Go karting is a fun, fast-paced racing activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. This article is going to talk about how to have the best go karting experience by using a way that go-kart drivers often use to turn faster. Many beginners don’t use it because it doesn’t seem natural or logical initially, but I’ll explain it, so you can start using it the next time you’re on the go-kart track. I only work with gas-powered rental karts with rear brakes because that’s what most hobbyists use.
How to be fast when go karting
Since all go karting racers have the same karts, you can’t speed up or slow down better than the other racers on the straight. So, this method no longer works. You should never roll while going karting. You can either step on the gas or the brake. When you roll, you lose speed because you’d have stayed on the gas for longer.
Putting your foot on the gas is usually all or nothing. You don’t need to speed up slowly because rental karts don’t have engines that are too powerful and would make you slide. Braking is the most common way to slow down before a curve where you don’t want to go off track.
Also read: Go karting in Cape Town
A kid is doing a few rounds of threshold braking. Especially at the end, it moves slowly, so you can get a better idea of how it might look. It has a few good points. We often learn that braking should be done before turning corners because it makes the car less stable. That’s true, but what we want in a race is just the correct balance of instability.
Go karting speed
The speed going into the curve can be faster because the kart will still slow down by drifting. Shortly after starting the drift before the apex point, you can hit the gas again to give the engine more RPM. There may be a brief time when you are neither on the braking system nor the gas, which breaks my first rule, but you get the idea.
How do you do it?
How to get the drift going? Well, put your weight in front first! This seems counterintuitive, but it makes the kart oversteer more, which makes it less stable and “easy” to start a drift. Sometimes you need to make a short, hard stop and lock the tires to get the car to drift. It depends on how much the kart wants to turn too far to the right.
Less needs to be done; the more you oversteer. Usually, the only way to get more weight in the front is to move the seat there. People sometimes move it to the back, so they have room for their feet, but driving a go-kart is not like driving a comfortable limousine. Even though I’m tall, I don’t do it, so you shouldn’t.
Practice and have patience!
This is an advanced technique, and there’s a thin line between too much drifting and just the right amount. When you drift too much, you slow down. All pros do it. It’s how you trail brake in go karting. You can see the drifting in this video, and the lads explain it as I do.
They drive inside, which is much slicker, so it might be easier to practice. You don’t have to force the kart so hard for it to get out of control. I also tried the method with weight distribution in the back, but it didn’t work. The kart always wants to keep going straight, but I want to turn.
Why do you suck at go-karting?
You turn the corner too quickly.
This is mostly true for karts you rent, but it’s so common that I’ll start with it. It sounds so confusing, and it was the biggest mistake that I kept making. When I race with my friends, I see it all the time.
Go karting beginners want to do too much, especially when a friend is chasing them. If you go too fast into the corner, you’ll slide and lose engine RPM, which is bad because rental engines aren’t strong. You won’t be able to make up those valuable tenths of a second during the lap.
It all adds up, and by the end of the lap, you are a couple of seconds behind the winner. The next time you are on track, try to brake earlier and take the corner more slowly, but also hit the gas sooner. You will be ahead of your friends because you will notice the difference.
You don’t know what threshold braking is
That’s the next step after the first point if you went into the corner fast and hit the gas pedal early. Now, to get more time out of your lap, you also need to be faster inside the corners. There are two ways to slow down when going around inside corners:
Braking controlled drifting
The technical name for the second one is “threshold braking.” A drift turns the vehicle’s motion into friction, which slows it down. We can use this effect to go faster into the corner and hit the gas early at the turn’s apex. It takes a little while to get better at something and see that improvement in your lap times. But once you master this technique, you’ll be ahead of everyone else.
You haven’t looked into the starting line.
It will help if you read it for sure. It’s key to be fast and keeping your lap times the same throughout the race. Some racers know what to do, while others must practice a lot to get it right. You can improve by trying out different lines, but it takes time, so I suggest you study the race line before you race.
But how do you know which line goes the quickest?
The race line depends on more than just the track itself. It also depends on the car (tires, trim, etc.), the weather, and many other things. It takes a lot of experience and interaction between the driver, the car, and the environment. Most of the time, coaches do their best to help racers learn the race lines.
So, we made a race line editor so that you can learn from more experienced racers which line to take the next time you are on track. Draw your line and ask for comments or look for ones that have already been made! We’d love to help.
You don’t use the entire width of the track
The whole width of the track is to be used, including the bumpy, often red-and-white-painted curbs on the outside of the corner. Because you don’t use the entire track width, you must steer more than you need to. The end goal should be the opposite.
When you steer more than you need to, you create more friction, which slows you down. Let the angular force pull you outside the track when leaving the corner. It happens automatically because of the laws of physics. It can be tempting to stop this effect, but if you stay on track, it should be your friend. Don’t lose your way!
You are not in a competition for drifting
Even though they want to be fast and win, many karters drift. You can’t drift and go fast at the same time. Both or. Even though drifting can be fun, you should avoid it if you want to get faster.
I know it’s hard to follow the no drifting rule because everyone wants to be faster than everyone else, and it’s too friendly and approachable to curve too quickly and end up in a drifting race. This tip closes the loop with the first one, “Enter the corner more slowly.”
Places to go karting near me in Cape Town?
Go karting in Cape Town is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. It is a fun activity for the whole family, and you don’t have to be a professional racer to enjoy going karting. If you have never driven a kart, it’s time to change that. There are a lot of go-karting places in Cape Town, where you can hire out a kart and race. Here are the best go-karting places in Cape Town.
Century Karting Cape Town
Century Karting Cape Town is an indoor karting place located at Canal Walk in Century City Cape Town. It offers an amazing and adrenaline rush experience to remember. It is a perfect place to go karting in Cape Town with family and even work colleagues for team building. Check out their go karting prices on their website.
Xtreme Outdoor Karting
Another place to experience the best go karting in Cape Town is Xtreme Outdoor Karting. Located in Stellenbosch. The go karting is done on an outdoor dirt track that offers a great experience for a family adventure day out. For their go karting prices visit the Xtreme Outdoor Karting website.
Places to go karting near me in Johannesburg?
As mentioned at the beginning, go-karting is a fun, fast-paced racing activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. With many things to do in Johannesburg it is no surprise that going karting in Johannesburg is a popular activity. There is indoor go-karting or outdoor go karting depending on your needs and preferences. Below we will look at the best places for karting in Johannesburg.
Indy kart indoor karting
Indy kart indoor karting provides an indoor karting experience for both the young and old. They are located at 4 indoor locations across Johannesburg. There is Indy kart Clearwater, Indy kart Rosebank, Indy kart the glen and Indy kart Eastgate. Visit their website for their go karting prices.
