A quick way to stroke your kart ego (Xtreme Zone day trip)

Bimodal_Rocket · December 3, 2024, 12:39am

Show up the 1st of the month and send it. To the top you go, if ever so briefly.

I haven’t been to xtreme zone much. I first went for a TKC race and really enjoyed it.

Since then it has had the final turn reworked (I approve). Otherwise, unchanged.

This is a really fun facility with indoor gas karts, a rarity. It’s technical and old skool and it’s well worth a visit.

The day on film

If I am not mistaken, Matt Haas (local racer) runs their league. I should consider this as Delaware is only an hour and 15 away. I suspect rush hour in that neck of the woods is hellish though, it being in barking distance of DC.

You shall not pass!

I bought their 5 pack for $90 which is a screaming deal as far as I’m concerned. These are good length sessions… I got in 18-20 laps per session (laps are 20-21s clear track but more like 23-26s with the public to weave around). Unlike the indoor places, the heats aren’t 6 laps and done. Actual seat time and long enough to get warmth going in tire.

The Big Jenga Tower

(Origin and purpose unknown)

Anyways, there’s something about an old style track, indoors, on gas karts. It’s authentic karting, and endangered, I suspect. I think I’ll be going back more often to scratch the gas kart itches over the winter. Hope to see you there!

Oh, by the way, it’s set way back in a complex. It’s easy to miss entrance as the signage isn’t obvious.

calebgilbert · December 3, 2024, 4:09am

I don’t know who that was driving in front of you but it doesn’t seem like they’ve ever driven a golf cart let alone done any performance driving. Fun looking track though. Very flow-y.

nikspeeds · December 3, 2024, 4:10am

When I was watching I thought it felt different

Bimodal_Rocket · December 3, 2024, 12:24pm

There were a bunch of regular folk and a birthday party… so I had some strange driving to contend with. I did get the track to myself in the final heat and got to go for a fast session.

Bimodal_Rocket · December 3, 2024, 1:39pm

Google Reviews Mini-game

I started doing some Google maps reviews a while back and it’s pretty gobsmacking how many eyeballs you get relative to YouTube and insta.

Here’s an example:

Bimodal_Rocket · December 10, 2024, 2:17pm

Assemble the Scum!!!

It’s catered! And, it looks like our UK Enforcer, Marc Coltelli, will be available to elevate our efforts.

Andre, Dom, Marc and Randall will battle against the dark side and fire their photon torpedo with purpose and effect. No nerf-herding.

We’d love to have Elias join us as well from down the Boston way. However, he made a tactical mistake that many young folk in their 20s make… he bought a used BMW. Last race his German luxury vehicle decided to not cooperate and had to miss the (admittedly flawed) Full Tilt enduro at E-town. Will his gaskets allow him to participate? We shall see.

@matthaasracing wed like to join ya! Will you be fielding a team or running this?

(In other news… EK 2025 schedule is out! More info to come…) @EnduranceKarting feel free to loop me in to stuff so I can communicate to the community here for ya.

Bimodal_Rocket · December 21, 2024, 4:00pm

I find myself in the unusual position of having the day entirely free and I felt that a revisit to Delaware’s magnificent Xtreme Zone is in order.

I have just downed two cheese danishes and have armed myself with two Trenti cold brew (black). We got snow overnight, the first of the season. Roads look ok though. Winters have been so mild I have not put the winter tires on of late. The summer tires are a challenge in the cold, so, it will be easy going…

To win the race… one must first get to the race.

More to come… assuming they are open.

Bimodal_Rocket · December 21, 2024, 6:06pm

Arrival.

I shall call my spouse and son who are currently enjoying Southern California and this view:

Then, I shall kart.

Karting has begun. 2 heats thus far. Fantastic fun. Did some very close racing with a gentleman and we had a good chat afterwards. I raced him hard and he handled it well! He and his son do drag racing and were very nice.

Secret Test List

Going out for my tenth and final heat next. It’s been a cool night of helping Matt Haase test some karts in preparation for the 8hr race in Feb.

More to come.

Well that was a fun day.

I did 10 practice heats in total. I tested a few of the more questionable karts but also got to drive a screamer that they don’t put out with the public sessions. For some reason they have a clone engine on one of the chassis that they keep around for fun, similar to gx270.

That kart, 22, felt nice and was quick. I think I set the fastest of the week on it in session 2. However, it ultimately died on me in a later session.

Overall the karts are really nice. None of the ones I have driven there handle poorly. It seems that all of the chassis are straight and cared for. Some have stronger engines than others, as is always the case.

One thing that is really nice is that their Sodis have both seat adjust abiiity as well as foot tray adjustabiiity. This really lets you get a good seating position and weight balance, just as you like it.

