out of all 5 tips, finding the line and avoiding drifting are probably most important. most tracks, the line is easy to find, because usually the track is darker along the best line. once you're halfway decent, the absolute best way to get fast is to talk to one of the track employees. they'll have probably already watched you, and can give you the hot tips on where to shave off time. some employees will even go out and let you follow them, which will really give you a feel for where you're at.
Hi Donnie. Yes excellent suggestion. I recently talked to one of the staff at a track I was at and they gave me some good tips on where I was going wrong and could improve my times. Thanks for watching!
Just went to my first ever go karting trip, i have been a sim racer for 2-3 years now, and was shaking, but when i got in the kart, everything just felt awesome and right, qualified p4 and ended up winning the 16 lap race. Cant believe i won, with the second fastest time of the day at my track. I did use your tips and it looked like it also helped a lot. The people ahead of me was my uncle, who have raced many karts in his life, a pro karting driver and the guy who paid for it all! 100% going Karting next month again! Did drift a little, but not enough to slow me down fully, even had a little lockup Track was Racehall in Aarhus - Denmark
Shift your weight to the outside, not inside. This way you put more weight on the outside wheel that does the turning and load it more, plus it helps to slide the inner wheels. Heavier also doesnt mean more grip, inertia ruins it.
You get more out of the tires with 4 evenly loaded rather than the outside 2. The true art to karting is smooth transitions on the pedals and using the steering along with brake to hit the apex with the right angle as to quickly apply power without over slowing the kart. You can manage your body weight for even further refinement of the karts handling.
Although heavier often doesn’t mean more grip, I’m really light and at the place I go most often the top karts are actually just the same but with the limit taken off, although the limit is pretty close to the top speed you can get on the track so it can be pretty tricky getting power down
Thanks pal this helped a lot👍 I'm a regular go karter but for some reason had never been able to beat my personal best lap time (30s), after watching your video I managed to complete the track in 27s with the best lap time being 25.5 seconds.👍👍👍
General good information just one thing wrong, during the corners you want your weight on the outside wheels of the kart (those are the wheels that are actually gripping the track), so you dont lean inside the corner, you let the G force move you to the outside of the corner and shift your weight balance to the outside tyres.
I would say that leaning out would make you slower. To get the highest cornering speed you are trying to use 100% of the the grip from all four tyres . By leaning to the outside you are putting more load on the tyres that is already slipping. By leaning inside you put load onto the tyre that is not being worked as hard. The inside tyre is still doing work, the friction from the compound does not disappear. The goal is to make it do more.
No, thats a comon mistake. On kart (no diferencial) you cannot have grip from the 4 tyres when turning, if you lean inside the corner you are minimizing the grip, you want to maximize it by leaning outside. This is not an opinion, its a fact and its teached in every karting school.
That's wrong Seb. You should shift towards the outside to get better grip, you'r even supposed to let the inner rear wheel lift off the gorund //kart racer with years of experience
I went Go Karting for the first time yesterday, and with the tips in the comments and in the video I can't wait to hit the track again! I need to study up so I can get better than fourth place out of five!
Great tips, I often see young kids ask in the briefing ‘can we drift?’ Or something along the lines and the response most of the time is ‘If you want to crash, yes’. Another tip I’d say is look out for slow kids, they often try to ram me into the wall when overtaking so you can get stuck behind them for ages if it’s a tight track
Aggression is the only way to be really fast, you have to be on the limit all the time if you want to win, as soon as you relax your times go down. Great video!
I am impressed by your driving style! I just tried karting for the first time in my life last week. I was on a company trip and we all went karting in Malaga. As I said, it was my first time. It took me a while to get used to the speed. After a while I really started to enjoy it but I noticed I wasn't able to be as fast as the fastest guys on track. I was trying to go late on brakes and accelerating as soon as possible but, as you were saying, this brought me to be very "dirty" in my driving. The kart was sliding a lot. It was fun but I immediately thought that this was costing me time. I really didn't know how to handle U-turns in the most effective way possible. I was simply trying to move at the side of the track and get into the apex as late as possible. I thought that by doing this I would have get the kart straight right at the exit of the turn and this would have allowed me to get on the accelerator aggressively without sliding around. However, the late braking and turning the kart on itself was making me loose so much momentum. Hence, I tried to use a different line and let the kart run as much as possible. I was just slowing it down and then turning trying to use all the track. But even using this technique didn't really seemed to improve the situation. Unfortunately, we didn't have the chance to check our lap times from one lap to the other. Therefore, I couldn't make direct comparision. I had to base it all on my impression! However, watching you, it seems that you are capable of keeping a tight line without losing momentum. I would really like to know how do you do it! By the way, after 10 minutes of free pratice and qualify, my arms were in complete pain! I was even having a hard time trying to close my hands! What was the problem? Was I driving in a wrong position? (I am 1.73 cm height and 58 Kg).
Marco Bianchi Hi Marco, Thanks for watching. My advice to you is that to be great at handling a kart, whilst you have to be smooth you also have to 'muscle' the kart depending on the track and how much grip you have. Because of your light weight you won't have as much grip. To get better, I would recommend trying to add some muscle and work out your arms. That way you will be able wrestle the wheel and steer the kart easier. U-turns and hairpin turns are quite tricky. It's a cross between hugging the corner to take the shortest distance possible but also keeping your speed up to get good exit speed and line. Try mixing it up by driving at a different track now and then.
Thanks for you quick answer and the advices! Indeed, I got the best race start out of all my colleagues! They all said it was because of my weight... I thought that it was unfair to blamed it all on my weight but they may be right! What about body position? I've heard people saying that you should move it at the opposite side of the corner you are facing. Is that true?
This is not me, but it shows you the track. It is very short! According to the track owner my best lap during the race was a 36.6. It is 3 seconds slower than this guy in the video! That's a lot! ua-cam.com/video/Sg7fq9qnTMM/v-deo.html
Awesome advice ! you are detailed yet so practical about how you approach the track and the right competitive mind set of the race. More please !!! Thank You Kevin!
Nice video love it! Agree with everything except for the beginning about the Weight. If you weigh less you tend the wheel hop more through the corners what I do because I weigh very light is I backup my entry and accelerate through the corners and it seems to work better. But besides that this video was great I signed up to an indoor go kart league starting next month can't wait thanks for the tips!
One vital tip everyone forgets, is building confidence up. You won't be the fastest the first time round. First time I went with a set of tools from work, I finished 9th out of 14, but lacked the raw confidence at the beginning and towards the end when I spun, as I basically was so far away from the steering wheel, when I realised I could actually move my seat. I'm about 62kg, yet I was being passed by the big lads, we're talking 90+kg on straights, but these rental karts were absolutely destroyed. However, at another track, with vastly superior karts, I was finishing 5th/14th a lot, so it tells a tale. Main trick is to keep going, start learning the track by going to practice sessions and looking at lap times. Once you get a feel for one track, you should be able to apply knowledge and experience at other tracks, as well as beginning to participate in races amongst other drivers.
Thanks this really helped me. I raced at my local track and I was scared of losing because the time before I was a bit slow, but then when I stepped in then kart I rememberd what you said and I won by a few laps so thanks.
Oh wow that's fantastic news! Glad that this video helped! WOW you won be a few LAPS! That's crazy. Keep up the good work, thanks for commenting and feel free to check out my other videos! Cheers
Hi Amar, I look at it this way. When you sit down on the floor as if you were in a gokart, most of your weight is at the back. Also on a gokart, the engine is also at the back. Having so much weight already over the rear wheels means less weight over the front wheels. Logic would dictate that this would give the turning wheels less grip.
sounds silly but speed is important you want to be going as fast as you can so you can slow down quicker by going faster you will be warming up your tyres and that will give you more grip on the corners you may want to take it a little easy on the first few laps when going into corners because you need to give time to warm up those tyres, after 2-3 laps start getting aggressive.
Tip 3 is hard, I love Powerslideing too much. Sometimes I let the rear break out deliberately in corners to give me some space with an too aggressive driver.
Hi Kevan, great video! However, you are incorrect about more weight equating to more grip. A lighter car will always be faster through a corner than a heavier car (as it has more grip and can therefore take the corner at a higher speed). This is because as the car comes off a straight and takes the corner it begins 'accelerating' in a different direction. The formula F=ma is then applied for the g force it experiences towards the outside of the corner. Having a higher mass in this formula equates to a higher g force experienced (=higher lateral load). The tyres can only handle a certain lateral load before the lose grip and slide. Therefore, having less weight means more grip, as the lateral load the car experiences will be lower. Hope that makes sense!
i race at lemans in greenville south carolina i agree with all of your tips especially the last one. When i see the times posted online, im like dang how in the world are these guys getting in the low 20s? Ive been told at the track that i run at can be ran at full speed thats why i watched your video. im gonna try those tips too especially sitting closer to the steering wheel. The racing line can be hard to find when your actually running the track though. great video sir.
