Since the last thread died... are there people that still go out there regularly? My best time is a 32.082, and I don't understand how some people run in the 30s. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get 2 seconds off my lap.

4/15/2009 1:41:11 PM

My best was 33 something... of course, I've only been once... looking forward to going more, but it's so darn expensive.

After getting advice from the guy that dominated us that night (some dude by the name of "DRAGON"), he said that the best technique is to use ALL of the track. Meaning, don't cut corners. It's so easy to just whip the nimble karts around corners tightly and everyone falls prey to it. These things don't have much torque, and once you bog them down or bump a wall, you've pretty much ruined your lap time.

I will try this philosophy next time my buddies and I go.

4/15/2009 3:02:59 PM

That pretty much applies to all racing. Use the entire track to keep clean lines with the least amount of change of speed.

4/15/2009 3:24:45 PM

too much $$$

4/15/2009 3:29:19 PM

^ Talk to Ahmet. He has the hookups. Monday night is the time to go.

My first run was 32.5xx I thought it was pretty slow, but I suppose it's average for a first timer.

[Edited on April 15, 2009 at 3:39 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2009 3:39:28 PM

I would guess your weight is a factor. Are you a fatty?

4/15/2009 3:51:03 PM

I put up a 31 second lap in the normal cars while weighing 275. You're not taking the sharp turn in the back correctly if you can't get under 32.

4/15/2009 4:30:29 PM

The last time I went some girl who was like 115 lbs stomped us all. Her lines were fucking terrible and it looked like she had never heard the word "apex" outside of the town.

4/15/2009 4:35:35 PM

Im not far from 115 and ahmet and co kicked my ass!!!

4/15/2009 6:38:35 PM

i'm slow as hell but i still think it's fun



zspotlight has the half off gift certificates btw.

4/15/2009 8:12:50 PM

lol I just looked at my time sheet and "dragon" dominated.

4/15/2009 8:18:12 PM

^ I'm telling ya, that "dragon" guy races like almost every day. I went back to find my sheet and here it is below. I felt like I could have done better. Especially since my back was all rashed up after the race. I didn't know the seats were adjustable Reaching and leaning for my life... haha

4/15/2009 10:25:13 PM

I went once. I sucked but it was fun

4/15/2009 10:43:52 PM

i'm 215, but not really fatty. 6'3". the last corner in the back was a little hard for me to understand at first, but i'm pretty sure i'm taking the right line on it. that last sector is pretty hard to explain, but im turning into the chicane late so i can exit on a straighter line for the front. it sucks if you have someone not taking the correct line because they always ram you when they dive in.

do most people drift through their turns or try to take the smoothest line possible? and do you guys use the brake to slow down or do you just lift? i thought of trying to use the brake and keep my foot on the throttle to keep the engine revs up... but im pretty sure they frown on that.

[Edited on April 15, 2009 at 11:38 PM. Reason : a]

4/15/2009 11:36:13 PM

no, the only purpose the brake pedal serves is to stop at the end of the race. the karts are geared to go faster than your normal putt-putt jungle golf shit, but that comes at the price of acceleration. using the brake at all kills your exit speed. keep your foot in the gas all the way. if you're forced to slow down for some reason, lifting is more than enough.

as our good buddy harry hogg would say:

Quote :

"when the rear end's loose, the car's fast. loose is fast, and on the edge of out of control."

[Edited on April 16, 2009 at 12:01 AM. Reason : .]

4/16/2009 12:00:49 AM

I went there for a team building thing for my entire department while co-oping at sony ericsson one semester. Very fun but never went back. We were there for like an entire 2.5 hours and we had to switch off drivers. How much is it? Isn't it like $20 for 10 min of racing?

4/16/2009 8:14:24 AM

Coles not running good Harry

4/16/2009 12:37:42 PM

Alright, while we're still under caution I want you to go back out there and hit the pace car.

4/16/2009 4:59:40 PM

Quote :

"Especially since my back was all rashed up after the race."

first time out my back was bleeding from the seats...now i always use a pillow. But I haven't actually been out there in at least a year.

4/16/2009 5:04:58 PM

do you really bounce around in them shits that bad ?

4/16/2009 5:49:51 PM

No, but I'm an unusual case because of a spinal surgery I had back in 2006.

4/16/2009 5:54:09 PM

0h i was abotu to say

4/16/2009 6:01:36 PM

fun once, then gay

4/17/2009 3:43:31 AM

I moved, now I'm going to the pit in Mooresville. I was in the last league a month ago. I think a new one is starting next month. The only way I learned finally was to follow the fastest guy's line and learning to use my body weight to rotate the cart. I get tired as shit after each race night.

[Edited on April 17, 2009 at 8:43 AM. Reason : .]

4/17/2009 8:42:42 AM

we shoulda had a junkyard wars kart build-off and raced at optmusprimer's house

4/18/2009 12:08:41 AM

^^ so you lean or shift your body to the outside of the kart when you want to break it loose? it almost seems counterintuitive to me to drift the kart through turns. i always thought breaking the back end out meant you were losing time.

4/24/2009 5:58:52 PM

Quote :

"do you really bounce around in them shits that bad ?"

I do. It's horrible. My spine is fine.