I really like these sodi. I have yet to drive one here that has a handling bug or something broken (like the seat adjuster). Somehow they are all straight and drive true. The difference seems to be engine, mainly. Some are a bit better than others.

As you can see from my 10 heats, there essentially two classes… the ones that I was able to get sub 22 with today and the ones not. But, the gap seems to be relatively narrow for rentals… maybe 1-1.5s at the extremes over the fleet.

I got to drive one of the fast karts they don’t use for the public. Kart 22 has a clone instead of a gx 270 and runs quick. It’s also 9hp, but it’s not run in pub heats and pulls nicely. Unfortunately it dies on me in a later heat. I was at full throttle, lifted a bit to turn in, and then when I went back to full it fizzled out. It was fun while it lasted!

The gas karts, indoors, are really cool. The downside is that indoor gas karting is really "cool”. As you can imagine, airflow is necessary, and the driving space is basically open to outside air. So, it was cold in there. I wish I had thought to bring my new winter gloves.

Overall a great day. I got to drive a couple sessions with Matt Haas who is their race director and knows the track very well. I was happy to see that I wasn’t too far off his pace. In the last session we were within a few tenths. While I did not get sub 21 today, I was very close, with an official 21.1 and an unofficial 21.0. I think if the track had been less frozen, I might have been able to pull it off. Maybe next visit!

Coming Feb 23… the 8hr Race!

Come one, come all! This should be fun. The karts will be good for this, Matt is selecting them specially.

Bimodal_Rocket · December 23, 2024, 10:58pm

Couldn’t help it…

Came out Monday night to see if I could improve and get under 21. My first two heats were combined into one nice length one. In the 2nd half I started to get quick…

And then,

We shall see if I can find that last tenth and break 21. I figured out a shorter line through one of the turns that feels good, an improvement perhaps. We shall see.

Matt Haas and the sim

The double session with clear track

In which I try to go as fast as possible, and mostly succeed. I played with an earlier and more mid track turn in for the left #4 and found some time, I think. It feels balanced and better over the top into the next bit, as well.

3 Pub Sessions

And 3 pub heats with an assortment of fine gentlemen and ladies with whom I had the great pleasure of sharing the track with.

Update: the winter alpinestars rain gloves I got were much warmer in the chilly facility than my regular gloves. Success.

calebgilbert · December 24, 2024, 5:06pm

Driving is looking good. That turn right after the fast section looks like it really invites a driver into overcommitting on their entry speed.

Bimodal_Rocket · December 24, 2024, 5:20pm

Thank you! The driving feels good, too.

It does want you to go ham. However one learns to use engine braking and it settles real nice! You don’t want to throw too much speed into it so that you can be very tight the right turn above it. A slight bit wide there is easy to do.

Where I was making gains is turn 4, the left up and into the double apex bouncy-bounce (technical racing term).

I was trying to be more mid track for turn-in and a touch earlier. Tighten it up further and shorten it a moment.

Pretty happy with the progression and consistency. Here’s the double heat with times marching down.

Bimodal_Rocket · December 26, 2024, 5:10pm

Well, here we go again…

Thursday… quiet day… maybe I try to break 21s again…

And we’re off!

Progress

It took a few visits, but sub 21 achieved. Think temp plays a significant role.

Bimodal_Rocket · December 27, 2024, 4:43pm

Friday update: I resume my amateur status and go back to work feeling guilty about lapping excessively.

However…

We are racing at Monza (Foxwoods Casino) with TKC this weekend. I will drive down Sat to do laps and prepare. I have yet to drive this track and hear it’s very good!

Also, just registered for TKC 4hr at Xtreme Zone Jan 12.

Deanbert · December 27, 2024, 6:22pm

So I’m looking for advice from the experts [@Bimodal_Rocket ]… Driving electric karts seems to take a different skillset than my LO206 kart. On Sunday my son and I plan to go to either the new K1 Speed in Columbus (Hilliard) or Full Throttle in Novi MI for my birthday distraction. I’ve driven at Full Throttle and the Canton K1 before but kind of hit a plateau in part because the electric karts drive/handle differently.

What tips can those who are fast in electric karts offer for driving them quickly?

Bimodal_Rocket · December 27, 2024, 6:55pm

They are a bit different. I can’t speak for all of them but generally the rental e-karts are all low end torque that is delivered quickly and plateaus.

In the ones I have driven brakes are for emergency stopping. In our league racing, we all use throttle as “brake” since the power is so linear. To slow for a turn we will reduce throttle proportionally to dump speed. Then, back into throttle in the normal fashion. It’s all right foot driving.

Other than that, they drive like other karts. Don’t be sliding all over the place, etc. They are fun to hoon, tho!