Hi Tyler, wow thanks for the positive feedback. It's really not a great video and I'm not the be-all and end-all of karting professionals, I'm just a guy that likes to head to the track now and then, and I've never been in a real race kart, just hire karts - but I know enough from experience about what to look out for and how to really analyse and improve yourself so that you're genuinely competitive. Wow South Caroline eh? To be honest, most of my viewers are from the USA - Don't know if you saw but I had a race out at Santa Clara last year, it was my first time in the states. Would love to get over there again and check out more tracks..
Felix Reali Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here !! Giving away £100 and a PS4 to our 2k subscriber. ua-cam.com/video/EiNu1yzV1uA/v-deo.html
Just started go karting after 12 years of last doing it. Just brought my own helmet and hoping to put a couple of go pros on it to start doing go karting episodes also to get into the PPIK series/league,
+JustMitchPool Hiya Mitch! Awesome, can't wait to see some footage. 12 years since you last did it eh? You must be around my vintage then.. LoL. Keep an eye out for my Next 5 go kart tips video coming soon. Thanks for watching my video, hope you got something useful out of it. Cheers
Kevin Yep Yea, its been a long time. Were going again on the 28th for the sunday unlimited. Hopefully get some few good laps without yellow lights lol. I'v already uploaded 2 videos, heat 3 is the best which is just rendering now and should be up later. Got a new helmet today, fit the H3+ on the side facing forward and the entry gopro to look to the rear. l'll sub! awesome channel you have and tips are helpful.
When you are heavier, you have less grip in the corners but more FRICTION in a straight line which means that your acceleration is slower. Overall: more weight = longer braking zone, lower mid-corner speed and slower acceleration. Also you shouldn't be too aggressive because if youll be too aggressive ex. With the throttle, you will slide more, if youll be too aggressive with thr brakes, yoy will lock up and spin because of it. Also if youll be hitting everyone yoy overtake you are likely to be black flagged. Edit: Also also, f1 drivers don't slide their card because they have downforce which doesnt work sideways and their cars go way faster than your usual gokart(im not talking about some 250 hp monsters) which makes a slide harder to control. Gokarts on the other hand are known for being unstable and likely to slide so if you're approaching a tight and narrow hairpin, especially after an other hairpin you shouldn't be afraid to slide a little bit on yhe entry(remember to stop sliding before the apex/the middle of the corner because if not, you will lose speed on the exit.
SuperSpeeder Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here !! Giving away £100 and a PS4 to our 2k subscriber. ua-cam.com/video/EiNu1yzV1uA/v-deo.html
Hey Kevin! ~ cool vid man :) I was living in Melbs for a bit and got down to Auscarts a few times.. Managed to get get down to around the 28.1 mark so I think you are a bit faster than me.. We take really similar lines, but I found sticking close to the inside barrier on the main straight really helped me.. Kinda feel like you don't carry the speed after the hair-pin to justify taking the racing line, and you can hook it pretty hard without slipping before the pit lane.. Love to hear your thoughts on this cos I was (and still am) super keen to get into the 27sec bracket!!
Hi there! I would say at that hairpin coming onto the straight, you definitely need to make that turn as wide as possible. That is the best line. That way you can keep up momentum and revs in the kart, and all the way down the straight. I've driven there lots of times and have tried to analyse every corner! Have a look at some of my other videos where I am chasing someone and you will see the people I struggle to get passed are taking the same line (usually me friend Leong) , but people I get passed easily are deviating of that line.. I'm heading to the track on Sunday 28th of June 2015! So I will put up another video of that race. Cheers for watching!
Hi there Kevin i have a 100cc kart and i am trying to get into the nacional (portuguese) kart championship next year doing my best and trying to find tips to improve my driving. Keep up the good work!
Hi Glenn, for some reason I'm unable to reply to your comment. Anyway - braking and accelerating at the same time at the AusCarts track is frowned upon by the track stewards, in fact they'll probably kick you off for doing it. So I don't encourage people to do this. For maximum speed I stab the brake and then almost oversteer into the corner and almost drift it around. I find that works for me for the best stability and speed. Cheers!
Kevin Yep ah thanks, so its not just ace karts that police it. i know tuke don't coz i do it all the time on the corner after the back straight (depending on kart)
***** Hi Glenn, yeah I raced out at Tuke in South Morang ages ago, before I was really even into karting all that much. Have actually done the peewee 50's there as well. Never rode a motorbike before and came 3rd! I think because of the size of the track, they don't have a lot of helpers around and therefore they probably just warm the seats up at the pavilion and come running down once they see someone spin or have a stack. So for them to scrutinise people using both pedals is a bit hard. Anyhow, I'm racing this Sunday down at Auscarts! Yaay for me! LOL
+Cringe Worthiness Hi there! Thanks for watching and posting a question. I think the age is generally 14 and older. Anything younger and it's generally considered that you have to drive with an adult in a dual kart if available. Some go kart tracks let people on as young as 10 though. You don't have to have your own kart if you go to a hire track.
+Benjamin Mackellin Hiya Benjamin! First of all I would like to thank you for watching my video! And secondly thank you again for the compliment! Gokarting is different for everyone, and I'm sure that every time you race, two things will happen. You will either win or you will learn. Every single time. Cheers and good luck with your racing. Maybe one day you can get a GoPro and upload some videos too!
Crashing is the worst feeling, yesterday my foot slipped of the brake and went straight into the barrier on a hairpin I was dazed and couldnt walk properly and my arm went stiff for a few days. Thank god it wasn’t anything worse, or my mum would’ve killed me
THE Random Watermelon Jeez that sounds like a really bad accident. Yes I've had more than my fair share of accidents over the years. I should put a compilation together - I've had some big crashes. Luckily you're okay. Thanks for watching.
One major thing you forgot is consistency, you can go ahead and put in one really quick lap, but at the end of the day someone who is consistently fast will always win
OMG Im in London about to go the local Kart track and wanted to show my GF some general tips.. First video "this one" only happens to be my old local Port Melbourne track.. Twice a week i would go down there and try break that lap record.. What is it now down there.. I'm sure it was a 23 something back in 2008/9/10.. Great video and nice lines. Miss that place but managed to replace my fix with Rallying in the UK..
Kevin yep Kevin Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here !! Giving away £100 and a PS4 to our 2k subscriber. ua-cam.com/video/EiNu1yzV1uA/v-deo.html
+John Jayson Hi John. Well in gokarts it's always left foot braking. In a normal car its normally right foot braking for me. If it was racing and there was a clutch, it would still be right foot braking. What about yourself?
DetailScaleView No worries at all! Hope you get to the top of the podium! Be consistent, don't make any mistakes and you'll get there. Cheers for watching.
Actually it's not good to stay close to the steering wheel 1. Because rule 3 - having more weight to the front of your car make your rear wheels lighter off the ground and you tend to have a better chance of going into a drift or spinning out - you want to have your weight center of the car 2. It's not safe - in case of a crash (especially a head on) you always want to lean your back into your seat to avoid smashing into the steering wheel - you'll never see professional drivers close to the steering wheel, you want to have the wheel arms length from you with your elbows bended a bit kinda like suspension
Nice vid! Sometimes a little sliding is good if you have enough power, but not with typically at rental karting places. I'm used to slide a bit in my car on corners, and I tend to slide a little bit at some corners, such as at the end of reducing radius corner after the long straight. It feels fast because I am entering the corner fast, but I can hear the engine bog down a bit. Also, sometimes the kart starts to skip sideways. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve in these areas?
+koxkola Hi there! Well after going around this track A LOT of times and still not being as fast as the best guys, to avoid skipping sideways I'd definitely recommend just dabbing the brakes ever so slightly just to keep the kart smooth and all of the wheels in contact with the track. You may be coming into the corners a bit too fast. Smooth and tight is what you want your line to be. Leaning helps a lot too. Try this next time, and your smoothness will help determine an even better line and overall speed. That way the revs shouldn't dip too much.
+Kevin Yep Thanks! I'll try leaning and be more smooth next time. And try not to lose time in tight sections. I stopped using brakes recently since the top time driver never used brakes and he was 0.3 faster than I, so I decided not to use brakes since. These karts aren't as fast as the one in this vid though. I might have a vid of my next outing. My previous ones are on my channel as well.
You can make a pass at any part of that track. I am pretty sure if you go back through all of Kev's vids someone has been passed at each part of this track. Smooth turn in keeps your speed up out of the corners and then its about positioning the kart to squeeze through the gap or setting up to dive into a turn and out brake your opponent. @Kev- you need a part 2 about holding your position.
Thanks for that advice I just entered karting on a 700m track at Wessex raceway on the 140cc and I got a39.7 and if I was 3 seconds quicker then I'll get into the same times as the adults (I'm 12 )
+Ace Drifterz Wow only 12! Sounds like you have a promising future ahead of you in karting! Keep up the good work, you will only gain more experience and get quicker every time you race. Cheers for watching!
