Hello, we are just getting our 5 year old into karting and do not know anything. Any help would be appreciated. My main question is what kart should I be looking for my 5 year old for a street track? Everything I seem to find is for dirt or asphalt oval track. We have access to either kind of track around us. Pitt raceway is right down the road from us and there are a few dirt tracks close as well. We would like tobget him a kart for each. Thank you in advance for any help.
New to karting.
- Thread starter Rclear
- Start date
atwoodracing20
Dew Dawg
Welcome to Bob's, you should probably visit each track you would like to race at and see what classes are available for your 5 year old. Then you can decide which kart you will need. Good luck and have fun!
Thank you, I will try to make it to the tracks this month to get a jump on things.
racing junky
Member
what is your location : state / city .
"street track" ; have not heard that term before .
can you explain what that is?
also what state n city ar
racing junky
Member
take your time as "Atwoodracing20" suggested .
Go to each track a few times ;
go walk thru the pits [pit pass usually required , can pay for at the gate ]
You be able to look at karts, equipment, tools, trailer set- ups, track parts supplier (if they have one) .
speak with track officials (rules , classes , fees, dates, contact info .)
You will be making new friends soon .
maybe someone will offer [or you could ask] if your child can test ride a kart, before spending you $$$ .
JoshuaGuiher
Member
@Rclear I am the race director at PittRace. What you are calling a street track is called sprint kart track. No idea why they call them that, I haven't been around the sport long enough to know. My kid has also raced dirt karts including at Goodhope near you in Columbiana, OH. What you want to get is a kid kart chassis with a Comer 50cc motor. Popular brands are top kart & Birel. Anything from say 2003 and up is fine, no need to waste money when starting. You can actually race that chassis/motor combo on both asphalt (sprint) and dirt, so with a simple change of tires you can run both.
In sprint karting you have the following chassis sizes
kid kart
cadet
Sr
In dirt karting you have
kid kart
Sr
Trust me from experience, fitting a 5 yo in an adult sized go kart is a PITA and not worth the effort. No idea why dirt karting doesn't make a mid-sized chassis, but they don't, all they do is some Jr drivers run a thinner walled chassis, but the fitment issues remain.
Here is a photo of what a older top kart chassis would look like https://trendsetterspowersports.com/listing/top-kart-kid-kart-comer-50/
You can also put a "dirt" or "gold cup" style body on them, and in fact Mark Bergfelt, who lives down the road from you sells the best one in the country. We allow that style on the sprint track as well, so again less changes if you wanted to try both.
For motors, you have WKA rules and Outlaw (just about anything goes). Mark is the best builder in the country for outlaw and he also does WKA ruleset comer motors. By rule, we don't allow outlaw motors at Pitt. We follow WKA rules, which long story short is what most dirt tracks claim to run as well, but I've never seen a comer teched at a dirt track EVER. Basically an outlaw motor would out-perform the same motor built to WKA rules, but the driver has to be really good for it to matter. IE, if you found a smoking deal on a kart and it came with an outlaw motor, unless your driver was Mario Andretti, I wouldn't know the difference unless I tore it apart, which we don't do to comers at Pitt (it's a kids class). Hope that makes sense, but tl;dr, you shouldn't cheat, but I wouldn't know unless I paid Mark to come tear it down or your kid got so good they lapped the field.
Feel free to PM me, I can probably help arrange a test session for you, etc. I think opening day at the track is April 7th, our first race I know is May 8th.
As for tools, trailer, etc. We had a kid kart family last year who strapped the kart on the roof rack of his Jeep every week. They had a small tool box and that was it. There is nothing you need that someone else at the track doesn't have when you are starting out. Just ask. Don't go all broke buying chain breakers and tire bead breakers who you can just ask and borrow. We have been doing this 5 years now and we still pull our stuff on a flat bed trailer with a little Mazda 3 and we've gone to Indiana the NC to race, including this weekend.
In sprint karting you have the following chassis sizes
kid kart
cadet
Sr
In dirt karting you have
kid kart
Sr
Trust me from experience, fitting a 5 yo in an adult sized go kart is a PITA and not worth the effort. No idea why dirt karting doesn't make a mid-sized chassis, but they don't, all they do is some Jr drivers run a thinner walled chassis, but the fitment issues remain.
