like everyone else, i have concluded that racing takes a bunch of $$$ and a bunch of time (nearest track is 2+ hours from me).

My family would disown me if I worked my normal 40 hours, then ditched them for the weekend to go race.

even a race prepped crx (whatever group that is..ita, itb???) would cost $5k or more (way more), then $600 for tires per race, $100 for brakes, $100-$200 entrance fees....

not that I think about it any.

Scot

 

I hear all of you weekend warriors out there...... another 'adrenaline addict' reporting here as well (go-karts, motocross, fast street bikes, Porsche Club Racing, Historic Sportscar Racing, low-level aerobatics, etc., etc., etc.).

I'll have to say that the shifter karts are the biggest bang for the buck these days if you truely want to go real live racing on your own $$. They will pull 2.5 g's in a corner, accelerate from 0 to 100 mph in 6 seconds (no, those are not misprints), and cost about $7,500 brand new and ready to race. They have hydraulic Brembo 4 wheel ventilated disk brakes with F/R adjustable bias, adjustable suspensions, and 125 cc engines with 6-speed gearboxes. Check out the following links, or search for 'shifter karts' on the web.
http://teamtoolmotorsports.com/ http://www.btkmotorsports.com/

BTW, a set of 4 tires cost about a hundred dollars. Lots of great track time/practice to be had there.

 

I just drove a 125cc shifter kart for the first time this past Sunday.

It was an awesome experience!

A few weeks earlier I drove my first kart ever, a 100cc clutch (centrifugal) kart and I thought that was a rush! The shifter kart just absolutely blows it away!

Imagine accelerating down a straight until everything is a blur, slamming on the brakes while you're banging that shift lever forward (no clutch), then when you're decelerating so rapidly your eyeballs are bugging out, you punch the throttle, slide around the turn and start yanking that shift lever back again!

For pure sensory input, it's the best motor-related thing I've done, partially because everything just happens so fast! It's almost a constant blur. Do this for a few laps and you literally have to stop and catch your breath. Your hands cramp and your forearms ache from holding onto the steering wheel for dear life.

All this on my 50th birthday weekend, what a great gift!

 

Happy birthday Tom.

The karts really are wild. In fact they hold the track record on all the really tight tracks in the area.. cars are not close.