+srikanth bn Hi! You definitely need to brake. Braking helps you control the kart, get into corners deeper and later, and also helps you become a better driver overall in terms of being able to race different cars.
LOL How badly did you go? Maybe everyone else that you raced against watched this video! Just remember, lots of aggression and get on that racing line as soon as possible.
Hi Julie, you should only go and practice if you want to win! But seriously though, it won't hurt getting used to go karting, getting a feel of it, losing your fear and getting used to the noise, vibration and the fumes.
julie donofrio Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here ua-cam.com/video/EiNu1yzV1uA/v-deo.html
Hi The Bronchus. Right so you had extra weight which gave you extra grip, but you sacrificed acceleration and speed. Yknow gokarting is surprisingly great for cardio and fitness. Keep going. You'll enjoy it more and it might even get you a little bit leaner.
@@KevinYep Yeah man I was surprised at how much work 20 minutes of go karting was, pretty motivated to lose some weight to beat my smaller friends, but at 1,94m I tend to stay a lot heavier in general
Hey man all I can say is if you can manage to stay with them and then start dropping a bit of weight and improving your driving at the same time, it's only a matter of time before your beating them. Analyse what you're doing wrong and where you can improve, buying a GoPro really helps with motivation and gives you an excuse (In my car anyway) to check each corner and see where you can shave off a few seconds each lap.
+Phil Zee No worries and thanks for the advice! Yeah this video is actually fairly badly made. Hope you get to the track soon! I'm having a race tomorrow so I'm pumped!
Does using the brake and accelerator at the same time work at turn 1? Works well at lemans as you don't lose time getting on and off the throttle cos its a faster track.
Ok so in Gurugram in India where I am from, the best track is the Sky Kart track and those are electric karts. Naturally since those are electric they have faster acceleration than normal karts but it does make them uncontrollable in corner 1(90 degree right after long stretch). Pls give tips for electric karts too. Thank you.
Hi Howard! Most of the time, taking the wide line IS actually the straightest line. Keep your momentum up, but the wide exit out of a corner is better. When I say straight line, if this means sacrificing momentum then definitely take the wide line for exiting. Hope I haven't confused you! Cheers
I’ve been driving just around town for about 6 months a lot. I’m looking to apply as a race driver for my formula student / F SAE team. Have any links to tips for this etc like karting? Figure I could get some karting experience first. I recently got a sim racing wheel Thrustmaster Tx what do you think about using this to train aswell as it has some strong force feedback?
the only thing with the aggression rule is that to some people it can come of as dangerous driving, the way you drive in this and the way you drive into people would get you kicked off at most indoor and outdoor karting tracks for brushing them into corner (although i see it as good racing and taking a gap) , plus most inexperienced people tend to close the door on you because they never look behind them, i got a black flag for exactly that the other day and one doing exactly what you did at 4:37 where someone spun in front and i couldn't react in time, apparently i was going too fast even though i didn't hit him as hard as you did in the video moral of the story:time trials are better than racing, and also it not always about the track, its about what organisers let you do and not do, outdoor karting is better for this because there's more room
I'm 88kg's not fat just well built and 172 cm's and wait for it, I'm 63 yrs old!! Will that weight be a disadvantage as a novice? I'm very competitive and I also have very fast reflexes for my age, going in 2 weeks with 8 mates from the pub 6 of them have a reasonable amount of experience, the best guy (apparently) is very light. I last went go-karting in 1992 outdoors on a rough surface so no experience really. Appreciate any tips on top of what is on the vid. Thanks.
how is this possible that light weight guy is fastest when go kart tracks are like 90% Corners ? corner speed is important and i learnt today that with light weight corner grip is not competitive. i am light weight
I learned the hard way, at 88 kg's if you don't steer correctly into the bends you slide a fraction as the weight carries you further than if you're light, that fraction slows down your acceleration away from the bends. I live in the UK and when we get ice on the road in winter, the heavy cars slide more than the light cars and trucks are even worse. Having said that, in truth 90% is about practice and skill. I need more practice!
I notice you weaving around before the race, can you actually build heat in the kart front tyres doing this? What else can you do to get the tyres up to operating temperature as quickly as possible - front and rear.
Yes that's possibly the only way to get heat into the tyres. Also try understeering hard into a corner to create friction and warn the tyres that way. Kimi Raikkonen also does it before some races.
@@KevinYep What is your throttle technique for minimising wheel spin and drifting? Do you try to apply power gently, or nail it then back off when the sliding starts?
you should not lean into the turn but out of it (need pressure on the outer wheels as they need all the grip when turning) and not hold on to anything like the steering column. sit straight up and relaxed, lean out, and use a ribprotector or something else to make sure you fit tightly in your seat and not hurt your ribs
I also lean out on entry. The cornering forces will force your body into that position so there is no point in fighting it. Get in the correct position, then you can focus on putting in some consistent inputs rather than expelling energy fighting to keep your weight on the inside.
+Blessed 94 Thank you Blessed 94 for the comments. I stood corrected a while ago about the leaning aspect of cornering. However what's your take on weight assisting grip? There had been SO MUCH conjecture about this issue on this video. Do you believe weight assists grip or hinders it? I know it hinders speed.
+Blessed 94 Yes of course. My whole point was that weight to a certain extent adds vertical force on the kart and tyres hence adding grip. Past a certain point, too much weight becomes counter-productive forcing the kart to work harder and therefore become slower. Thanks for understanding.
wouldnt sitting further forward induce slight understeer? i know gokarts are very different to real racecars but i imagine weight bias works the same way not backwards
Well in my experience it certainly helps. When you're sitting down, the majority of your weight is at the back with the engine. Having more weight over the front tyres is similar to a front spoiler enabling downforce and downward pressure on the tyres, pushing them on to the track.
Wait at 5ˋ56 you say lean to the inside of the corner to get grip. Isnt it the other way around? I was told to lean outside the corner to get grip to the outside wheels which should be better. Can you clarify?
Ive been to gocarting 3 times and other sports related to racing and got 53.999 seconds which is really good compared to people with members. (They get that time) but usually they get 45 on average
Jinxz Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here ua-cam.com/video/EiNu1yzV1uA/v-deo.html
I like to hit my brakes when I go in for turns while I go kart race but it makes me slow and causes me to bump into the walls sometimes so how do I go faster as I'm turning my go kart on turns
+Aaliyah Greensburg Hi Aaliyah. First of all, what a beautiful name you have! When it comes to cornering on a track, it is recommended to brake before you get to the turn and decelerate, then turn in and accelerate through and out of the corner. Are you bumping into the inside walls or outside walls of the corners? It might be that you're going into the corner too fast. Try to be smooth and get your racing lines sorted first. The kart will naturally want to go faster in a straight line, so you'll be able to figure out how fast you can go around corners once you keep the kart as smooth and straight as possible. The speed will come afterwards.
Hi Zac. I couldn't tell you as I live in Australia! And I only went to the states for the first time this year and only to Cali. I guess you could do a search on UA-cam for other people that have raced there and compare times? Cheers for watching!
Every corner is different but you want to minimize the actual time that you are braking so that you carry as much speed into the corner as possible. From there you want to accelerate as early as possible as well. You only want to press the brakes once to slow you down and press the accelerator once to go again. Avoid braking too early and then coasting around a corner - you want to go deep into that corner and then brake, turn and accelerate.
@@king0vdarkness Again it depends. You don't want to brake too late that you'll understeer. You still need to keep it smooth and find the latest point of when you can brake, then turn and accelerate out.
@@KevinYep I won!! I came fifth in the practice lap, but won the actual one because of your first tip, aggression! I did end up smashing one slow car out the way, but luckily it was only once, what would you say is the best way to avoid cars spinning in front of you?
Great video! I have one question though: aren't you supposed to move your weight to the outside of the corner? Because karts obviously don't have differentials and you want to try to lift the inner rear wheel?
+Philipp Duffner Hi Phil! Yes you're right. I've since realised that leaning to the inside is wrong. It seems counter intuitive but leaning out should help. Thanks for watching the tips and the comment! Good luck with your racing.
do not put your weight in the inside of the kart, the outside wheel spins faster. If you put your wheight on the inside you will lokc the chassis. (can someone explain this better)
Hey mate, Any advices for me? I'm 55kg and in pretty good at karting. Have a red bull tournament which I entered to within a week. I tried braking at tight U corners, but still I tend to drift, but taking a wider approach allows others to corner past me. This sucks
+Shaheer quercuz Hi Shaheer. Thanks for posting the question. Because you're light like me and tend to drift, you're going to have to become best friends with that brake pedal. Acceleration and speed isn't the problem for you - braking and grip is what you need. Still keep your wide line for exit speed, but your braking skill will need to improve. You need later braking and as much grip as possible, then straight back on the accelerator. Brake until the front tyres grip, even oversteer into the corners and then stomp on the gas to get going again. Hope this helps!
