Talk:Kart racing

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 7 July 2020 and 14 August 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Lewis9763.

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General

What is the copyright status of that image?

The snapshot was taken by me in 2000, and I declare it public domain. --Boleslav Bobcik, Wednesday, May 29, 2002

By the way, this should probably be shifted to kart racing, the capitalized naming is against conventions. --user:Robert Merkel

All these leisure karting images on the page jarr with the actual content, should there be a leisure karting topic? --user:maryann

Isn't it ironic that the WORLD karting association or federation etc. ONLY govern the USA? Kartcrazy | Talk 22:35, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

There is a huge following for the emerging activity of off road go karting, but no mention of this in the racing go kart topic. Shouldn't this be recognisd as a legitimate evolution of karting and worthy of its own definition? Hirondelle 06:16, 12 April 2007 (UTC)hirondelle

Go-kart and kart racing

Etymology

What is the origin of the word "kart", (mis-)spelled with a "k"? This isn't addressed anywhere in the article, and should be covered in the lead section or very early in the History section.—Quicksilver^{T @} 21:41, 24 July 2010 (UTC) We should start a section on a DIY kart. Imagine, a shareware kart design! Reference: http://www.diyden.net/html/plans.html Nickgomez 06:59, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

This article should NOT be titled "Kart Racing" as a good deal of the content has nothing to do with racing, and "karting" is not necessarily racing. A more generic "Go Kart" or "Kart" entry should contain much of this article. TC 18:15, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

Only racing ?

Why only kart racing?. There would be an article about karts in general (i.e. definition and differences with other vehicles)?. --Mac (talk) 15:06, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

"Go-karts" is currently just a redirect to here. Saying that amusement karts cannot be used for "racing" as User:Wikigi says to me in his total revert of my article edit is false. Amusement karts can be used for that racing, but just not to the extremely high speeds of the upper-crust karts.

There is really no reason to have a separate article for "amusement park" go-karts, since those do also use gas engine machines with all the same properties of the high-end racers. Creating such an article would involve duplication of about 75% of this article so they can be easily covered as a subcategory, as I am trying to add.

DMahalko (talk) 21:14, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Fine, I have edited the "Engines" section only for clarity. In any case, electric karts should not be confused with "race" karts, just like walking is not confused with racewalking, etc.., etc.. Karting (the sport) is an open wheeled auto racing class governed worldwide by the FIA. - Wikigi | talk to me | 09:04, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

The electric karts are no different in user-operation from the small-engine gas powered karts. There's gas, brake, a steering wheel, and a shoulder harness. I have not seen them perform on a large open track nor do I know much (yet) about their design process, but they do have potential to be operated as a high-speed racing machine. Green karting is sure to be a future race sport anyway as people focus more on environmental issues.

Regarding the inertia of an electric vehicle, I don't think there is too much to dispute there, as you claim it is POV in your second deletion edit. Two large lead acid deep-cycle batteries (similar to what is used in electric golf carts and boat trolling motors) easily add 150-200 pounds to the rear of a machine that is already a lightweight. That means slower acceleration but also worse braking and more rear-end sliding in the tight cornering of the very small tracks used in amusement parks.

I do not know enough about the electric karts to know if they can be operated for more than say 15-30 minutes between charging, since deep discharging is bad for lead acid batteries and makes the lead plates degrade quicker. The top-end speed of an electric is unknown to me, but is mainly just an issue of how much current the batteries can deliver. Permanent magnet motors in wheelchairs can suffer torque fade if magnets get too hot, though these high-performance kart motors may use series-wound field coils instead.

I will be doing some more research of the topic, much to your annoyance I am sure. ;-)

DMahalko (talk) 18:32, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Do we really need more about batteries powered karts in this article? A specific article could/should be created under Electric go-karts (see Electrathon, Category:Electric vehicles). BTW, race karts are not equipped with a harness. - Wikigi | talk to me | 10:15, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Kart racing is a specialty of go-karts in general, rather than the other way around. If we want to be really serious and scholarly about it, then 80% of this article discussing the kart design and mechanics should be under the go-kart article heading.

