Every petrolhead needs to own a shifter kart. Period.

Not long ago there was an article about kart racing and it’s perks, so I had to write a little article myself!

First of all tiny introduction to karting. I race at the club level in Canada where you buy your own kart, race it, maintain it, tune it, whatever you please to do with it (within regulation if you plan to race). You can race many classes jam packed with amazingly intense racing, and those classes include single speed 4 strokes, 2 strokes, and then shifter karts.

These shifter karts have a modified 125cc 6 speed dirtbike engine, placed on a chassis with 4 wheel disc brakes and a solid rear axel. The more powerful engines put out around 49 hp on race gas. A kart and driver combo weighs in at about 175 kg which gives a power to weight ratio of 280 hp per tonne… To put it in context that’s just a bit more than an original Dodge Viper. Ridiculous.

So that makes these things are ridiculously fast. This is a beast where a driver learns throttle control rather quickly… which makes it an EXCELLENT tool in which to learn or improve car control and driving skills. Get it wrong, and you’ll know it immediately.

However don’t be scared off. It’s not anymore dangerous than any other kart (given you have a proper track to drive on). Sure you’ll spin a few times and make more mistakes than usual, but that’s where you learn. You’ll never find the limits of a machine until you push beyond them.

And with that solid rear axel, you don’t necessarily always have to race around the track trying to get your best time. You might decide you want to have some sideways fun. In fact, it’s almost easier to drive that way. You could pass entire evenings drifting about and have the time of your life.

Essentially it’s the best of both worlds. You can master it and feel like your faster than Lewis Hamilton, or you can drift about feeling like you’re on the set of Tokyo Drift.

I guess the best way to some everything up is the Stockholm Syndrome (those who ride 2 stroke dirt bikes know what I’m talking about!). That’s the syndrome where a person misses their kidnappers because they miss the excitement of it all. The shifter kart is the same at first; absolutely bonkers to drive leaving you scared pooless, and yet you still come back and drive it.

I truly believe there is nothing out there that can provide the same amount of excitement for that money, nevermind the endless amounts of skills it has to provide. I think I’m in love with it. Oops, did that come out?

So, if you’re looking at having the time of your life for a fraction of what a Racecar costs (a Racecar that can provide the same levels of thrill), search the classifieds and find a local kart track.

I can garauntee you that you won’t regret it.

MiniMan

(Oh, and there’s a bunch of complicated physics to why the karts can still turn with a solid axel. I don’t know it well enough to explain it through text though.)

Pictures courtesy of Canadian Karting News and the EDKRA, the club I race out of. (84 is me)