+Kevin Yep great! Guess there is no other way but to make the brakes my best friend and master it. Thanks Kevin! Man I hope I'm not in trouble for the tournament lol ...
Remember to go as far into the corner as you can before braking, then brake only once as hard as you need to, to slow down and turn in ensuring the front grips, then accelerate away!
It certainly does give you more grip but it also affects your speed. People keep commenting that being heavier doesn't give you more grip but I digress. They keep getting into the argument that it affects your speed which of course it does but my comment was based on weight and grip not weight and speed.
Heavier doesn't equal more grip. If that was true race cars would weigh 10 tons. Weight turns into lateral momentum, stressing the tires more, and in turn decreasing the amount of available grip to allow you to turn faster. Less weight means less stress and less lateral force on the tire so you can turn faster.
Hi Tall Abacus, thanks for the comment. I believe weight equals more grip but only to a certain extent. I liken it to downforce. Downforce is basically trying to create artificial weight by pushing the tyres into the ground. If cars DID weigh 10 tons, imagine the grip they would have. But of course they would be very very slow. It's a balance. Imagine someone that is 70kg versus someone racing that is 90kgs. I've seen it happen. The heavier person has more grip (they have more weight on the tyres essentially) but they are slower through the straights.
I figured that was the mentality. The big difference is that downforce is applied straight down, IE perpendicular to the ground. This Pushes the tires into the road surface which helps combat the force being applied laterally. Adding weight on top of the car, kart, etc...adds not just perpendicular force downward but also lateral force sideways. Weight is always the enemy of speed.
What you call "grip" is really "maximal lateral force on the tyre" - frictional force. While it's true that every kg adds to the normal (vertical) force on the tyre and therefore adds to the maximal frictional force, that is also an additional kg that must be acted upon to accelerate the cart centrifugally and cause turning. If the weight were as low to the ground as possible, you'd expect them to cancel out completely (F(fric) = mu*F(norm) = mu*m*g = m*v^2/r). This is in an ideal scenario and does not account for the component of friction provided by adhesion of the surfaces, which makes the additional weight less beneficial to grip. Additionally, driver weight is added significantly higher than the point where frictional force is applied (the ground/tyre interface), and will result in significant transfer of weight force to the (already heavily loaded) outside tyres. This is a bad thing (and is why racecars are designed to lower the centre-of-mass as much as possible). The only reason more downforce becomes infeasible is because you're sacrificing power to create it (by virtue of the increased drag). More downforce is always better in isolation, but when you create it with weight it comes at the cost of making the car harder to turn, and when you use a wing you're making the car slower (assuming you're already able to put all your engine power to the ground. tl;dr More driver weight is always bad.
TIP TO WIN EVERY RACE:
Go faster than everyone else
Obviouslyataco Haha doesn't necessarily mean you will get past everyone and win though! But it certainly helps! LOL
Finish first does the trick!
For the beginners this advise is a straight direction to loose. Because they interpret "faster" incorrectly and do "fast" on slow turns )
😶👍
Obviouslyataco *then
out of all 5 tips, finding the line and avoiding drifting are probably most important. most tracks, the line is easy to find, because usually the track is darker along the best line. once you're halfway decent, the absolute best way to get fast is to talk to one of the track employees. they'll have probably already watched you, and can give you the hot tips on where to shave off time. some employees will even go out and let you follow them, which will really give you a feel for where you're at.
Hi Donnie. Yes excellent suggestion. I recently talked to one of the staff at a track I was at and they gave me some good tips on where I was going wrong and could improve my times. Thanks for watching!
Yea I Tokyo drifted round them corners the first time I did go carts.
Aweeesoommme!! But drifting too much is bad for times!! And please don't steal my girl. LOL
I didnt
Will Smith I did too. I thought i was doing well, but then I learned how much time you loose by slowing down the cart when drifting.
honestly who didnt drift every corner the first time, especially when its just you and your friends
Mr.StealYoGurl *karts. Sorry to correct you.
when i went go karting first time i tried to drift every corner :D
That bad
Lol same
OMG WTH ME 2
same ,until I noticed it's un-efficient
BlackBladeFX everyone watched fast and furious when they were young haha
Just went to my first ever go karting trip, i have been a sim racer for 2-3 years now, and was shaking, but when i got in the kart, everything just felt awesome and right, qualified p4 and ended up winning the 16 lap race. Cant believe i won, with the second fastest time of the day at my track. I did use your tips and it looked like it also helped a lot.
The people ahead of me was my uncle, who have raced many karts in his life, a pro karting driver and the guy who paid for it all! 100% going Karting next month again!
Did drift a little, but not enough to slow me down fully, even had a little lockup
Track was Racehall in Aarhus - Denmark
That's is so great to hear! Thanks for letting everyone know your experiences and commenting on my video. Good luck for next time!
Shift your weight to the outside, not inside. This way you put more weight on the outside wheel that does the turning and load it more, plus it helps to slide the inner wheels.
Heavier also doesnt mean more grip, inertia ruins it.
M3nt2 R3pr3z3nt that’s exactly what I did when I was gokarting, I did it since cadet 9 to 4K junior lightweight
i was thinking the same about the increased weight lol, technically hes right but the weight cancels it out lol
You get more out of the tires with 4 evenly loaded rather than the outside 2. The true art to karting is smooth transitions on the pedals and using the steering along with brake to hit the apex with the right angle as to quickly apply power without over slowing the kart. You can manage your body weight for even further refinement of the karts handling.
Although heavier often doesn’t mean more grip, I’m really light and at the place I go most often the top karts are actually just the same but with the limit taken off, although the limit is pretty close to the top speed you can get on the track so it can be pretty tricky getting power down
Thanks pal this helped a lot👍 I'm a regular go karter but for some reason had never been able to beat my personal best lap time (30s), after watching your video I managed to complete the track in 27s with the best lap time being 25.5 seconds.👍👍👍
Zain Iqbal what class?
General good information just one thing wrong, during the corners you want your weight on the outside wheels of the kart (those are the wheels that are actually gripping the track), so you dont lean inside the corner, you let the G force move you to the outside of the corner and shift your weight balance to the outside tyres.
I would say that leaning out would make you slower. To get the highest cornering speed you are trying to use 100% of the the grip from all four tyres . By leaning to the outside you are putting more load on the tyres that is already slipping. By leaning inside you put load onto the tyre that is not being worked as hard. The inside tyre is still doing work, the friction from the compound does not disappear. The goal is to make it do more.
No, thats a comon mistake. On kart (no diferencial) you cannot have grip from the 4 tyres when turning, if you lean inside the corner you are minimizing the grip, you want to maximize it by leaning outside. This is not an opinion, its a fact and its teached in every karting school.
That's what I also heard! lean "into" the grip, it feels SO wrong to lean away from the corner but they say it's beter :)
That's wrong Seb. You should shift towards the outside to get better grip, you'r even supposed to let the inner rear wheel lift off the gorund //kart racer with years of experience
leaning out is the way to do in karting
tip 3: avoid drifting?!
Not interested.
LOL Love the comment!
I went Go Karting for the first time yesterday, and with the tips in the comments and in the video I can't wait to hit the track again! I need to study up so I can get better than fourth place out of five!
+JamesLOLREVIEWS That's awesome to hear James! Go as fast as you can next time, avoid drifting and go even faster! Good luck!
Great tips, I often see young kids ask in the briefing ‘can we drift?’ Or something along the lines and the response most of the time is ‘If you want to crash, yes’. Another tip I’d say is look out for slow kids, they often try to ram me into the wall when overtaking so you can get stuck behind them for ages if it’s a tight track
Hi there! Thanks for the comment and taking some time out to check out my video. Cheers
Great tips for beginners. Thanks!
Hi DK! Thanks for leaving a comment! Cheers for watching.
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Nice tips
go karting with friends tomorrow, thanks for this!
You're welcome! Hope you take the win!
Aggression is the only way to be really fast, you have to be on the limit all the time if you want to win, as soon as you relax your times go down. Great video!
Kinda true but not really true, you can definently be too aggressive which will slow you down.
Higt Mance
Agreed!
I am impressed by your driving style!
I just tried karting for the first time in my life last week. I was on a company trip and we all went karting in Malaga.
As I said, it was my first time. It took me a while to get used to the speed.
After a while I really started to enjoy it but I noticed I wasn't able to be as fast as the fastest guys on track. I was trying to go late on brakes and accelerating as soon as possible but, as you were saying, this brought me to be very "dirty" in my driving. The kart was sliding a lot. It was fun but I immediately thought that this was costing me time.