Upper-crust kart racing would be a subtopic or article stub off of that, and amusement part karting would also be an article stub off of that, since both are specific applications of the general kart technology. DMahalko (talk) 18:45, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

I agree with some of that. There is a disambiguation page for kart, in my opinion go-kart should not redirect to kart racing but to a short presentation article.
However, karts used in amusement parks are not built on race karts specifications and vary widely in shape and form. Chassis, body, transmission, are most likely to be very different, not to mention engines (see 2008 KARTING TECHNICAL REGULATIONS). You've got electric or gas engines, single or dual seaters, tiny kid go-karts, karts bodies replicating cars and race cars, etc. Before you mentioned electric engines and "External controls" under "Components", this article was strictly pertaining to racing machines. - Wikigi | talk to me | 10:15, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Article is still badly skewed towards kart racing, with almost no mention of leisure karting. Either the balance needs to be changed, or a general go-karting article written, and this article re-named 'kart racing', with relevant disambig. Centrepull (talk) 09:42, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, it's not "badly skewed towards kart racing", it is about kart racing, later on, mention of leisure karting were added to it but I feel like you do, go-kart should not redirect here. - Wikigi | talk to me | 11:34, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Fixed this long standing confusion today, kart racing is about racing karts. Everything about other go-karts, soap boxes, recreational and amusement parks included, is now in the go-kart article. - Wikigi | talk to me | 15:13, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

Indoor karting

sorry about the typos on my edit, my auto spellchecker didn't work. why do you say in your comment, "Nope (Indoor karting doesn't refers to the more serious type of rental karts)"? I meant that indoor karting usually refers to the variety that requires skill to drive, requires safety gear, etc. not the type mostly for kids at an amusement park somewhat common in the US. I don't mean to call it "serious" compared to traditional karting racing or something. I'm not clear on why you disagree.

also you left no comment when you removed the line about rental karts on outdoor tracks. could you provide your reasoning?

finally, I removed some of the text from the section be cause it was not that well written and not really notable, for example, the line about indoor karting being in warehouses. that's kind of obvious and not really notable in my opinion. But I left it in.--RA64 (talk) 00:12, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Well, I have been practicing karting for over two decades, in Europe and in the US, and can confirm to you that : with very few exceptions indoor tracks are shorter than their outdoor counterparts (most of the time around ¼ of a mile or 400 m when outdoor tracks are easily 2 or 3 times longer), that they are narrower and twisted (very short straights) due to the limited space available within a building to design a track (drastically limiting speed), that surface is often very slippery (again limiting speed), that indoor tracks are not fit for the higher performance of a 2-stroke kart, that rental karts used in indoor facilities are less powerful than the rental karts made available for outdoor tracks where 15 hp 4-stroke karts and sometimes even 2-stroke karts (up to 28 hp - Rotax Max) can be rented. Not sure I get your point about facilities offering both indoor and outdoor tracks on the same premises... Regards - Wikigi | talk to me | 09:23, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

I like some things about the latest edit but made some changes. what I was trying to do before was make a distinction between kiddie style fun karts and racing based karts. Categorizing on indoor vs outdoor can have some flaws - for example, there must be a kiddie kart indoor track somewhere, but the current content doesn't cover that.

In terms of the seriousness of indoor tracks, I certainly agree indoor tracks are shorter then outdoor, and tighter, and usually have less grip, but that doesn't mean they are easier to drive. In fact, personally I find the indoor tracks sometimes more challenging then the moderate power(11-15hp) heavy rental karts on bigger high grip outdoor tracks. However, "Serious" is subjective so I agree with leaving that line out. I think grouping "indoor karting" with outdoor rentals on racing tracks makes more sense then grouping outdoor rentals on racing tracks with outdoor kiddie karts.

Finally, I've rented TaG before, but I don't really consider that "recreational/concession" karting, that is traditional karting covered by the rest of the article.

