h a l f b a k e r yPoint of hors d'oevre
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Wouldn't we all like to try car racing that doesn't involve a playstation? I know driving to work on the highway when you wake up 20 mins late can probably be considered car racing, but speeding has major drawbacks I'm sure we all know about.
I have tried a few diff go kart tracks, always renting
a kart for 30mins-1hr or so. Its fun, but its short. Its also usually too slow, because its aimed at teens.
Why not build a track that can be used year round, outdoor of course, next to one of these self storage facilites that are springing up everywhere. They always seem to have gobs of unused land behind them, it would be perfect.
A large track and a place to store many vehicles (self owned, or for renting) would be perfectly suited to leagues. (Also, the storage units for other storage friendly stuff that people seem to have too much of.) A group of people competing for months at a time for some worthless trophy/point total, but having a blast doing it. Go karts are reasonably cheap and safe too, unlike car, truck, ski-doo, atv, boat, lawnmower racing.
A Street Go-Kart
http://www.halfbake..._20Street_20Go-Kart
Gordon Gibson's idea - deserves votes! [FloridaManatee, Oct 17 2004]
John's Go Karts - Parts and Accessories
http://www.johnsgokarts.com
John's Go-Karts has parts and accessories for all of your off-road, street, and racing needs. [johnsgokarts, Oct 17 2004]
Homemade go kart plans
http://www.diygokarts.com
Before you build your track, build a go kart. [robertdjung, Oct 28 2006]
Malibu Grand Prix
http://www.malibugr.../redwood/grand.html
They'll average 30MPH+ [5th Earth, Oct 31 2006]
[link]
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Owning your own Kart is not as fun as it sounds; I was approaching a hairpin in an old rental Kart when a hot sh*t racer wearing an F1 jumpsuit and helmet on a shing new Kart came screeching by. I backed off to give him room, but I was already set up on the racing line on the outside approach to the hairpin. Racer boy gunned the gas, overtook mid track and plowed headfirst into the grass bank across from the apex. |
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Not anticipating he'd Kamikaze into the earthworks, I coudn't brake in time or get round and <Wham!> my Kart jumped his and it ended up in the frisky male-dog position. Somehow he was uninjured and I was so relieved all I could do was laugh when I saw he'd only bent his rear axle (I thought I'd decapitated him). |
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He didn't think it was so funny, he'd bent a $1,500 bit of precision-machined aluminum on its first outing. |
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Anyway, Karts are wasted in storage. Instead, I'd like to see our urban highways replaced with Kart tracks. You'd park and ride. Each Kart would be ruggedly built with massive bumpers and a roll cage. Speeding, bumping and ramming of your fellow drivers would be encouraged. That's change the daily commute! See link "A Street Go-Kart" |
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I've done karting in my younger days and still rent on ocasions, its the most fun you can have on four wheels. But it's saturated with multi-thousand dollar go-karts that are all identical. Dollars buy you speed and not so much driver skill or an invention. I'd like to see a go-kart style racing class that is focused on low-cost DIY style engieering and unusual and radical designs. Perhaps design students, backyard engineers, all sorts could try their hand and at creating a car. There'd be limitations on power and weight and also materials used (to make it a low cost class) and size other than that anything goes.
Go karts have a quite a safe driving position that doesn't really require a seat belt or cage. You sit really low and snug in a bent knee position such that collison forces don't throw you out of your seat like in a more upright position in a normal car.
Peugot had a concept car called the Kart-Up reccently that was more or less a scaled up go-kart that could seat two people. |
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/A track supporting speeds up to 45mph/
This sounds like it could be fun, but I'd never get out of 3rd gear. Build a faster track and I'd love to join in... may I reserve tag number œB?
With regards to the 'Street Go-Kart' link, (although I've never seen it done and would NEVER encourage this) a racing acquaintance of mine claims that if fitted with required safety equipment, (ie: lights and signals, etc.) a go-kart (as with golf-carts, sand-rails, etc.) can be licensed for street use here in Arizona if it is capable of operating at posted speed limits.
/Go karts have a quite a safe driving position that doesn't really require a seat belt or cage. You sit really low and snug in a bent knee position such that collison forces don't throw you out of your seat like in a more upright position in a normal car/
Wanna' bet? [venomx], I sure hope you're *behind* me when you get flicked outta' your seat and quickly learn a new gymnastics routine... at least wear a helmet and leathers, will you? |
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Can anyone help me learn how to drive stick first? My poor old burro is all I have. |
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Learning to drive a stick is no problem. Before you learn to drive anything at all, you just get your drunken father to throw the keys at you and tell you to drive home. Be prepared for the onslaught of verbal abuse about not knowing how to drive. Well, it worked for me anyway. |
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[X2]: Where in AZ are you? |
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[half], in the east valley. |
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That's how I learned to drive a stick... just got in and went. Once you're out among traffic, you learn real fast. |
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Yep. You just have to do it. I recently taught my niece. She got about 20 minutes practice in an empty parking lot then off we went in to rush hour traffic. She only stalled it once. |
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[X2], I'm in the west valley. |
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//a hot sh*t racer wearing an F1 jumpsuit and helmet on a shing new Kart// |
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Yea, that's the kind of people I'd like to avoid. I'm all for competition, not overpowering and destroying people in races. There is probably a max speed around 35-40 where most speed freaks would give up and go away saying it's too slow. hehe I'm not calling x2entendre a speed freak, but if the track was capable of 60mph+ you get more undesireables, and accidents (and expensive), and the racing wouldn't be as fun, imo. |
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I can have fun racing people at 15mph, but I do agree faster is better, to a point. |
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//I can have fun racing people at 15mph, but I do agree faster is better, to a point.// |
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I have also raced at the world's worst track: |
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It's billed as one of the city's premier attractions - it's aimed at corporate racing days. You book the entire track for racing sessions. They take it very seriously. There's an F1 car on display, you can buy your own F1 racing suit and helmet to race in. The karts are sponsored by the likes of Mobil..... but.... |
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The problems are:
(1) Despite having Mobil as a sponsor, the karts are electric (I.E. slow, like dogems, but you're not allowed to crash).
(2) Management remotely reduces your power output if you drive too fast (I.E. if you race).
(3) The entire track is built inside a building that once served other purposes. Hence there are pillars spaced evenly in a 15x15 foot grid. This doesn't make for a particularly interesting track. |
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In conclusion, it's a bit like the light-cycles game in the movie "Tron", only slowly, in fragile dogem cars, and at corporate entertainment prices. |
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Give me a beat up old gas-kart in the wet on a curvy track anyday. |
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Oh wow. Manatee, you don't live near Boston do you? |
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I would like to see self storage facilities that have a fleet of go-karts, with trailers, for patrons to transport their goods to and from the unit they have rented. These places are currently far too uniform and linear for my liking. |
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Yes, they should build them like pyramids. |
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//a hot sh*t racer wearing an F1 jumpsuit and helmet on a shing new Kart//
GO SPEED RACER GO! My friends and I certainly would have laughed that guy off the track before he had a chance to show off. |
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The karts would have to be segregated into various classes. Its dangerous to let karts of different speeds and types to run together on the same track. |
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I went karting recently, and one guy turned up looking like the stig. The bastard won so we couldn't take the piss. |
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Around where I live there's a place called Malibu Grand Prix (it's in California, go figure). The karts they have will take less than 50 seconds for a very twisty 1/2 mile track (in the hands of a good driver). But you need a liscense, and it's not cheap. |
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