We all agreed that racing kart is an art between machine and man or driver; right.
So if you have a very professional kart and tires and it must be balance with a very talented driver, if the balance is broken then it is.....the obvious.
So next time you buy a new kart ask yourself where you stand on the skill factor and do not forget the physical issues on top of that.
Better tires means more grip and more grip means more strength from driver too.
Enjoy your kart racing

Good thread Razman.

I've noticed that a lot of people feel that you absolutely have to be on the latest and greatest chassis - yet if you have a driver on a ~2 year old chassis and gave him the latest Tony EVX for example he would probably go no faster - or might even go a few tenths slower because he's not getting the best out of the chassis or because it is a more difficult chassis to drive fast.

It's always cool to upgrade to a new shiny chassis every year but will it make you go any faster?

One quick Poll.

How often do you guys manage to get your inside wheel lifted up more than 10 degrees?

but i still notice most dealers push for their customer to get the latest and greatest chassis, engine etc.
always out to maximize the customer budget regardless of talent. Then getting them to upgrade everytime when a new model arrives.

Rich parents are doing the same. Out to get the best money can buy. It eider spark potential or just waste money.

This is a difficult subject, but money does dictates from what i seen..




For me 96% is Yes. Some case the latest specs are easier to drive.


with full caster u can easily get it up. even on wets. But we dont purposely set it to get it up. Focus is always laptime.

The more you practice the faster you go...it really is the most important single factor. Of course you must plan what to do during practice - it is not a matter of going round and round doing the same thing every lap. [By the way that's one definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.] It is amazing how much difference there is between a good set-up and a bad one. Engine and chassis have to be set up to optimum for each track.

The next most important factor is fitness, something that frequent practice helps too.

Third comes equipment. When you have maxed out set-up and fitness, having the latest chassis of the right brand and the latest engines are critical...

So how fast do you want to go?

I'm not sure where this is going... but if it came down to opinion, the 'art' part of race-driving stems from how well you can communicate with your machine. it's like ballroom dancing or horse riding, you gauge what the kart is willing to do in response to your handling. so it don't matter what you run as long as it's not woefully outclassed, (and in some cases it don't matter then either, as senna proved in one of his brazillian championship races, where his kart was bent by an off and he still managed to win with a front wheel off the ground)

Hi Raja Razman,

Desmond here, how are u !!!..
the statement above really is true, between man and machine.. more grip more strenght.

One of these days i will give you a call, i need u to coach me more..

One of the reason why dealers push for new products to be used is because if many of the their brand's products are all old models and they start losing competition etc that is a very bad thing for the company's perception. So that is why dealers push for latest models. But bearing in mind sometimes we know that our clients are on tight budgets so we try to get them good second hand models that is equally as competitive.

Doesn't it also look bad if their old models are slow and at the back of the field in new drivers' hands?

That's probably because his competition were terrified that he was going to take them off as well

But, as I said in another thread, the really important thing is to get a good set-up - that's what really makes the difference. I'd rather have a two year old chassis with a good set-up than a new, badly set-up one. As an example of how important set-up is, look at the times/results from Surubaya. Mikko is almost always about .3 / .4 faster than me on any track / condition. We've both got competive, but different chassis and engines - Mikko's just quicker than me. But, in Surubaya, I hit on a good set-up and he didn't and the result was I set times that would have been very competitive in the seniors and Mikko was pretty uncompetive until the final when he did finally get a decent set-up. Was I a better driver than Mikko suddenly - absolutely not.

So, chasing the latest, greatest chassis isn't the way to get fast. There's three ways - practice, practice and practice. Losing 30 years and 5kgs would also help me but that's another story

AS FAST AS MY MIND CAN.

I agree with alex 110%.

just a note:

do not forget the important element , TYRES

please practise on decent tyres
do expect a wore tyre to do fresh rubber times,
base your laps times to the tyre condition and the grip level on the track.

so a new kart with new tyre is always going to be fast and nice to drive.

try changing all the bearings on the used karts and put new rubbers see what happen. there are 12 bearins to be change from steering to axle.