All that said, I tried to make my last edit is a reasonable compromise. --RA64 (talk) 00:25, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

It appears to be fine like this. Remember that this article is about Kart racing.. As I suggested earlier, go-kart should not redirect to kart racing but to a short presentation article where recreational and kid karts could be introduced, as well as what falls under the "related" part of the See also. Regards - Wikigi | talk to me | 08:45, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Added Drift track info in Indoor Karts

I added information on a drift kart track near me in Australia. Someone removed it as spam, but I thought it was worth putting on because it is quite unusual to have a dedicated drift racing track, and because it is a new thing, I didn't think it was quite popular enough to add "Drift" as a subsection. Please let me know what you guys think. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 00:12, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

You can "drift" with any type of vehicle, this "information" doesn't introduce anything new to the article exept for a commercial link - Wikigi | talk to me | 07:13, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

True that you can drift with anything, but they they have an unusual track that is designed specifically for drift racing. It has very sharp corners, and they water and oil the track - it's also a bit unusual because it is an indoor track and as far as Australia goes, we don't have any dedicated drift tracks for this. You are not allowed to "drift" here anywhere at any rate. Is it different in America? That seems a bit different to me than an average track, so I thought it was worth mentioning. They seem to think that drifting is a new subsection of the sport, and there is a fair amount of interest from real enthusiasts. I had no intention of just adding a commercial link. I thought it might be interesting because it is fairly distinct. If you feel otherwise, could you please outline what you think about it. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 11:40, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

Would you please point to a source mentioning this. I cannot find any information regarding a dedicated drift tracks on the website you posted earlier. If it cannot be sourced, your edit will have to be reverted again. Thanks - Wikigi | talk to me | 12:13, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

Hi Wikigi - it says on the first page (about 5th paragraph) of www.funcitygokarts.com.au "...More experienced drivers are able to access our drifting track which is the only one in Victoria." So far, you have told me to add a comment on the talk page when I already have done so and also accused me of spamming, and now you have threatened to remove what I have written, when the source was in fact right in front of you. You've also reinstated your incorrect comments into my user talk section, when you have already been told that you had made a mistake about it, both on this page, and on your own talk page. Once again, you seem quite rude - or are you not understanding what I am saying to you? Thanks --Sean deFaoite (talk) 00:32, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

That short and single line is all I had already seen about it, more information was expected. Is it really a dedicated track? Are they using the same main short 400 m track for special drifting hours? etc.. - Wikigi | talk to me | 07:52, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Wikigi - you first say "I cannot find any information" and then you say "That short and single line is all I had already seen about it" - both of your statements can not be true. Since I feel that you are harassing me on my user talk page anyhow, I don't want to continue this discusion with you further. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 10:03, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

My question was "I cannot find any information regarding a dedicated drift tracks". I am still awaiting more information with regard to a dedicated drift track. If not confirmed, the information will be deleted from the article - Wikigi | talk to me | 03:37, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Article edited today - Wikigi | talk to me | 08:05, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

It appears that you are not a strong English speaker because (aside from being rude and quite stalker-ish) you don't seem able the subtlety and finer nuance of what you read. The website says "More experienced drivers are able to access our drifting track." That means that there is a drift track that can not be used unless you are an experienced driver. Your objection makes no sense. The website clearly implies that there is a unique drift track. What part of this are you unable to understand??? The fact that I had already told you that this is the case anyway is more than enough. What the hell is your problem?