4/24/2009 6:27:37 PM

you can have more fun for free

4/26/2009 11:11:24 PM

Quote :

"learning to use my body weight to rotate the cart"

yup. those of us drifting and doing doughnuts on our big wheels and power wheels learned this at an early age.

4/27/2009 12:59:20 AM

my big wheel had a dented tire from jumping a curb, and was a bitch to get moving at first and rode like hell

4/27/2009 1:03:20 AM

I think at some point we all ended up with flat spots on our wheels. I remember riding that thing on two wheels right down the middle of the street.

4/27/2009 7:33:20 PM

NGR plz i used to ride a laundry basket down the stairs at my house for fun when i was like 3

4/29/2009 8:59:10 AM

apparently they just got new carts that help displace driver weight to even out racing... not the only reason they got the carts, but definitely an improvement.

4/29/2009 9:24:57 AM

Yea it really sucks when racing 130lb kids thatve been racing carts since they could walk.

What I meant by using body weight is there only a couple times on the track when the cart actually understeers a little...so I lean forward and am able to keep up. Unfortunately due to height I've got keep all of my weight too far back on the adjustable seats.

4/29/2009 9:55:09 AM

i cant even fit in the damn things

5/1/2009 9:05:47 AM

aww... lets all pitty the fat kid now.

[Edited on May 1, 2009 at 9:55 AM. Reason : ]

5/1/2009 9:55:38 AM

I run 9's out there.


(You owe me a 10 second kart)

5/1/2009 12:08:19 PM

wouldn't someone have to wreck your 10 second kart to owe you one?

5/2/2009 1:17:25 AM

Quote :

"no, the only purpose the brake pedal serves is to stop at the end of the race. the karts are geared to go faster than your normal putt-putt jungle golf shit, but that comes at the price of acceleration. using the brake at all kills your exit speed. keep your foot in the gas all the way. if you're forced to slow down for some reason, lifting is more than enough."

I dunno about the track there, but at our track you will lose serious time without braking. I've improved my lap times by nearly 2 seconds by learning to brake properly. Granted there are only 2 corners our of 13 that require it, but locking the brakes for an instant makes the difference between a full acceleration apex exit and a sliding late apex drift exit, and going into the front and back straights, this makes a HUGE difference.

5/2/2009 1:36:47 AM

What is the proper way entry and exit to go around the U-turn corner at the back of the track? Thats where I seem to keep screwing up sometimes. I keep getting smashed into when I go through it so I know Im not doing it right. Im a fatty so my time averages 36-38 seconds.

5/2/2009 4:44:19 PM

take it wide.

5/2/2009 5:23:37 PM

^^i enter to the outside, shift my weight/lift off the gas for just a second to induce slight oversteer, then cut it as close as possible to the inside barrier just past the apex, and exit wide. dunno if that's the "right" way, but it's the fastest for me personally.

^^^the karts are just too slow on acceleration and the track isn't aggressive enough to warrant braking. any momentum you need to bleed off or manipulating of the chassis is easily done just by working the gas and using your weight. if the karts accelerated quicker or the track was tighter i could see using the brake being useful, but otherwise i don't think it is. the only time i've ever had the need for it is in the U turn mentioned above making a pass to the inside at the entry. the new karts could be completely different though, i haven't been since then.

5/2/2009 9:43:49 PM

we need a real kart racetrack around here

5/3/2009 5:29:32 PM

Quote :

"I keep getting smashed into when I go through it so I know Im not doing it right."

if you're taking the turn correctly, then the douchebags behind you will ram into you because they're overdriving the turn. The only time I went out there, the same guy hit me twice at the same location, yet I got black flagged when I booted his ass into the wall about 10 seconds after it happened the second time. I probably didn't help matters any by riding beside him, grabbing his steering wheel, and cussing him out first.

The chicane wouldn't be such a problem if the carts were actually geared correctly for such a short track. Hopefully the new cars they have now are geared lower so they can accelerate out of that turn.

5/3/2009 6:22:52 PM

Quote :

"I probably didn't help matters any by riding beside him, grabbing his steering wheel, and cussing him out first."

sounds like somethin i'd do

dale approves

5/5/2009 7:54:56 AM

Quote :

"wouldn't someone have to wreck your 10 second kart to owe you one?"

NAW DUMBASS, THEY BLEW THE MOTOR SPRAYIN TOO MUCH NAWS SON. WE WERE RACIN FOR PINKS SON, BUT THEY BLEW DAT SHIT SON.

5/5/2009 10:47:07 AM

I live my life one lap at a time, nothing else matters, not the store, not the shop, not the mortgage. For that thirty five seconds or less I’m free.

5/5/2009 11:10:00 AM

restrictor plates are for pussies, if you can't handle the speed, get your pansy ass off the track

5/5/2009 11:11:08 AM

Quote :

"69.... I feel sorry for you. I really do. I understand. the Internets is your thing. it makes u feel 'big and bad' and you use it to make up for something that you are lacking in your life. shit if i had to look at that ugly mug that ur sporting everyday in the mirror I too would be a dick head on the Internets too. actually, i probably would have cut my face off with a rusty lawn mower blade by now. do yourself a favor and work on improving yourself before you criticize others. "

5/5/2009 3:27:19 PM

5/5/2009 3:31:39 PM