Im an idiot that need help

8bsimpson5

Member
Hello all, my 12yo son wanted to get into racing dirt karts.so I found a kart I could afford come to find out it's a margay syncro quad asphalt kart. cant afford to get another kart. I need help to figure out how to or what to do to help it on dirt. Any info would help we are new to karting and its shows lol
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1155.jpg
    IMG_1155.jpg
    135 KB · Views: 70
  • received_2532008640424786.jpeg
    received_2532008640424786.jpeg
    120.6 KB · Views: 71
Best option would be try to sell and buy am actual LTO chassis. For one he won't be competitive and two when he gets into an actual LTO it's going to be a whole new learning curve for him. I know nothing of sprint chassis but maybe some of those guys will chime in and maybe have an idea of what it's worth. Your not an idiot it's a mistake that many others have made before you and will continue to make after you. Best thing to do is research, research, and more research especially before making a purchase like that.
 
Best option would be try to sell and buy am actual LTO chassis. For one he won't be competitive and two when he gets into an actual LTO it's going to be a whole new learning curve for him. I know nothing of sprint chassis but maybe some of those guys will chime in and maybe have an idea of what it's worth. Your not an idiot it's a mistake that many others have made before you and will continue to make after you. Best thing to do is research, research, and more research especially before making a purchase like that.
I agree. sometimes it is better to just start all over than to beat a dead horse. I have known people that have tried straight rails on ovals. Usually it doesn't take long.
 
He has put a lot of time and effort into it just going to run it for a season then get new one. We are just gonna go out and have fun and learn for next year. There are two bolts next to seat mount on frame if you remove them does the allow the frame to flex more
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20210204-174532_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20210204-174532_Gallery.jpg
    55 KB · Views: 38
Yes i belive they would . If there isn't a slit make one .
While i cant disagree with the other guys . We ran one for several years .
Where you race and the competition is a factor .
Either way most classes are competitive .
Assuming it's complete , the flathead , not many places run them so a different engine may be needed .
 
From back when we started oval racing we had a Margay and an Emmick straight rail chassis. We ran treaded tires on dirt. Biggest thing is to disregard what everyone else is doing with their karts. Straight rail karts do not use front stagger as a rule so dont be slapping a 10 inch right front wheel on the right front like everyone else has. It won't turn.
 
From back when we started oval racing we had a Margay and an Emmick straight rail chassis. We ran treaded tires on dirt. Biggest thing is to disregard what everyone else is doing with their karts. Straight rail karts do not use front stagger as a rule so dont be slapping a 10 inch right front wheel on the right front like everyone else has. It won't turn.
Thank you I was going to do that lol
 
Got to admit he has it looking good.
 

Attachments

  • 20210130_164344.jpg
    20210130_164344.jpg
    78.2 KB · Views: 52
  • 20210107_213234.jpg
    20210107_213234.jpg
    88.2 KB · Views: 52
Taking this in a different direction, is there a sprint track anywhere near you? You already have the kart for it, why not give it a try? I'm not sure what era a Syncro Quad is from, but looking at the pictures I'd guess mid to late '90's. At the track I race at I've seen guys running chassis that are ten to fifteen years old and still very competitive. Margay is very good at supporting their old equipment, if you call them I'm sure they could give you advice to make your kart work well on a sprint track. It's not going to be the most competitive kart there either, but it would be closer than racing on dirt. Who knows, your son might enjoy turning right now and then? LOL!
 
Closest sprint track is 2hrs away. Dirty track 10mins down road. We are going to run it and do what mike97760 said. Not looking to go out and win just have fun for the year then get new frame next year.
 
Closest sprint track is 2hrs away. Dirty track 10mins down road. We are going to run it and do what mike97760 said. Not looking to go out and win just have fun for the year then get new frame next year.
Do you mind sharing what area you are in? Maybe somebody will know of another kart you could get into pretty cheap. There are several facebook trading groups for karting. I would definitely look there. Just be advised, most guys think their stuff is made of solid gold, dont get screwed because you dont know. If you find something, throw it up on here and get some advise before pulling the trigger.
 
I ran a sprint kart for a couple years before switching to a lto chassis... first off only run the outside rear bearings. The other bearing will make the chassis way too stiff... if you can get a lay down seat get one... what tires are you gonna run?
 
I wouldn't consider the Sprint chassis in an LTO world a total loss.
It's his first year, he probably is not going to win very many races
even with top equipment (unless you hire a tire guy til you get things
going and he's that one in a million natural born driver.)
Sprint karts gotta go left too, so it has to have something in an LTO world.
Look at it as prep for a better kart. Get your routine down. Get the weekly
maintenance down. Learn to drive a line/enter/exit.
Consider yourself to only be racing against yourself and trying to improve
lap times every race.
Set a realistic goal. A 4th place finish out of 6karts ?
In every race there's some guy who never maintains his kart, doesn't pay
attention to detail and does a DNF. You can beat that guy.
Don't forget to have fun.
We ran a Coyote in LTO dirt and did OK (years ago) and had a ton of fun.
 
Last edited:
Burris 33s is track rules
With 33s on a bullring make sure he knows how to countersteer... he will more than likely be coming out of the corner almost sideways which scrubs speed a lot... if it were me i would have him tag the rear of the field until he gets the hang of how to handle the kart
 
The little turd can definitely drive. We went to a friend's house and ran a little I let him around me was going to bump and push him alittle to see if he could handle it but the turn left me in the dust lol
 
We've ran both our vintage and modern sprint karts a few times at our local dirt track. I have no idea how to set up a kart for dirt, so we do what we would do on a sprint track to corner better - wheel spacing, tire pressures, etc. We surprised ourselves and the dirt track regulars how close we can get to their lap times.
 
Back
Top