The only possible ridiculous alternative is that they have only one track that nobody is allowed to use because nobody at all is experienced enough to use it! It isn't possible given what the site has said for there to be only one track. You really need to improve your English comprehension skills before you attempt to battle it out with native speakers in a language that you have not yet mastered. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 23:48, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Sean, you said yourself that the facility was using water and oil on the track, this argument is getting really silly now, bring evidence of a "dedicated" drift track to us or let go.. - Wikigi | talk to me | 07:19, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Firstly, there is no "us" - only you. Secondly, I went in yesterday and told them about how I had encountered a weirdo on the internet who persisted in refusing to believe that they had a dedicated track, so they simply added it on this page whilst I was there: https://gokartwiki.com/go-kart-track/. Hopefully, you are able to read the part that says "We have Go Karts (with a dedicated drifting track)" Is this clear enough for you, or is there something about this that you don't still understand? Time to stalk someone else. --Sean deFaoite (talk) 12:33, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Very well. Thank you - Wikigi | talk to me | 14:53, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Good luck with your next victim. --124.176.184.227 (talk) 22:33, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

This is nothing but spam for an amusement park in Victoria. No information there. Wikigi | talk to me | 08:04, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

American and British English differences

There was a recent edit flip-flop on tire/tyre related to American and British English differences. I have noticed this on a few articles, where the combination of American and other editors using British English has resulted in this type of thing. The official guideline is to stay consistent with the preference of the originator (of the article, not of the edit as appeared to be the case in this recent edit flip-flop), but it seems like there might have been a software upgrade around 2001-2002 that wiped out the previous history, making the finding of the originator impossible, AFAIK.

Any ideas out there on how to solve this problem? Spalding 19:00, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

Use English English....its the real thing after all! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.177.152.156 (talk • contribs) 11:36, 11 December 2005.

The first available version uses "tyre", and as it was on 29 May 2002 I don't think there would've been too many edits beforehand. We should therefore use British English spelling. violet/riga (t) 11:42, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

Oops, should have read this. The tyre/tire section was horribly inconsistent, using both, and I've updated it to use the US version. At least it's now consistent... djomp, 12:47, 22nd June 2006 (UTC)

Links

Why is kartingextra.com not allowed... e.g. it keeps getting removed. Karting.co.uk is something I have been involved in a few years back, and indeed that spun off a number of club websites. Kartingextra is going to be an site that draws all the aspects together, including lots of information from its users about their kart wins, set ups, pictures etc which are relevant.

The site is not making money, it is run for free, and does not sell anything, it is totally free for members. Is someone able to give me some good reasons as to why it should not be included as a resource?'' —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.195.160.59 (talk)

You should read Wikipedia's External links guidelines, and maybe also WP:Spam#How not to be a spammer. Rule number one: don't add links to your own website. Also, no blogs. -- Mwanner | Talk 13:28, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

It was the only way I could get you to actually come back and answer my question in this discussion. :( Not trying to be annoying, though I am succeeding me thinks. :( Who said it was my own site? And I tried linking to the main information / site so instead linked it to direct information in a section that happens to be title "blog". Sigh. UPDATE: I have read the guidelines, I understand why you don't want it there. I personally feel that there is at least 1 other link that should not be there, but I don't hold weight obviously with my opinion. Tis a shame, but thats life.

I am slightly at the bottom of the page, most appear to simply be individual driver's websites, rather than sites which talk more about the community. This is not allowed on other articles, so I suggest they are removed, with the exception of Ekarting News and UK karting 80.176.252.211 09:14, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

I would second this; they do seem to be relatively personal websites, rather than those about Kart Racing in general. Djomp 15:19, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

there's a webiste http://www.lebkart.com that has an immense database about karting, worth a look at 194.126.24.3 08:09, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Clean up of External Links

The External links section was tagged with {{Cleanup-spam}}. As a result, as part of WP:WPSPAM, I've reviewed the external links. I believe the links to NGBs (National Governing Bodies) warrant inclusion. Links to promotional sites/magazine sites etc... Have been removed. -- Rehnn83 ^Talk 10:58, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, maybe we could add a dmoz (see Template) Open Directory Project link such as "Kart racing at Curlie"? - Wikigi | talk to me | 15:26, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Added dmoz link today, as mentioned above - Wikigi | talk to me | 14:14, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