I really didn't know how to handle U-turns in the most effective way possible. I was simply trying to move at the side of the track and get into the apex as late as possible. I thought that by doing this I would have get the kart straight right at the exit of the turn and this would have allowed me to get on the accelerator aggressively without sliding around. However, the late braking and turning the kart on itself was making me loose so much momentum. Hence, I tried to use a different line and let the kart run as much as possible. I was just slowing it down and then turning trying to use all the track. But even using this technique didn't really seemed to improve the situation. Unfortunately, we didn't have the chance to check our lap times from one lap to the other. Therefore, I couldn't make direct comparision. I had to base it all on my impression!
However, watching you, it seems that you are capable of keeping a tight line without losing momentum. I would really like to know how do you do it!
By the way, after 10 minutes of free pratice and qualify, my arms were in complete pain! I was even having a hard time trying to close my hands!
What was the problem? Was I driving in a wrong position?
(I am 1.73 cm height and 58 Kg).
Marco Bianchi Hi Marco, Thanks for watching. My advice to you is that to be great at handling a kart, whilst you have to be smooth you also have to 'muscle' the kart depending on the track and how much grip you have. Because of your light weight you won't have as much grip. To get better, I would recommend trying to add some muscle and work out your arms. That way you will be able wrestle the wheel and steer the kart easier. U-turns and hairpin turns are quite tricky. It's a cross between hugging the corner to take the shortest distance possible but also keeping your speed up to get good exit speed and line. Try mixing it up by driving at a different track now and then.
Thanks for you quick answer and the advices!
Indeed, I got the best race start out of all my colleagues! They all said it was because of my weight...
I thought that it was unfair to blamed it all on my weight but they may be right!
What about body position? I've heard people saying that you should move it at the opposite side of the corner you are facing. Is that true?
This is not me, but it shows you the track. It is very short!
According to the track owner my best lap during the race was a 36.6.
It is 3 seconds slower than this guy in the video! That's a lot!
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Awesome advice ! you are detailed yet so practical about how you approach the track and the right competitive mind set of the race. More please !!! Thank You Kevin!
Nice video love it! Agree with everything except for the beginning about the Weight. If you weigh less you tend the wheel hop more through the corners what I do because I weigh very light is I backup my entry and accelerate through the corners and it seems to work better. But besides that this video was great I signed up to an indoor go kart league starting next month can't wait thanks for the tips!
One vital tip everyone forgets, is building confidence up. You won't be the fastest the first time round. First time I went with a set of tools from work, I finished 9th out of 14, but lacked the raw confidence at the beginning and towards the end when I spun, as I basically was so far away from the steering wheel, when I realised I could actually move my seat. I'm about 62kg, yet I was being passed by the big lads, we're talking 90+kg on straights, but these rental karts were absolutely destroyed. However, at another track, with vastly superior karts, I was finishing 5th/14th a lot, so it tells a tale. Main trick is to keep going, start learning the track by going to practice sessions and looking at lap times. Once you get a feel for one track, you should be able to apply knowledge and experience at other tracks, as well as beginning to participate in races amongst other drivers.
Good tips!
I find turning my head into a corner helps find the apex when turning into a corner rather than weight transfer.
Nice driving!
Thanks for the kind words! And for watching
This is undoubtedly the most bandit video out there
+f1beast012 LOL not exactly sure what means but I'll take it as a compliment!
Thanks Kevin. I ride bikes on track and road and sports cars on the road. This was informative for me
+E Man no worries at all. Glad to help!
Great video, I've raced there few times im 5f 4 and weigh over 90kg and have managed a 27.2 one day hoping break the 26s mark.
Thanks this really helped me. I raced at my local track and I was scared of losing because the time before I was a bit slow, but then when I stepped in then kart I rememberd what you said and I won by a few laps so thanks.
Oh wow that's fantastic news! Glad that this video helped! WOW you won be a few LAPS! That's crazy. Keep up the good work, thanks for commenting and feel free to check out my other videos! Cheers
Sitting closer to the steering wheel means less grip on rear (driving) wheels? Why would you want that? Please tell me if I am wrong
Hi Amar, I look at it this way. When you sit down on the floor as if you were in a gokart, most of your weight is at the back. Also on a gokart, the engine is also at the back. Having so much weight already over the rear wheels means less weight over the front wheels. Logic would dictate that this would give the turning wheels less grip.
I can understand that, but at our track and karts, bigger problem is oversteering than understeering.
That track looks slippery
slippery is fun! it gives you more of a challenge
It looks clean af not slippery
sounds silly but speed is important you want to be going as fast as you can so you can slow down quicker by going faster you will be warming up your tyres and that will give you more grip on the corners you may want to take it a little easy on the first few laps when going into corners because you need to give time to warm up those tyres, after 2-3 laps start getting aggressive.
Great advice. Thanks Harry
Tip 3 is hard, I love Powerslideing too much. Sometimes I let the rear break out deliberately in corners to give me some space with an too aggressive driver.
You'd think his "biggest tip of all" would be have fun, but "aggression aggression aggression" nice video ;-)
+Mikhail LoL Go karting and having fun is implied! That's why I go in the first place. Thanks for watching Mikhail.
I watched your other video, good content
wow that 5 very good ways i should improve on in go karting, thx Kevin
Lean Forward, get past the slower drivers (tight corners, don’t slide, smoothly thread the needle, etc.) AGRESSION!!
Wait what? I got a heart? Oh, thanks. This was just a reminder, I was going Go Karting the day after this comment was posted 😂
Hi Kevan, great video! However, you are incorrect about more weight equating to more grip. A lighter car will always be faster through a corner than a heavier car (as it has more grip and can therefore take the corner at a higher speed). This is because as the car comes off a straight and takes the corner it begins 'accelerating' in a different direction. The formula F=ma is then applied for the g force it experiences towards the outside of the corner. Having a higher mass in this formula equates to a higher g force experienced (=higher lateral load). The tyres can only handle a certain lateral load before the lose grip and slide. Therefore, having less weight means more grip, as the lateral load the car experiences will be lower. Hope that makes sense!
i race at lemans in greenville south carolina i agree with all of your tips especially the last one. When i see the times posted online, im like dang how in the world are these guys getting in the low 20s? Ive been told at the track that i run at can be ran at full speed thats why i watched your video. im gonna try those tips too especially sitting closer to the steering wheel. The racing line can be hard to find when your actually running the track though. great video sir.
Hi Tyler, wow thanks for the positive feedback. It's really not a great video and I'm not the be-all and end-all of karting professionals, I'm just a guy that likes to head to the track now and then, and I've never been in a real race kart, just hire karts - but I know enough from experience about what to look out for and how to really analyse and improve yourself so that you're genuinely competitive.
Wow South Caroline eh? To be honest, most of my viewers are from the USA - Don't know if you saw but I had a race out at Santa Clara last year, it was my first time in the states. Would love to get over there again and check out more tracks..
Thank you for the tips! I am a rookie in a racing league in the usa. I will be trying these tips my next race!
Hi there! awesome! glad to hear that you'll be entering a race! I hope my tips get you on the podium! cheers for watching!
I was so amazed by your driving that I didn’t really pay attention to the tips. You should definitely do some real racing
Manpal Bajwa completely different
By sit closer , do you mean lean In or physically sit closer
I mean physically sit closer by moving the seat.
great tips. it's so addictive watching this :-) can't wait to have another go at my brother this summer :) he's been beating me for far too long lol
Thanks for watching Felix! Hope that your brother doesn't watch these tips too so you can eventually beat him! Cheers
Felix Reali Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here !! Giving away £100 and a PS4 to our 2k subscriber.
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Just started go karting after 12 years of last doing it. Just brought my own helmet and hoping to put a couple of go pros on it to start doing go karting episodes also to get into the PPIK series/league,
+JustMitchPool Hiya Mitch! Awesome, can't wait to see some footage. 12 years since you last did it eh? You must be around my vintage then.. LoL. Keep an eye out for my Next 5 go kart tips video coming soon. Thanks for watching my video, hope you got something useful out of it. Cheers
Kevin Yep Yea, its been a long time. Were going again on the 28th for the sunday unlimited. Hopefully get some few good laps without yellow lights lol. I'v already uploaded 2 videos, heat 3 is the best which is just rendering now and should be up later. Got a new helmet today, fit the H3+ on the side facing forward and the entry gopro to look to the rear. l'll sub! awesome channel you have and tips are helpful.
When you are heavier, you have less grip in the corners but more FRICTION in a straight line which means that your acceleration is slower. Overall: more weight = longer braking zone, lower mid-corner speed and slower acceleration. Also you shouldn't be too aggressive because if youll be too aggressive ex. With the throttle, you will slide more, if youll be too aggressive with thr brakes, yoy will lock up and spin because of it. Also if youll be hitting everyone yoy overtake you are likely to be black flagged.
