Will my autocross experience help me with karting?

[rooby]

I autocross a lot. Will that make me more competitive in karting?

[MPIGP - Phillip Gordon]

I autocross a lot. Will that make me more competitive in karting?

I thought some of the other karters coming from autocrossing would respond but since they didn't I will :)

I believe any racing experience will help you in karting. You have the advantage of some understanding of weight transfer, brake and throttle modulation. However I believe you'll see a bigger impact the other way around. I think you will see a big improvement in your autocrossing skills.

[Mark Hirt]

I autocross a lot. Will that make me more competitive in karting?

You do? I've never seen the name rooby at an event, Maybe your in the witness protection program. Anyway autocross will help your karting but you will see more improvements other way.

[PeterK]

the biggest difference is in the appoach... in autocross you're out for one lap to get the best time possible.... in karting it is completely about strategy and consistency rather than the fast lap. You will notice instantly how different it feels running in a group with others. Instead of having your eyes set forward to watch the cones / corners, now you have to have them all around..... often to dodge other racers that will ( purposely or not) run you over :evil_lol:

My fascination with Autocross drastically decreased once i tried Karting

Good luck to you and come race with us ! :-)

[rooby]

A guy I know told me that driving karts is easy. He thought I should be able to be competitive in a shifter kart quickly. Maybe that's wishful thinking?

[PeterK]

well, Rick will tell you a lot about shifters and noneshifter, but dont get your hopes too high...... karting is a completely different animal......a lot less forgiving and certainly not easy to master :-).... count on being at the back of the pack for a while .... im still there more often that i would like :)

[Rick]

A guy I know told me that driving karts is easy. He thought I should be able to be competitive in a shifter kart quickly. Maybe that's wishful thinking?

:spit: :hum: :shakehead: :cwm27: :lol:

[MPIGP - Phillip Gordon]

A guy I know told me that driving karts is easy. He thought I should be able to be competitive in a shifter kart quickly. Maybe that's wishful thinking?

It's different for everyone. A couple years ago I put a Brazilian guy (age 32) in an RM1 (DD2) at CHMS and after only 3 laps, he was running on pace. He had never driven a kart before but had a lot of experience on road race bikes. I also took a BMW club member with only auto X experience to CHMS to test a stock shifter. At the end of the day he was running laps in the high 48's which is not earth shattering but at 435lbs, was decent for a rookie in a stock shifter. He planned to make his decision on what kind of kart to buy after his test drive. He called me a week later and bought it.

The flip side of that is my personal experience. I did really well starting out in a KT100. When I switched to a shifter, I was all over the place. The kart drove me. It seems like I just couldn't get the hang of it but I wanted to race a shifter so bad I could taste it. Then one day I went out on a damp track (wet but no puddles) on slicks. After a couple sessions, I got it. A slick track will give you immediate feed back on what you're doing wrong.

IMHO, it comes down to your passion. You can learn to drive anything if you have the right attitude and help from the right people.

[MPIGP - Phillip Gordon]

.... count on being at the back of the pack for a while .... im still there more often that i would like :)

I don't know what you race and how long you've been racing but choosing the wrong motor package/class can hold you back. I started in the YBX class because I was new to karting and that was the entry level class. Problem....I was giving up 30lbs to the front runners. People warned me about going up to the SSX class because it was faster and said I would be getting in over my head. I tried it anyway because I'm like that :evil_lol: and won my first race in that class.

If you like the class you're in and don't want to change, do a drivers school and take a chassis tuning class. You might be pleasantly surprised with the results.

[PeterK]

Phill:-)... i haven't made it to the real track yet....im too scared!!!...

[rooby]

If you like the class you're in and don't want to change, do a drivers school and take a chassis tuning class. You might be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Where can I do a drivers school or chassis tuning class? And how much does it cost? Do I need my own kart before I do that?

[MPIGP - Phillip Gordon]

Where can I do a drivers school or chassis tuning class? And how much does it cost? Do I need my own kart before I do that?

MRP in South Bend IN and VKP in Carol Stream IL are the closest. MRP will provide you with a kart but I believe you would have to have your own for the VKP drivers school. They will provide the kart for the chassis tuning class though.

[Mark Hirt]

A couple years ago I took three autocross runs in Dan Cyr's Shifter on the very grippy concrete surface of Grissom AFB in Indiana. By run three I was pretty to Dan's time (+1.5) on a sub 30 second course, given more time I probably could have go closer but then again Dan is really good.

On runs 1 and 2 I hosed the launch (slipping the clutch don't work) and I missed couple shifts (lift to shift, lift to shift). On run 3 I did what I was told to do, foot to the floor and let go! WOW

notes:
Cones are taller than you
Cones are really not Orange blurs
The brakes stop... back there.
The pain comes much later in the day