History of Karting in Sweden

Liftarn, you have reposted your picture taken in a Swedish museum in Kart racing without any argumentation. As I said before when I reverted it, I believe your note has its place on the Swedish Karting article, or maybe you want to create a new page on the history of karting in Sweden. If we start to explain how karting started in France, Germany, India or Japan, this article is going to be extremely boring and out of place. It is already made mention of the 50th anniversary - with FIA reference - as well as the introduction of karting (which started in the US) in Europe with reference also. This is enough of history for this topic as it is more interesting to know what the sport is about today IMO. - Wikigi | talk to me | 19:36, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Why not globalize the article instead of blanking valid content? The picture is also interesting since it's an example of an early kart. // Liftarn 22:47, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

I have re-introduced your picture of an early kart under History. - Wikigi | talk to me | 12:27, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Sweden? The article has no history whatsoever. It certainly has no links to any History of Carting in XXXX anywhere. An History of Carting in The United States would be fascinating, as in Sweden, Britain, you name it.Bugatti35racer (talk) 00:54, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

Shifter karts on the street

I concur with the previous post. BTW, it is not vandalism to include a reference to "Video of 125cc shifter kart, on Quebec City streets, at night." as a shifter kart is a prototypical sports microcar just as Morgan 3-wheelers etc. were to cyclecars, and though illegal to drive one as such in Quebec, it is not elsewhere. 65.246.126.130 (talk) 14:52, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

1) The video you are referring to has no other purpose than selling you a DVD (see the end of the video) and if posted on WP it constitutes spam. 2) A shifter kart has nothing to do with a Microcar and is certainly not a prototype. Karts are racing machines built according to strict CIK-FIA regulations and chassis, engines and all components have to be homologated by the same. All sprint karts, even when raced under national governing bodies, are using chassis built by manufacturers following the same CIK regulations 3) They are designed to run fast on circuits dedicated to the sport, in a safe environment, for the sake of performance, excellence, and competition. I don't know where it is legal to drive such a machine on the street, surely not in the US or in Europe - Wikigi | talk to me | 08:10, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

1) Whatever its commercial purpose, it has much inherent value as information for those who haven't driven one. 2) ... "nothing to do with a Microcar" except being an "extremely small automobile" i.e. its definition. 3) One man's excellence may be another man's fussy puritanism. 65.246.126.130 (talk) 20:30, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Safety

I think this article needs a safety section. I raced karts for the first time today and I just can't understand why there are not seatbelts and roll cages. Surely this just makes the sport far more dangerous than it needs to be. Andrewjlockley (talk) 23:50, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Due to their very low center of gravity, it is extremely rare to see a kart roll over, for that to happen you need to drive over the wheel of another kart at a great speed and you will never do a complete rollover (I've seen a complete rollover happen only once with karters while running at very high speed, over 60 mph, driver was ok although a bit shaken..). As for seat belts, you would be better off being ejected in the case (even more rare) of a frontal collision (again, speed is a factor and there are no hard obstacles on a race track). Kart racing has a great safety record, if you wear the proper equipment, race a kart with a CIK-FIA approved chassis, run on a certified track, I can assure you that you're practicing a "safe" sport. - Wikigi | talk to me | 06:00, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

This being said, information about required driver equipment could be added.. - Wikigi | talk to me | 06:14, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Done - Wikigi | talk to me | 08:20, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

transmission

Is there any transmission information there. Didn't think so.--Ericg33 (talk) 00:20, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Fuel

Formula zero and Formula Hybrid aren't mentioned; see http://www.formulazero.nl/ http://www.formula-hybrid.org/about.php —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.182.225.103 (talk) 09:59, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

I cannot reach the Formula Zero site at the moment but the Formula Hybrid has suspension. That makes it a car, and outside the scope of this article whatever fuel it uses as karts do not have a separate suspension system. Britmax (talk) 10:27, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

There's no mention of gas (LPG) fuel in the engines section either - it seems to be increasingly popular in European rental karts, so is probably worth a mention. Jellyfish dave (talk) 08:54, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

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Wiki Education assignment: Communication and Culture

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 2 February 2021 and 14 May 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Mgoddard739 (article contribs).