Edit: Also also, f1 drivers don't slide their card because they have downforce which doesnt work sideways and their cars go way faster than your usual gokart(im not talking about some 250 hp monsters) which makes a slide harder to control. Gokarts on the other hand are known for being unstable and likely to slide so if you're approaching a tight and narrow hairpin, especially after an other hairpin you shouldn't be afraid to slide a little bit on yhe entry(remember to stop sliding before the apex/the middle of the corner because if not, you will lose speed on the exit.
SuperSpeeder Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here !! Giving away £100 and a PS4 to our 2k subscriber.
ua-cam.com/video/EiNu1yzV1uA/v-deo.html
tip 1 is huge. i figured it out myself once. constantly thinking i just had a bad kart that understeers, turns out i just had to move the seat.
Hi Peter. Yep that's it. Sometimes the smallest things seem to help. Cheers mate and thanks for sharing your experience.
This video is very useful! It deserves more views in my opinion
Cheers Zac! Hope you get something useful out of my video!
Go karting again tomorrow! Can't wait, come back to refresh my memory 👍🏻
Hey Kevin! ~ cool vid man :)
I was living in Melbs for a bit and got down to Auscarts a few times.. Managed to get get down to around the 28.1 mark so I think you are a bit faster than me.. We take really similar lines, but I found sticking close to the inside barrier on the main straight really helped me.. Kinda feel like you don't carry the speed after the hair-pin to justify taking the racing line, and you can hook it pretty hard without slipping before the pit lane.. Love to hear your thoughts on this cos I was (and still am) super keen to get into the 27sec bracket!!
Hi there! I would say at that hairpin coming onto the straight, you definitely need to make that turn as wide as possible. That is the best line. That way you can keep up momentum and revs in the kart, and all the way down the straight. I've driven there lots of times and have tried to analyse every corner! Have a look at some of my other videos where I am chasing someone and you will see the people I struggle to get passed are taking the same line (usually me friend Leong) , but people I get passed easily are deviating of that line.. I'm heading to the track on Sunday 28th of June 2015! So I will put up another video of that race. Cheers for watching!
Hi there Kevin i have a 100cc kart and i am trying to get into the nacional (portuguese) kart championship next year doing my best and trying to find tips to improve my driving. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Pedro! Wow that's awesome to hear! Good luck and keep pushing!
Hi Glenn, for some reason I'm unable to reply to your comment. Anyway - braking and accelerating at the same time at the AusCarts track is frowned upon by the track stewards, in fact they'll probably kick you off for doing it. So I don't encourage people to do this. For maximum speed I stab the brake and then almost oversteer into the corner and almost drift it around. I find that works for me for the best stability and speed. Cheers!
Kevin Yep ah thanks, so its not just ace karts that police it. i know tuke don't coz i do it all the time on the corner after the back straight (depending on kart)
***** Hi Glenn, yeah I raced out at Tuke in South Morang ages ago, before I was really even into karting all that much. Have actually done the peewee 50's there as well. Never rode a motorbike before and came 3rd! I think because of the size of the track, they don't have a lot of helpers around and therefore they probably just warm the seats up at the pavilion and come running down once they see someone spin or have a stack. So for them to scrutinise people using both pedals is a bit hard. Anyhow, I'm racing this Sunday down at Auscarts! Yaay for me! LOL
Kevin Yep how old d y have to be in order to be in go kart racing? Can you have sponsers? And do you have to get your own go kart?
+Cringe Worthiness Hi there! Thanks for watching and posting a question. I think the age is generally 14 and older. Anything younger and it's generally considered that you have to drive with an adult in a dual kart if available. Some go kart tracks let people on as young as 10 though. You don't have to have your own kart if you go to a hire track.
Kevin Yep tjx
Hi kevin im only 13yrs old and i want to start go karting. I saw your video and gave me some good advice. Thanks
+Benjamin Mackellin Hiya Benjamin! First of all I would like to thank you for watching my video! And secondly thank you again for the compliment! Gokarting is different for everyone, and I'm sure that every time you race, two things will happen. You will either win or you will learn. Every single time. Cheers and good luck with your racing. Maybe one day you can get a GoPro and upload some videos too!
Crashing is the worst feeling, yesterday my foot slipped of the brake and went straight into the barrier on a hairpin
I was dazed and couldnt walk properly and my arm went stiff for a few days.
Thank god it wasn’t anything worse, or my mum would’ve killed me
THE Random Watermelon Jeez that sounds like a really bad accident. Yes I've had more than my fair share of accidents over the years. I should put a compilation together - I've had some big crashes. Luckily you're okay. Thanks for watching.
One major thing you forgot is consistency, you can go ahead and put in one really quick lap, but at the end of the day someone who is consistently fast will always win
Thanks for the tip Jacob!
Hey man thx for this i won my champoinship because of this
Zach you are most welcome. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Best of luck for future races!
@@KevinYep He man I am trying to get into rye house karting how would you suggest going about it
Went from a 32 to a 29 cause of this 👌🏽
That's awesome to hear! Well done, that's a big improvement.
Cool layout of the track.
Thanks bro
OMG Im in London about to go the local Kart track and wanted to show my GF some general tips.. First video "this one" only happens to be my old local Port Melbourne track.. Twice a week i would go down there and try break that lap record.. What is it now down there.. I'm sure it was a 23 something back in 2008/9/10.. Great video and nice lines. Miss that place but managed to replace my fix with Rallying in the UK..
Haha that's awesome! Cheers for watching
Nice video, congratulations on your 500,000 see you at 1,000,000
LoL nice name dude. Thanks for the awesome compliment too - would be crazy to get to 1mill.
Kevin yep Kevin Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here !! Giving away £100 and a PS4 to our 2k subscriber.
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Wow, you got some of my tips in there like Tip 2
im watching cus im going go karting in few hours
Good luck for your race!
@@KevinYep its going to be my second time!@
How did you go in the race WunkaQQ?
@@KevinYep was very fun i got 2nd place
Left foot or right foot braking ? what's your preference Kevin .
+John Jayson Hi John. Well in gokarts it's always left foot braking. In a normal car its normally right foot braking for me.
If it was racing and there was a clutch, it would still be right foot braking. What about yourself?
Thank you for those tips, will definitely try them in next race :D
DetailScaleView No worries at all! Hope you get to the top of the podium! Be consistent, don't make any mistakes and you'll get there. Cheers for watching.
Actually it's not good to stay close to the steering wheel
1. Because rule 3 - having more weight to the front of your car make your rear wheels lighter off the ground and you tend to have a better chance of going into a drift or spinning out - you want to have your weight center of the car
2. It's not safe - in case of a crash (especially a head on) you always want to lean your back into your seat to avoid smashing into the steering wheel - you'll never see professional drivers close to the steering wheel, you want to have the wheel arms length from you with your elbows bended a bit kinda like suspension
for 2) don't you have a seat belt on the karts you race?
@@JakobusVdL Having a seatbelt doesn't mean that you won't move slightly forward and hit the steering wheel. Take a real car for example
Track staff should make sure you don't hit the wheel with a seatbelt on. If you can, it's way too loose and you're too close to the wheel.
Nice vid! Sometimes a little sliding is good if you have enough power, but not with typically at rental karting places. I'm used to slide a bit in my car on corners, and I tend to slide a little bit at some corners, such as at the end of reducing radius corner after the long straight. It feels fast because I am entering the corner fast, but I can hear the engine bog down a bit. Also, sometimes the kart starts to skip sideways. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve in these areas?
+koxkola Hi there! Well after going around this track A LOT of times and still not being as fast as the best guys, to avoid skipping sideways I'd definitely recommend just dabbing the brakes ever so slightly just to keep the kart smooth and all of the wheels in contact with the track. You may be coming into the corners a bit too fast. Smooth and tight is what you want your line to be. Leaning helps a lot too. Try this next time, and your smoothness will help determine an even better line and overall speed. That way the revs shouldn't dip too much.
+Kevin Yep Thanks! I'll try leaning and be more smooth next time. And try not to lose time in tight sections. I stopped using brakes recently since the top time driver never used brakes and he was 0.3 faster than I, so I decided not to use brakes since. These karts aren't as fast as the one in this vid though. I might have a vid of my next outing. My previous ones are on my channel as well.
Great tips and great video man, I can't wait to give some of these tips a go next time I go to the karts :)
+Michael Ronin Hey thanks! Yeah it's a pretty crappy video but somehow it has a lot of views! I made a much better one called Next 5 GoKart tips.
Kevin Yep
Awesome, i'll check it out :)
+Michael Ronin Awesome!
You can make a pass at any part of that track. I am pretty sure if you go back through all of Kev's vids someone has been passed at each part of this track. Smooth turn in keeps your speed up out of the corners and then its about positioning the kart to squeeze through the gap or setting up to dive into a turn and out brake your opponent.
