Quote from logitekg25 :

well i know the proper shoes will be pretty expensive, and are actually racing shoes.jthose will run around $80.

i want something i either already have, or can get pretty cheap

yeh, regular shoes will do, ma buddy haz been karting with the same DC's for more than two years!
Oh, and make sure, like aoun said, to be sure to not cheap out because if you do you will pay, believe me:P

Quote from logitekg25 :

well i know the proper shoes will be pretty expensive, and are actually racing shoes.jthose will run around $80.

Which is not alot consider you will be using it for a few seasons.

Shoes is part of the driving interface because it affects your feel with the pedals, of cos maybe you can get comfortable driving with sneakers if you do it consistently, but for that sort of money I'll buy specialist racing gear just for the peace of mind.


btw just one more thing on the subject:

Think realistically about treating racing as a career: only one in a thousand racers make it professionally, i.e. being able to sustain a living by motoracing. And even for those, their racing career might only be able to support them for a decade or two, eventually they will branch out, develop their own business or whatever.

Don't drop everything for racing unless you are proven to the really talented (or at least talented enough to have local success rather easily), and keep in mind racing ability alone won't make you a successful driver, you need knowledge in marketing, communication and an understanding on how the racing industry works on a commercial level in order to make a career out of it. And in the process you will need the help of a lot of people, people who will help you financially, technically, politically, are you sure there are people who is ready to support you to such an extent? If not, are you sure you have the ability to convince people to support you? What will be their reward? And can you make that guarantee and deliver?

Do a season or two, enjoy the racing and before taking the next step, talk with some senior drivers, know the difficulty of being a professional racing driver and consider your option again. The reality of racing is, even doing your best and being completely dedicated is often not enough - besides working hard, you need to work smart.

One helpful tip

Have a friend with you! full stop. Life on the track becomes so much easier when its easier off the track, trust me on that. I do it all on my own and its a bloody headache by the time i do my practice session.

ok i will remember that, and try to get a friend to do it with me.

Quote from logitekg25 :

ok i will remember that, and try to get a friend to do it with me.

Well its not like religion to have someone with you, it just really makes life alot easier.

I get to the track (mind you i have a ute, holden rodeo). I park up, and start unpacking. i have to pull everything off before i take out the gokart. to remove the gokart (which has no body, no front wheels to fit in the tray) i have to slide the ass end all the way out and place it on the ground with the front end still on the ute. I then have to put my trolley together lift up the front almost vertically, place the trolley inline with the kart and lift the kart on the trolley on my own. i then have to put it all back together, unpack my tools and get everything prepared. Ive spent close to 20-30mins on doing everything all ready when i could have been doing something abit more usefull. Mind you the lifting back and forth does get annoying especially at 6am in the morning. Ill then roll my kart all the way to get it scretineered a good 100m away max sign in and roll back and setup my kart. Whatever i need to do next ive got to wait because of drivers breifing and practice follows straight away.

Thats just before practice. I can manage fine but by the time i get to the out grid, run my trolley to the in grid, get back to the out grid, sit in my kart, im ready to sleep. With someone else it just makes it easier. When i was young id help my brother with this kinda stuff and even though i didnt do much lifting etc, id play a big part and make things easier for him.

On track to be honest, im not effected at all. WHen im behind the wheel, im fine, full of energy and fully focused. But when i have a mate with me, i tend to be abit more alert and slightly more focused, and thats what you want.

well il call around my friends and see if any of them find intrest in karting, but il say racing in general first

but i dont think any of my friends will want to

Quote from logitekg25 :

well il call around my friends and see if any of them find intrest in karting, but il say racing in general first

but i dont think any of my friends will want to

I totally agree with aoun again, but you dont have to bring along one of you buddies, try to make buddies
There will be plenty of racers there that are you age and are nice, and your a nice guy, so that will definately help. Heck, you might even meet sombody that races LFS too! I have

I never took any buddies along with me when I started karting 4 years ago, but those people that I met on my first season of kartin are now my best friends in the world, and without them I wouldn't be karting right now(that all happen to race LFS too, it is actually them that got me playing lfs:razz.

Zay

Quote from logitekg25 :

well il call around my friends and see if any of them find intrest in karting, but il say racing in general first

but i dont think any of my friends will want to

Zay is also right, make new friends. People will give you a hand here or there. Its even better when you start to talk to another racer and eventually youll go to the track at the same time to practice swap ideas etc. its a social sport too, if you stick to yourself throughout the whole time, your going to hate it, pack up and leave. Be friendly, talk to people.. ask questions.. ask alot of questions. ask even more questions. give someone a quick help if they look like they need it. (and if you have nothing to work on your own kart)

as they always say, have fun, make new friends.. at the end of the day, thats 110% correct, but dont forget why your in the sport.. to win.

Help others, but never show all your cards. Be nice, but dont let anyone get an advantage over you.

Enjoy yourself. J engine, rotax engine, maxter engine, it doesnt matter what you start your first season with. You will just be loving life being bumper to bumper on the edge with 20 karts around you on the limit.

Some more info perhaps.

I think the 2 main things you should learn about while practicing is knowing your engine, and your racing lines. You can practice race craft i guess with friends and all, but race craft only comes with experience etc.

Understanding what your engine can do and tuning it just right for the right temperatures is very important. Yes setting up the kart is too, but without a good running motor, your just going to be hating life.

When i first started i worked alot on setting up and my racing lines. I was pretty decent out of the box and eventually was really quick, id share with others how id set up the kart and how id go around the track, and they would be doing the same, if not, start to do what i would be doing. Id go out with them on the track and id just be loosing too much time, leaving the corners and on the straights and id flip and yell and get angry with myself and over work myself. It came to the point where a man helped me out with tuning my jet in my carby (rotax). Before i knew it, the kart would be up to speed like everyone else and id get no bogging out of a corner. No one could touch me.

Work with your engine alot, then your racing lines of course, technique etc. Id say during too work on setting up the kart, but i feel that could come afterwards.

Ive said too many stories, but im here to give any info i can.

sorry for the late response, i have been away

and i will definately try to bring one of my friends. i will also definately try to make friends there. that sounds like the way to go

thanks for the responses guys

When are you going exactly? You're gonna have a ball, even if it's only a Honda 4-stroke.

im going september 17, 18 or 19th...it comes with a free race day, which comes at the end of the month