas offer awesome racing. The drafting is similar to super speedways in NASCAR and because the karts are spec they stay in huge packs together so they are constantly passing, bump drafting, diving in on each other, etc. It's nuts. If you barf up a few corners and the pack disappears all it takes to catch back up is hook bumpers up with another kart and push each other back to the front. It's not uncommon to be within a few feet (if not touching) another kart for the entire race. The shifters tend to spread out, especially in road racing, and you'll spend the entire day driving by yourself. It's much more exciting to fight for positions or have a chance to catch up when you fall behind. Not to mention that because the shifters are on a different planet when it comes to speed they stay much further away from each other where as the world formulas go wheel to wheel all race.
Expect to buy the following:
- Trailer
- Kart specific racing suit. Nomex shreds so kart suits are skid proof/non flame retardant.
- Helmet (either motorcycle or kart specific)
- Gloves
- Racing shoes
- Rib Protector
- Stand
- Gears
- Tire pressure gauge
Optional things you'll end up buying:
- Tire changing tools (bead breaker, tyre pryer, tire spoons). Not common with World Formula
- Gas cans
- Data logger and a host of sensors (not as common on World Formulas but essential for a shifter)
- Enough spare parts to build another kart (if you buy a shifter).
- Air tank
Once you get everything running and ready to go expect to spend a little more on specialty tools and the like. The upfront cost is significant. It was the nickle and dime things that killed me. Compared to racing cars it costs nothing though.
I'm not saying shifter karts aren't fun because holy hell they're mind blowing fast (you'll be miles faster than a supercar on a medium sized road course) but the maintenance and tuning is a lot to tackle for a beginner. A lot of guys get in them and don't have the skill or lack of self preservation to operate them either.
Finally, a good read:
http://www.autoblog.com/tag/introduction+to+karting/
Last edited:
I raced karts for 5 years, won a regional series championship and then the last two years I raced a shifter kart for someone else. (I was the driver he owned the kart and did all of the maintenance). I have been looking to get back into it, the TAG motors are the most popular around here right now though.
I started out on a Yamaha KT-100, and the difference was night and day, I felt like I went 2 rounds with a boxer and got KO'd by the end of the main in the shifter.
Unless the track is over a mile and a half the 250 would be plain stupid. If you must change gears, then look into an 80cc shifter. They are more manageable on the smaller tracks yet still will beat full size cars on the bigger tracks.
Like blown 89 said, if you get a shifter expect the tires to last a total of an hour or so on a 125 and maybe 1 1/2 hours on an 80cc. On my 100 cc single gear kart I could go 5 hours of track time before I needed a new set, the Briggs World formula, or their newest box stock motor the Briggs L.O.206 (which is around $375 brand new) would last you 10+ hours on a set of tires and would have just about no maintenance, just an oil change every few times out.
Also if your off a couple jet sizes on a shifter motor kiss the cylinder goodbye. Been at a road race event where a warm front moved in with about 10 mins left in the session and 4 different guys popped motors. So tack on another 400+ to get a weather meter, or make sure you look up the stats online before moving.
What track is 10 mins from your house, that would help a lot. If its a sprint track (less than a mile) then I would go L.O. 206 if you just want to have fun and want to keep maintenance super low cost. If its a road course (over a mile, which im guessing it is not since most places like that wouldn't let anyone have the key) I would suggest going with a TAG (touch and go) motor as it will give you an in-between for power and maintenance.
Decent site to check out would be Ekartingnews.com they have a classified sections and a lot of CA members.
I started out on a Yamaha KT-100, and the difference was night and day, I felt like I went 2 rounds with a boxer and got KO'd by the end of the main in the shifter.
Unless the track is over a mile and a half the 250 would be plain stupid. If you must change gears, then look into an 80cc shifter. They are more manageable on the smaller tracks yet still will beat full size cars on the bigger tracks.
Like blown 89 said, if you get a shifter expect the tires to last a total of an hour or so on a 125 and maybe 1 1/2 hours on an 80cc. On my 100 cc single gear kart I could go 5 hours of track time before I needed a new set, the Briggs World formula, or their newest box stock motor the Briggs L.O.206 (which is around $375 brand new) would last you 10+ hours on a set of tires and would have just about no maintenance, just an oil change every few times out.
Also if your off a couple jet sizes on a shifter motor kiss the cylinder goodbye. Been at a road race event where a warm front moved in with about 10 mins left in the session and 4 different guys popped motors. So tack on another 400+ to get a weather meter, or make sure you look up the stats online before moving.
What track is 10 mins from your house, that would help a lot. If its a sprint track (less than a mile) then I would go L.O. 206 if you just want to have fun and want to keep maintenance super low cost. If its a road course (over a mile, which im guessing it is not since most places like that wouldn't let anyone have the key) I would suggest going with a TAG (touch and go) motor as it will give you an in-between for power and maintenance.
Decent site to check out would be Ekartingnews.com they have a classified sections and a lot of CA members.
Last edited:
Users who are viewing this thread