@Kev- you need a part 2 about holding your position.
sliced serve Thanks sliced serve, or should I say 'Soap'. Will make another video one day, it might even include you. Hahaha
Thanks for that advice I just entered karting on a 700m track at Wessex raceway on the 140cc and I got a39.7 and if I was 3 seconds quicker then I'll get into the same times as the adults (I'm 12 )
+Ace Drifterz Wow only 12! Sounds like you have a promising future ahead of you in karting! Keep up the good work, you will only gain more experience and get quicker every time you race. Cheers for watching!
Kevin Yep thanks I try to get 35 next time I go the track record was 3 years ago it was 31.3 in an adult cart so I definitely need practice
+Ace Drifterz Yep remember smooth and fast, and grip through every corner.
Kevin Yep out of 24 laps I spun once but an 8 yr old rammed me into a wall but on that lap I still beat his best lap
This is good
But if you are light weight sitting away from the wheel will give you traction in the rear
Yay iam gonna go on gokart!!
+Tephinq - Minecraft Good luck to you, hope you get to go soon!
hey guys, for a 50kmph kart with a decent wide track use of breaks mandatory ? without breaks am able to get decent time but any disadvantages ?
+srikanth bn Hi! You definitely need to brake. Braking helps you control the kart, get into corners deeper and later, and also helps you become a better driver overall in terms of being able to race different cars.
I wish I had seen this before I went carting a few weeks back. It was pathetic. Lol. Well, at least I’ll be better prepared for the next time!
LOL How badly did you go? Maybe everyone else that you raced against watched this video! Just remember, lots of aggression and get on that racing line as soon as possible.
Thank you for the tips. I'm going carting for the 1st time jan 2020.at a party at a casino. Should I go practice?
Hi Julie, you should only go and practice if you want to win! But seriously though, it won't hurt getting used to go karting, getting a feel of it, losing your fear and getting used to the noise, vibration and the fumes.
@@KevinYep Yes! my thought exactly. I want to get the feel of it.
julie donofrio Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here
ua-cam.com/video/EiNu1yzV1uA/v-deo.html
At 128kg I dont really have any acceleration lol, but being this heavy kept me from sliding and made cornering a blast
Hi The Bronchus. Right so you had extra weight which gave you extra grip, but you sacrificed acceleration and speed. Yknow gokarting is surprisingly great for cardio and fitness. Keep going. You'll enjoy it more and it might even get you a little bit leaner.
@@KevinYep Yeah man I was surprised at how much work 20 minutes of go karting was, pretty motivated to lose some weight to beat my smaller friends, but at 1,94m I tend to stay a lot heavier in general
Hey man all I can say is if you can manage to stay with them and then start dropping a bit of weight and improving your driving at the same time, it's only a matter of time before your beating them. Analyse what you're doing wrong and where you can improve, buying a GoPro really helps with motivation and gives you an excuse (In my car anyway) to check each corner and see where you can shave off a few seconds each lap.
@@KevinYep I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the tips man...earned a new sub
Dear Kevin, it might be even better if you can raise your volume and tone to be at a higher pitch.
Thanks for the good tips.
+Phil Zee No worries and thanks for the advice! Yeah this video is actually fairly badly made. Hope you get to the track soon! I'm having a race tomorrow so I'm pumped!
Does using the brake and accelerator at the same time work at turn 1? Works well at lemans as you don't lose time getting on and off the throttle cos its a faster track.
Ok so in Gurugram in India where I am from, the best track is the Sky Kart track and those are electric karts. Naturally since those are electric they have faster acceleration than normal karts but it does make them uncontrollable in corner 1(90 degree right after long stretch). Pls give tips for electric karts too. Thank you.
BUT! What about momentum, and taking slightly wider line on exit rather than straight like you said?
Hi Howard! Most of the time, taking the wide line IS actually the straightest line. Keep your momentum up, but the wide exit out of a corner is better. When I say straight line, if this means sacrificing momentum then definitely take the wide line for exiting. Hope I haven't confused you! Cheers
Why is go karting so expensive here in uk. It costs about 30 pounds for half an hour on track.
Hiya, yes karting is fairly pricey everywhere you go. But yeah, that price is a bit excessive.
It is $30 for two 8 min races on a far less appealing track in North Carolina, USA. Half an hour is a steal on this track!
If you think that's expensive, wait till you hear the invoices of real race karts..
I’ve been driving just around town for about 6 months a lot. I’m looking to apply as a race driver for my formula student / F SAE team. Have any links to tips for this etc like karting? Figure I could get some karting experience first. I recently got a sim racing wheel Thrustmaster Tx what do you think about using this to train aswell as it has some strong force feedback?
Sorry but nothing compares to the real thing. I suggest you get in touch with some local kart clubs and go from there.
Your supposed to lean to the outside when in a corner to give traction to the outside tires so you dont slide to the outside
+melle ouwens Hi Melle. Thanks! Yes I realise that now. A few people have commented on the same thing. Cheers!
I just got back from my 1st ever go karting. Why didn't i check this out earlier?? 😂
LOL it's never too late to get tips!
@@KevinYep I'm gonna go again and implement it 😉
About to race my coworkers, so I opened this video. :D
Ernest Wolf Awesome! Thanks for watching. Hope you get on the podium!
Thanks, man! Yeah, we have an office event happening in two hours, so I want to be somewhat prepared and hopefully even win!
Ernest Wolf No worries at all! Make sure you also check out my Next 5 go kart tips (6-10) as well. Cheers
Will do!
the only thing with the aggression rule is that to some people it can come of as dangerous driving, the way you drive in this and the way you drive into people would get you kicked off at most indoor and outdoor karting tracks for brushing them into corner (although i see it as good racing and taking a gap) , plus most inexperienced people tend to close the door on you because they never look behind them, i got a black flag for exactly that the other day and one doing exactly what you did at 4:37 where someone spun in front and i couldn't react in time, apparently i was going too fast even though i didn't hit him as hard as you did in the video
moral of the story:time trials are better than racing, and also it not always about the track, its about what organisers let you do and not do, outdoor karting is better for this because there's more room
Hi Jay, yes you're totally right, it depends on the track and the staff. Thanks for taking the time to comment on the video. Cheers!
Kevin Yep thanks for the video! The track looks fantastic!
useful video
i love karting !
thank you
ASIA ROSE You're welcome!
Helped a lot thanks :)
Kylie King Cheers Kylie! Glad my video helped!
I'm 88kg's not fat just well built and 172 cm's and wait for it, I'm 63 yrs old!! Will that weight be a disadvantage as a novice? I'm very competitive and I also have very fast reflexes for my age, going in 2 weeks with 8 mates from the pub 6 of them have a reasonable amount of experience, the best guy (apparently) is very light. I last went go-karting in 1992 outdoors on a rough surface so no experience really. Appreciate any tips on top of what is on the vid. Thanks.
Cheers for that Kevin, I'll let you know how I got on!
DickTurpin No worries at all! Don't forget to check out my Next 5 go kart tips video as well.
how is this possible that light weight guy is fastest when go kart tracks are like 90% Corners ? corner speed is important and i learnt today that with light weight corner grip is not competitive. i am light weight
I learned the hard way, at 88 kg's if you don't steer correctly into the bends you slide a fraction as the weight carries you further than if you're light, that fraction slows down your acceleration away from the bends. I live in the UK and when we get ice on the road in winter, the heavy cars slide more than the light cars and trucks are even worse. Having said that, in truth 90% is about practice and skill. I need more practice!
DickTurpin You're absolutely so right. There's no substitute for practice and experience.
I notice you weaving around before the race, can you actually build heat in the kart front tyres doing this?
What else can you do to get the tyres up to operating temperature as quickly as possible - front and rear.
Yes that's possibly the only way to get heat into the tyres. Also try understeering hard into a corner to create friction and warn the tyres that way. Kimi Raikkonen also does it before some races.
@@KevinYep Great thanks. Does that also help the rear tyres, or do you warm them by accelerating and braking......or drifting?? ;-)
@@JakobusVdL Drifting helps to warm the rear tyres for sure
@@KevinYep Thanks, That's the excuse I was looking for!
Drift like a hoon in the warm up, then tidy it up for the races.
@@KevinYep What is your throttle technique for minimising wheel spin and drifting?
Do you try to apply power gently, or nail it then back off when the sliding starts?
Thanks man! appreciate that! (y)
Gauranga Padhi No worries at all! Glad you enjoyed the video!
Me to
Have fun thats the main thing
you should not lean into the turn but out of it (need pressure on the outer wheels as they need all the grip when turning) and not hold on to anything like the steering column. sit straight up and relaxed, lean out, and use a ribprotector or something else to make sure you fit tightly in your seat and not hurt your ribs
Klaas-Jan Winkel Correct. I stay back on the seat, and i keep my arms somewhat stiff, some people say it looks like im driving with my shoulders.