Here is a photo of what a older top kart chassis would look like https://trendsetterspowersports.com/listing/top-kart-kid-kart-comer-50/
You can also put a "dirt" or "gold cup" style body on them, and in fact Mark Bergfelt, who lives down the road from you sells the best one in the country. We allow that style on the sprint track as well, so again less changes if you wanted to try both.
For motors, you have WKA rules and Outlaw (just about anything goes). Mark is the best builder in the country for outlaw and he also does WKA ruleset comer motors. By rule, we don't allow outlaw motors at Pitt. We follow WKA rules, which long story short is what most dirt tracks claim to run as well, but I've never seen a comer teched at a dirt track EVER. Basically an outlaw motor would out-perform the same motor built to WKA rules, but the driver has to be really good for it to matter. IE, if you found a smoking deal on a kart and it came with an outlaw motor, unless your driver was Mario Andretti, I wouldn't know the difference unless I tore it apart, which we don't do to comers at Pitt (it's a kids class). Hope that makes sense, but tl;dr, you shouldn't cheat, but I wouldn't know unless I paid Mark to come tear it down or your kid got so good they lapped the field.
Feel free to PM me, I can probably help arrange a test session for you, etc. I think opening day at the track is April 7th, our first race I know is May 8th.
As for tools, trailer, etc. We had a kid kart family last year who strapped the kart on the roof rack of his Jeep every week. They had a small tool box and that was it. There is nothing you need that someone else at the track doesn't have when you are starting out. Just ask. Don't go all broke buying chain breakers and tire bead breakers who you can just ask and borrow. We have been doing this 5 years now and we still pull our stuff on a flat bed trailer with a little Mazda 3 and we've gone to Indiana the NC to race, including this weekend.
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CarlsonMotorsports
Site Supporter
^ That, right there, is some great advice, and from someone local to you who has experience doing just what you are wanting to do.
I would also suggest looking at the LO206JR engine package as it is designed to grow with your driver, whereas the Comer engines can become very expensive with no growth potential when you age out of the class. Some tracks have dropped the Comer or combined it with the L206 in kid kart classes. With the 206, when you're ready to move up a class, you simply change the slide in the carb, and the coil (rev limiter.) On pavement, you'll likely move to a cadet chassis (intermediate.)
As mentioned above, the dirt world offers no smaller flat kart chassis, so you end up using pedal risers and/or extenders to make an adult sized kart drive-able for the little guys.
If there's anything that we can help you with, please feel free to call on us.
-----
Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
32 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
I would also suggest looking at the LO206JR engine package as it is designed to grow with your driver, whereas the Comer engines can become very expensive with no growth potential when you age out of the class. Some tracks have dropped the Comer or combined it with the L206 in kid kart classes. With the 206, when you're ready to move up a class, you simply change the slide in the carb, and the coil (rev limiter.) On pavement, you'll likely move to a cadet chassis (intermediate.)
As mentioned above, the dirt world offers no smaller flat kart chassis, so you end up using pedal risers and/or extenders to make an adult sized kart drive-able for the little guys.
If there's anything that we can help you with, please feel free to call on us.
-----
Thanks and God bless,Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
32 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
Thank you for the info and I will call if I can't figure something out.^ That, right there, is some great advice, and from someone local to you who has experience doing just what you are wanting to do.
I would also suggest looking at the LO206JR engine package as it is designed to grow with your driver, whereas the Comer engines can become very expensive with no growth potential when you age out of the class. Some tracks have dropped the Comer or combined it with the L206 in kid kart classes. With the 206, when you're ready to move up a class, you simply change the slide in the carb, and the coil (rev limiter.) On pavement, you'll likely move to a cadet chassis (intermediate.)
As mentioned above, the dirt world offers no smaller flat kart chassis, so you end up using pedal risers and/or extenders to make an adult sized kart drive-able for the little guys.
If there's anything that we can help you with, please feel free to call on us.
-----
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
32 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
I got a whole lot of info very quickly lol. We ended up getting a Birel B25 kid cart to run at pitt raceway since it is so close. We are still looking for a used flatkart. Everyone on here is super helpful. I didn't plan on buying that quick but found a kart so I went for it.
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Thank you!