Re: AutoInc SKC 2012 - Supercar Club Feature Race (19 August 2012)
Hi guys, a couple friends pointed me to this thread because of recent chatter and I'd like to clarify a few things. Don't mean to OT this thread and it would be good to have a separate topic in the track section, but since the Supercar race is long over, with discussion of results and events more or less concluded, I suppose it is ok to digress a little.
Like a poster earlier mentioned, a very good indication if you like karting is to do the rental karts at Kartright. If you can't stand the heat, vibration, bumps, track type, then forget about it. If you like the challenge of dropping time and driving the edge, to the point that all other minor problems don't even matter, then it is almost certain that race karting is for you and you can move on to racekart testing / rental.
The exceptions to previous para. are if you are unusually tall or short, or unusually skinny or fat. In those cases the only way to get a proper indication is to get a kart properly fit to you. To do it properly will cost around 200 - 700 SGD depending on whether you need a new properly sized seat, pedal back or forward extensions, steering extensions, etc. It is fairly labour intensive to properly fit a kart to an unusually sized person and taking shortcuts will only end up completely spoiling the driving experience, so there's no point testing half assedly.
The thing about test drives in any top level racekart is that while it will give you a much better idea of the intensity of it all, it'll still be very far from the real settled-in experience (consistently within 3% of class record). Kartright is especially challenging because of its layout. The nature of the local track and the kart all add up to a very steep learning curve to get within 1 - 2 % of class record consistently. The curve is much steeper than any supercar roadcar, touring or GT racecar. It is much closer to a F3 level in actual quantities (not joking), exceeding F3 in many areas (derivative of lat accel, yaw rates, lat accel frequency, steering sensitivity (on a global scale second only to F1).
It usually takes some of the best sportscar drivers about 4 - 6 sessions spread across 4 weeks to get really settled in and start feeling at one with the kart, and have enjoyment levels go way higher. The first 2 - 3 sessions are always a struggle for any new karter. I've brought some top local endurance GT racecar drivers, touring car drivers, time attack winners to try race karting and even they struggle because the G loads are are some 70 - 200% higher than what they are used to, occurring at frequencies over 200% higher.
A more typical sport driver who has less intuition, less feel, will take easily 2 - 4 times the duration vs a sharp racecar driver, to get very comfortable and fast in a racekart.
If you test a top level kart, properly fit to you, the cost per session is going to be at least 150 SGD for a physically unprepared driver. If you intend to do a long term 1-2 month weekly sessions to get into the groove and get a very good idea before committing to race karting, be prepared to spend that amount at a minimum. If you have a friend who is willing to let you wear down their kart for free, great. They can lend you all the safety gear too, which if you purchase will come out to around 2K.
If you can't find a racekart to test long term, or think that the time and money is too much to burn just renting, then you will have to take a risk and move quicker into owning one instead.
Hi guys, a couple friends pointed me to this thread because of recent chatter and I'd like to clarify a few things. Don't mean to OT this thread and it would be good to have a separate topic in the track section, but since the Supercar race is long over, with discussion of results and events more or less concluded, I suppose it is ok to digress a little.
Like a poster earlier mentioned, a very good indication if you like karting is to do the rental karts at Kartright. If you can't stand the heat, vibration, bumps, track type, then forget about it. If you like the challenge of dropping time and driving the edge, to the point that all other minor problems don't even matter, then it is almost certain that race karting is for you and you can move on to racekart testing / rental.
The exceptions to previous para. are if you are unusually tall or short, or unusually skinny or fat. In those cases the only way to get a proper indication is to get a kart properly fit to you. To do it properly will cost around 200 - 700 SGD depending on whether you need a new properly sized seat, pedal back or forward extensions, steering extensions, etc. It is fairly labour intensive to properly fit a kart to an unusually sized person and taking shortcuts will only end up completely spoiling the driving experience, so there's no point testing half assedly.
The thing about test drives in any top level racekart is that while it will give you a much better idea of the intensity of it all, it'll still be very far from the real settled-in experience (consistently within 3% of class record). Kartright is especially challenging because of its layout. The nature of the local track and the kart all add up to a very steep learning curve to get within 1 - 2 % of class record consistently. The curve is much steeper than any supercar roadcar, touring or GT racecar. It is much closer to a F3 level in actual quantities (not joking), exceeding F3 in many areas (derivative of lat accel, yaw rates, lat accel frequency, steering sensitivity (on a global scale second only to F1).
It usually takes some of the best sportscar drivers about 4 - 6 sessions spread across 4 weeks to get really settled in and start feeling at one with the kart, and have enjoyment levels go way higher. The first 2 - 3 sessions are always a struggle for any new karter. I've brought some top local endurance GT racecar drivers, touring car drivers, time attack winners to try race karting and even they struggle because the G loads are are some 70 - 200% higher than what they are used to, occurring at frequencies over 200% higher.
A more typical sport driver who has less intuition, less feel, will take easily 2 - 4 times the duration vs a sharp racecar driver, to get very comfortable and fast in a racekart.
If you test a top level kart, properly fit to you, the cost per session is going to be at least 150 SGD for a physically unprepared driver. If you intend to do a long term 1-2 month weekly sessions to get into the groove and get a very good idea before committing to race karting, be prepared to spend that amount at a minimum. If you have a friend who is willing to let you wear down their kart for free, great. They can lend you all the safety gear too, which if you purchase will come out to around 2K.
If you can't find a racekart to test long term, or think that the time and money is too much to burn just renting, then you will have to take a risk and move quicker into owning one instead.