I also lean out on entry. The cornering forces will force your body into that position so there is no point in fighting it. Get in the correct position, then you can focus on putting in some consistent inputs rather than expelling energy fighting to keep your weight on the inside.
+Blessed 94 Thank you Blessed 94 for the comments. I stood corrected a while ago about the leaning aspect of cornering. However what's your take on weight assisting grip? There had been SO MUCH conjecture about this issue on this video. Do you believe weight assists grip or hinders it? I know it hinders speed.
Kevin weight generates a vertical force. However, you must be aware of the effect weight has on centrifugal force.
+Blessed 94 Yes of course. My whole point was that weight to a certain extent adds vertical force on the kart and tyres hence adding grip. Past a certain point, too much weight becomes counter-productive forcing the kart to work harder and therefore become slower. Thanks for understanding.
Hi I went go karting today with your tip I came 5th out of 14 people
That is awesome to hear! Thank you for watching my videos! I really appreciate it. Where abouts did you race? Hope you get on the podium next time!
Haha I'm on holidays in France we went to karting in Montpellier
So.... retro mario kart was onto something
wouldnt sitting further forward induce slight understeer?
i know gokarts are very different to real racecars but i imagine weight bias works the same way not backwards
Well in my experience it certainly helps. When you're sitting down, the majority of your weight is at the back with the engine. Having more weight over the front tyres is similar to a front spoiler enabling downforce and downward pressure on the tyres, pushing them on to the track.
@@KevinYep weight and downforce dont work the same way dude, downforce doesnt add inertia
@@lucywucyyy True I totally agree. In saying that, we are talking about hired go karts here. Probably no downforce invoiced at all.
Wait at 5ˋ56 you say lean to the inside of the corner to get grip. Isnt it the other way around? I was told to lean outside the corner to get grip to the outside wheels which should be better. Can you clarify?
Yes i did say lean to the inside but you should actually lean to the outside for grip.
Ive been to gocarting 3 times and other sports related to racing and got 53.999 seconds which is really good compared to people with members. (They get that time) but usually they get 45 on average
Hi Jinxz, That's awesome to hear! Thanks for letting us know your experiences and keep up the good work! Cheers Kev
Jinxz Hey, Check out this funny celebrity go kart race Ft Amelia Dimz , man like haks , tinchy Stryder and more right here
ua-cam.com/video/EiNu1yzV1uA/v-deo.html
I like to hit my brakes when I go in for turns while I go kart race but it makes me slow and causes me to bump into the walls sometimes so how do I go faster as I'm turning my go kart on turns
+Aaliyah Greensburg Hi Aaliyah. First of all, what a beautiful name you have! When it comes to cornering on a track, it is recommended to brake before you get to the turn and decelerate, then turn in and accelerate through and out of the corner. Are you bumping into the inside walls or outside walls of the corners? It might be that you're going into the corner too fast. Try to be smooth and get your racing lines sorted first. The kart will naturally want to go faster in a straight line, so you'll be able to figure out how fast you can go around corners once you keep the kart as smooth and straight as possible. The speed will come afterwards.
Hey 2 years ago i got a 28 sec lap tine at g-force in richmond va is that good
Hi Zac. I couldn't tell you as I live in Australia! And I only went to the states for the first time this year and only to Cali. I guess you could do a search on UA-cam for other people that have raced there and compare times? Cheers for watching!
when do you accelerate and brake for corners?
Every corner is different but you want to minimize the actual time that you are braking so that you carry as much speed into the corner as possible. From there you want to accelerate as early as possible as well. You only want to press the brakes once to slow you down and press the accelerator once to go again. Avoid braking too early and then coasting around a corner - you want to go deep into that corner and then brake, turn and accelerate.
@@KevinYep won't braking late result in sliding the go kart?
@@king0vdarkness Again it depends. You don't want to brake too late that you'll understeer. You still need to keep it smooth and find the latest point of when you can brake, then turn and accelerate out.
@@KevinYep cheers Kevin, thanks for the reply :)
@@KevinYep I won!! I came fifth in the practice lap, but won the actual one because of your first tip, aggression! I did end up smashing one slow car out the way, but luckily it was only once, what would you say is the best way to avoid cars spinning in front of you?
Great video! I have one question though: aren't you supposed to move your weight to the outside of the corner? Because karts obviously don't have differentials and you want to try to lift the inner rear wheel?
+Philipp Duffner Hi Phil! Yes you're right. I've since realised that leaning to the inside is wrong. It seems counter intuitive but leaning out should help. Thanks for watching the tips and the comment! Good luck with your racing.
do not put your weight in the inside of the kart, the outside wheel spins faster. If you put your wheight on the inside you will lokc the chassis. (can someone explain this better)
At my local track the fastest way to get around one of the corners is to slide
By far the most useful comment in the history of youtube, thank you!
Hey mate,
Any advices for me? I'm 55kg and in pretty good at karting. Have a red bull tournament which I entered to within a week. I tried braking at tight U corners, but still I tend to drift, but taking a wider approach allows others to corner past me. This sucks
+Shaheer quercuz Hi Shaheer. Thanks for posting the question. Because you're light like me and tend to drift, you're going to have to become best friends with that brake pedal. Acceleration and speed isn't the problem for you - braking and grip is what you need. Still keep your wide line for exit speed, but your braking skill will need to improve. You need later braking and as much grip as possible, then straight back on the accelerator. Brake until the front tyres grip, even oversteer into the corners and then stomp on the gas to get going again. Hope this helps!
+Kevin Yep great! Guess there is no other way but to make the brakes my best friend and master it. Thanks Kevin! Man I hope I'm not in trouble for the tournament lol ...
Remember to go as far into the corner as you can before braking, then brake only once as hard as you need to, to slow down and turn in ensuring the front grips, then accelerate away!
+Kevin Yep yeah wide approach and time my brakes 👍🏼
Will let you know the improvement I made. Thanks again kev.
+Shaheer quercuz No worries at all and GOOD LUCK!
Does being heavier give more grip? What about inertia?
It certainly does give you more grip but it also affects your speed. People keep commenting that being heavier doesn't give you more grip but I digress. They keep getting into the argument that it affects your speed which of course it does but my comment was based on weight and grip not weight and speed.
Kevin Yep thank you, and excellent driving.
Are you breaking just one time
Really hard or just pumping a little?
psy GangmanStyle Just a little bit on the brakes here and there.
Heavier doesn't equal more grip. If that was true race cars would weigh 10 tons. Weight turns into lateral momentum, stressing the tires more, and in turn decreasing the amount of available grip to allow you to turn faster. Less weight means less stress and less lateral force on the tire so you can turn faster.
Hi Tall Abacus, thanks for the comment. I believe weight equals more grip but only to a certain extent. I liken it to downforce. Downforce is basically trying to create artificial weight by pushing the tyres into the ground. If cars DID weigh 10 tons, imagine the grip they would have. But of course they would be very very slow. It's a balance. Imagine someone that is 70kg versus someone racing that is 90kgs. I've seen it happen. The heavier person has more grip (they have more weight on the tyres essentially) but they are slower through the straights.
I figured that was the mentality. The big difference is that downforce is applied straight down, IE perpendicular to the ground. This Pushes the tires into the road surface which helps combat the force being applied laterally. Adding weight on top of the car, kart, etc...adds not just perpendicular force downward but also lateral force sideways.
Weight is always the enemy of speed.
What you call "grip" is really "maximal lateral force on the tyre" - frictional force. While it's true that every kg adds to the normal (vertical) force on the tyre and therefore adds to the maximal frictional force, that is also an additional kg that must be acted upon to accelerate the cart centrifugally and cause turning.
If the weight were as low to the ground as possible, you'd expect them to cancel out completely (F(fric) = mu*F(norm) = mu*m*g = m*v^2/r). This is in an ideal scenario and does not account for the component of friction provided by adhesion of the surfaces, which makes the additional weight less beneficial to grip.
Additionally, driver weight is added significantly higher than the point where frictional force is applied (the ground/tyre interface), and will result in significant transfer of weight force to the (already heavily loaded) outside tyres. This is a bad thing (and is why racecars are designed to lower the centre-of-mass as much as possible).
The only reason more downforce becomes infeasible is because you're sacrificing power to create it (by virtue of the increased drag). More downforce is always better in isolation, but when you create it with weight it comes at the cost of making the car harder to turn, and when you use a wing you're making the car slower (assuming you're already able to put all your engine power to the ground.
tl;dr More driver weight is always bad.
Sometimes my lap times improve when I drift a little, he’s obviously lying to make us go slower.
Hahaha
But seriously isn’t drifting actually supposed to help you keep momentum instead of slowing down and turning
@@chefrederick6849 Yes a little bit, but when giving tips to someone I figured it's better to get beginners to try not to drift when starting out.
Oh I see, that makes sense 👍