Kart racing [Archive] - MX-5 Miata Forum (2024)

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silicone boy

13th July 2009, 00:52

I read on the suspension forum all the time that people's Miata "handles like a go kart". Now, it's been a long while since I karted competitively, but I would think that no one who has spent a reasonable amount of time in a racing cart would ever make that statement. My Miata handles nothing like my shifter kart, and when I leave the karting track I have to remind myself that my NA (a well set up one at that) is not a kart. I have gotten into trouble a couple of times thinking my car had similar grip.

Does anyone here compete in karting or at least do laps frequently? I have basically stopped autocrossing and road course time is hard to come by. I do most of my performance driving in a kart.

reins

13th July 2009, 01:24

I read it that the car has the characteristics of a kart. Light, responsive, communicative, etc. Not necessarily that they are on the same level.

aruba

13th July 2009, 06:46

Yes, when one gets out of their racing Kart and drives anything else it feels like a big truck with flat tires. There are no street cars that feel anywhere near as lively as a well setup shifter Kart, and very few if any street cars that have the acceleration of one. A shifter Kart is as close to an F1 car that any of us mortals will ever get, and driving one is a real thrill that no one should pass up.

JmalB

13th July 2009, 08:01

If I only had more room in my garage... and money in the bank account :(

rrobb

13th July 2009, 12:30

If anyone that doesn't have a FIA Super license says a certain car handles like a Kart, that person is a liar.

Cory

gkd

13th July 2009, 14:02

I can shed some light on this as I have driven a 1995 Formula 1 a number of times. I also have a very competitive CSP Miata and have done just a little bit of karting.

The F1 car does not behave like a Kart. The Kart' s suspension is the frame twist. Once an F1 car goes fast enough to generate downforce, its suspension starts working and it becomes a joy to drive. The F1 car has a very long wheelbase(sometimes 110-118 inches), the total opposite of a Kart. Karts are very agile, have open wheels and can generate somewhat high g-levels but that is where the similarities end.

The Miata, when set-up properly, is an animal on an autocross(a result of its grip and handling, not power) but does not feel like a Kart either. The Karts are extremely agile but do not behave like suspended cars. The F1 car drives on a level of precision, response, grip, stability and feedback that, in my opinion, cannot be assimilated by a Kart.

George

silicone boy

13th July 2009, 18:50

I can only dream of driving a formula 1 car. I've heard of the next generation of racing karts having a suspension, but I think that would take the fun out of it.

t walgamuth

13th July 2009, 20:19

I don't think anyone really thinks a Miata handles like a kart....only in comparison to other cars it is more Kartlike than most.

For myself I would love to try out a lotus seven or even an 11.

silicone boy

13th July 2009, 21:21

I don't think anyone really thinks a Miata handles like a kart....only in comparison to other cars it is more Kartlike than most.

For myself I would love to try out a lotus seven or even an 11.

Tons of Lotus 7's and clones at your local auto-x events. It's about as close as you can get to a formula car and still be able to drive it home. As for people really believing their cars handle like karts, read through some of the posts in the suspension forums. It's like people who really believe they can fly!

johnc

14th July 2009, 17:48

Does anyone here compete in karting or at least do laps frequently? I have basically stopped autocrossing and road course time is hard to come by. I do most of my performance driving in a kart.

I believe it's a figure of speech more than anything, I wouldn't take it literally.

Heard the saying "handles like it's on rails"? I would think that no one who has spent a reasonable amount of time in a commuter train would ever make that statement. My Miata handles nothing like the 6 carriage diesel-electric train, and when I leave the station I have to remind myself that my NC (a well set up one at that) is not a 250,000 lbs locomotive :D

I'm actually looking at a karts on Craigslist at this very moment, looking at getting into it seriously. I've driven a 125cc TAG a few times and they were a blast (and admittedly, did make my Miata feel like a drunken giraffe). Seems the cheapest way to get some great wheel to wheel racing.

wannafbody

14th July 2009, 18:09

A Miata drives like a kart is an exaggerated expression-hyperbole-a figure of speech-not to taken as 100% literal. Now in comparison to my 4Th gen TA, a well set up Miata will indeed drive like a kart:rolleyes:

Tyler W

14th July 2009, 18:10

I don't race, but I've driven several karts on tight courses, and even with my limited seat time, the grip and drivability was breathtaking. Literally. Those things corner so hard that if you're not in a seat that fits you properly, you will be beaten to death. That said, I wish my car did handle that well, or at the very least that I had more ready access to those karts.

miata_racer

14th July 2009, 20:17

go look in my videos for a comparison of a lotus 7 clone and a miata LOL the 7 is so much more fun but still not a kart :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/davebs14

aruba

15th July 2009, 14:28

There used to be a video on the Bob Bondurant website (cannot find it anymore) that showed comparison races between a Z06 Corvette and a shifter kart. In a standing start quarter mile the Kart beat the Vette by at least 200 feet, and in a road race around the long Bondurant autoX circuit at their Phoenix location the Kark lapped the Vette in something like three laps. If you have never driven a 40 hp shifter Kart on a fast Kart track before, I highly recommend it for one of the biggest adrenalin rushes in the universe. The acceleration is literally breathtaking, and the corner speeds are absolutely incredible.

Kart racing [Archive] - MX-5 Miata Forum (2024)

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