Mugen_R

I did a mid 1:13 at wakefield with the Type-R on street tyres on a hot day. Aprox 33 degrees.

Car setup...

Stock Engine
Cat back exhaust
Tein HA suspension
Brakes - Front 6 pot AP on 310 or 315mm slotted rotors. Rear - Stock with ART pads.
Front tyres - Azenis 215/45/16
Rear tyres - RE711 215/45/16 (don't ask me why his got different tyres on

We've done that kinda time before but we know the track better and better every time we come back. The last time was on an open track day. With a Toyota club. Lots of cars out which means alot of traffic. So it was kinda hard to get a clean run. But best recorded was a 1:13.5ish.

With that setup, the tyres give up to easy. I can feel them folding while cornering real hard (rear tyres), and just doesn't have sharp entry feeling. That's probably because I've recently been driving on cars with RE540's. So I actually have to work extra harder with this setup. Take more out of me. I'm pretty sure when he gets his RE540's. Cars capable of doing faster times.

My 92 Civic Si (hatch) with bilstiens (front left leaking at the time) with some sport springs (pretty soft), exhaust, intake, and ART brake pads and riding on RE540s in 215/50/15 (abit too big in diameter for a little car like this) I managed to do 1:16.2ish.. consistantly. So it just shows that tyres make a huge difference. I had alot of brake problems (fade, probably due to the tyre size i was running, more load) so it kinda made me lose confidence while driving towards corners with higher speeds and use a later braking point. I think i need thicker sway bars front/rear also.. might visit whiteline to see what they have for a civic.

With any car, don't be afraid to take it to the track. Try it as is and see what your not happy with. Then modify what you think would benefit you. After i took the civic, i know what can be improved so theres less things i need to do in the car while driving. One of the best things you can actually do is get bucket seats! The ITR's recaros are good but actually, you tend to slide around abit on the track, at times, i have to use my left foot and press real hard against the foot rest on the left next to the clutch to hold myself in place in the seat! hehehe...

Anyone here do go-karting at a competition level? i'm interested in doing this sport. But don't know what to do!

naishou

I have a harness from Revolution Racegear that you can easily fit to most road cars. It holds you very tight in the seat and makes things easier.You need to join a kart club first. They have to be affiliated with the AKA (Australian Karting Association) which is kind of like CAMS for karts. The Sydney Kart Racing Club is probably the easiest. Once you're a member you can get a licence and then you're away! You have to do a few meets from the rear of the grid and a bit of flag marshall duty before you get your licence endorsed but free practice days are common. There are 2 kinds of karts you should consider. Clubman uses Yamaha 100cc engines and no clutch. They are the most popular karts but can be hard to run solo (you need a push start). The engines are air cooled and need a fair bit of maintenance. What I would choose is the newer Rotax class that has a water cooled engine and a centrifugal clutch. They also have a lot more power but use the same chassis. Unfortunately they are also quite a lot more expensive but then no kart is expensive put next to road cars. Running costs are also way down on cars. Karts are a heap of fun but every time I drive them I get bruises on my ribcage and hips. They can pull 3g in corners and have no suspension. I also like the feel of a full size open wheeler with its higher speeds and proper gearshift (karts with gearshifts are available but not common). If you want to do it, don't hesitate. It's a blast.

N1R

next wakefield "open day" is on Saturday the 13th April. If i dont have my tranny problems at the moment i would go for sure..... especially since its on a weekend. You get plenty of run-time @ their open days....... basically you have the track till 5pm with about 15-20 cars.