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We have European style electric go Karting here. Very strict rules and are able to hit 70km/h

One of the only Karting places where you need to use full brakes.

I have raced both gas and electric karts at different places. One difference that I can say is that for gas karts, you are on full throttle or not. If you put the pedal halfway, there's a possibility that the engine will guzzle too much gas for its own good (not sure how else to phrase this). Also, I feel that electric karts are easier to control. Personally, I like electric karts because of the ease of access. There's a MB2 Raceway near my house and I go there from time to time.

Hey, I've driven high performance Go Karts in the US and Japan and I've always dabbled with performance cars. I did get a pro qualifying lap time at Summit Point in Virginia. This is such a tricky question. The fundamentals of racing are the same but the performance is not. Even though it's small, a Go Kart is 100% set up for racing whereas a typical road car is not. There's also some techinques you can do with a Kart that is difficult with a car. There's also times when you'd take a wider line with a car but with Karts being so friggin light you take a harder inside line to avoid driving too far. That kind of goes against the smoothest line theory. I'd say there's definitely a learning curve. The fundamentals of racing carry over though.

Oh and weight doesn't affect Karts as much as you think. I've seen fat dudes pass me like I was standing still.

This post has been edited by Shiroboi on Dec 10 2014, 07:41 AM

here's my gokart onboard video from 22 November 2014

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203413991614450

feel free to give advice about my driving

Go-Kart racing is all about line, which is important in road racing.

But road racing takes it to a whole new level. Acceleration and braking take on whole new meaning in a real car as opposed to a Go-Kart (which is pretty much on-off go-stop). There's also gearing and tire management.

I would relate go karting as shooting around a basketball court, and road racing as playing full court 5 on 5.

Well, it's kinda hard to see the course because of the shaky footage and the fact the camera's pointing a bit upwards, so all I can say for sure is that your steering inputs are fairly decent for someone who's starting out. But here's what I could tell from watching that:
.That right-left S-turn before the final corner seems to be the most significant corner in regards to laptimes.
.Your best time through that S-turn seems to have been on the first lap, whereas on the second lap you lost time to steering corrections, and on the next two you seemed to lose time between clearing the right turn and pointing the kart in the right direction for the short straight before the left.
.You tend to take that final corner a bit wide, and could benefit from an earlier turn-in there.

For that particular S-turn, the best approach seems to be something like a fast-in-slow-out going into the right, then immediately accelerating towards the left. Basically, entering the right like you're going for an out-in-out, but slowing down in the middle of the corner so you exit on the inside (or close to it), are already decently lined up for the next turn, and can get on the throttle much earlier and stay on it longer rather than having to wait for the kart to properly line up first. Or at least that's how it seems to me. You also seem to have taken a similar approach here on the first lap. Not making any guarantees here, since I have no sort of experience getting the most out of that sort of kart (or any kart really), but maybe you could give this a try if you get to drive on that course again or end up facing a similar S-turn elsewhere.

And that's about all I could figure out. I don't know if I got everything correct, but hopefully I got enough right for this to be of help to you.

Well, it's kinda hard to see the course because of the shaky footage and the fact the camera's pointing a bit upwards, so all I can say for sure is that your steering inputs are fairly decent for someone who's starting out. But here's what I could tell from watching that:
.That right-left S-turn before the final corner seems to be the most significant corner in regards to laptimes.
.Your best time through that S-turn seems to have been on the first lap, whereas on the second lap you lost time to steering corrections, and on the next two you seemed to lose time between clearing the right turn and pointing the kart in the right direction for the short straight before the left.
.You tend to take that final corner a bit wide, and could benefit from an earlier turn-in there.

For that particular S-turn, the best approach seems to be something like a fast-in-slow-out going into the right, then immediately accelerating towards the left. Basically, entering the right like you're going for an out-in-out, but slowing down in the middle of the corner so you exit on the inside (or close to it), are already decently lined up for the next turn, and can get on the throttle much earlier and stay on it longer rather than having to wait for the kart to properly line up first. Or at least that's how it seems to me. You also seem to have taken a similar approach here on the first lap. Not making any guarantees here, since I have no sort of experience getting the most out of that sort of kart (or any kart really), but maybe you could give this a try if you get to drive on that course again or end up facing a similar S-turn elsewhere.

And that's about all I could figure out. I don't know if I got everything correct, but hopefully I got enough right for this to be of help to you.

wow...meteor, thanks man..I will try that by the end of the month

This post has been edited by D33DO_R32 on Jan 21 2015, 06:35 PM

Does anyone here knows how to drive gokart smoothly? the steering of the gokart is very wild

How heavy are you? And how powerful are the go-karts you're driving?
Are they competition go-karts? Or just ones you find around at a public karting track? Lots of variables.

I used to hit the local go-kart track quite often before I got into real road racing, and the same concept applies in terms of gas, brake, and steering. Smooth is fast. One motion through the corner will always be the quickest.

im 68kg on weight, and the gokart is probably just 5hp, its a rental quality gokart. the problem is what kind of steering input that can make the kart smooth and fast constantly. the steering is wild, heavy and vibrating too much.

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You are driving a non-competitive go-kart probably at a non-competitive vendor.

There's nothing you can do. Find a competitive karting track. 5 Horsepower is a pretty entry level, young adult kart, topping out at around 25mph. Competitive karts go up to 10 hp, max out at 45 mph, and have much better handling.

I know this is old, but I hope your karting is going well.


Anyway, what I wanted to talk about is a bit of flex I did in a go kart(electric), so Bone apple to the teeth:


Hairpin coming up, slowest corner of the track.

Scenario: Two slow people blocking the racing line.

Me: oh no better slow down this looks like an accident waiting to happen.

Two people: *both take inside line*

Me: *Gets distracted then realises where I am on track* ok this won't end well

Me: *Slams on brakes*

Kart:*oversteer time*

Two idiots: *oh what how did that kid pass us*

TLDR: So basically I powerslided around two people's outsides at once, which put me on the inside line for the next corner.

Hey there! No worries, everyone starts somewhere! Driving a go-kart is a unique experience compared to cars. Go-karts are more sensitive to weight shifts and require smooth, precise movements. Unlike cars, go-karts lack suspension, so you'll feel every bump. As for throttling, it's about finding the right balance smooth acceleration is key. You don't need to constantly blip the throttle; focus on controlled, gradual inputs. Practice makes perfect, so keep enjoying those go-kart sessions, and you'll get the hang of it in no time! 🏎️👍