Most of the e-kart facilities aren’t “fast”. They manage the speed such that only one or two functioning brain cells is required. However, the torque is substantial and the plywood slippery, so for most folks, it’s challenging enough. Depends a bit on the facility.

@nikspeeds any thoughts?

nikspeeds · December 27, 2024, 9:10pm

Since he mention k1, most of the k1s I’ve seen (and from videos online at other facilities) have OTL Karts. I noticed the OTLs at RPM do coast enough when you release throttle, unlike Supercharged Rimos for example where it’s more like driving a Tesla.

You’re still usually not going fast enough to really need brakes at most places though so I think this still holds true, just mentioning.

Aside from that, some of them have boost buttons, and I’ve found it best for lap times to use them coming out of a slow section rather than trying to get more top end speed.

Otherwise yeah nothing to add. The throttle is the biggest difference.

Bimodal_Rocket · December 27, 2024, 9:34pm

I’d say that it’s more like oval than sprint in some ways, driving wise. But also not, and somewhat like dirt maybe.

Some places, like Andretti in Orlando, have a very slippery approach, some not. Andretti asphalt section was like glass. Most asphalt is like you’d expect. Multilevel facilities will feature two surfaces. Asphalt to plywood and then back again. This transition is usually concurrent with banking and elevation changes.

The driving in the plywood is different. It’s grippy but much less than asphalt, and it seems to really like you to play in slip angle. It’s liquid and rotational. In the asphalt, the kart feels like any other, grippy.

Slideways

Oh yeah Nik is right about boost. Easy to forget. Not everyone uses same timing/rules. I did a race and didn’t realize we had boost until the final lol.

Bimodal_Rocket · April 19, 2025, 4:27am

So I took Nick out to Xtreme Zone. He’s never been and I have the opportunity to do some racing with him, since he’s around. There’s a 4Hr coming up there I could do with him.

I was impressed with how quickly he learned the tracks tricky technical bit. The track has two distinct sections, the high speed outside and the twisty inside. Nick got to pace on the inside within our 5 heats.

The fast bit at the beginning, t1 and t2, is where he’s got some work to do. He needs to be flat deeper into the corner. He’s slowing too soon and losing .2-.4 there. If he fixes that, he’s on pace with me. So, I think I’ll take him back a bunch and we see if he can git gud. Once he’s gotten more seat time there, he will be very quick.

It will be nice to race again with Nick. I must admit that as I got more competitive with Rebel Scum stuff, my racing with Nick dropped off. So, I look forwards to racing with him again. Maybe he can also do the Supercharged league with me as well!

Bimodal_Rocket · April 22, 2025, 4:46pm

Tuesday spring break hours at Xtreme zone.

Had to head to Philly with Nick and gonna make a day of it and go do some laps at Xtreme Zone.

Philly sights

Bimodal_Rocket · April 23, 2025, 7:37pm

More Ego boosting for Dom (and some for Nick):

Nick and I had a lovely Tuesday at Xtreme Zone. We went midday and raced from about 2-5 pm, got in a bunch of sessions.

It’s Nicks second visit and he did make improvements, as expected. I am hoping to get him enough seat time to dial in the track and get truly quick there, and maybe do a race when possible.

Gratuitous Ferarri Shot

Matt keeps messing with the layout, subtly changing the inside radiuses, which has slowed the pace down a touch (but also made for better racing space).

It used to be that a fast lap was 20s, now, 22s are the pace. I ran a 22.5 yesterday, which was pretty good. In the recent enduro I won, my fastest lap was 22.4.

I challenge @matthaasracing and Omar to a race vs me and Nick

Nick got really close to breaking 23. He landed multiple 23.0X laps, so it’s a matter of inches of improvement for him. He still needs to turn a bit earlier in to t3, but he’s made big strides in t2 and t5.

Also, not to put too fine a point on it, I have a 70lbs (32kg) advantage on him. If you go by the assumption that he’s losing 5/10 at least to that, we are equally paced.

Omar working

In reality, I am herding him somewhat to try to get him to feel the pace achievable through certain corners, giving him some vinyl to vinyl encouragement. I can’t really articulate “there’s more grip there than you think” but I can tap his butt when he’s slightly off.

My logic is that by feeling the pace he will absorb the pace and come to seek it out naturally. Seems to be working as he got faster over the visit, with less taps from me.

My Zoolander car (ridiculously good looking and freshly washed) framed by the entrance

We also had great fun in public sessions. Some of the folks were pretty decent and we had a fun final race. Nick had slightly better pace than the fellow ahead of him, but it was close. I made up the back of the train and I pushed the two of them around for a bunch of laps. Multiple 23.0s for them both! I did manage to find a breakaway moment to go drop the 22.5 bomb, just to make sure they understood who’s the boss, though.

As we were leaving, @matthaasracing and Omar (enthusiastic employee who is self taught) popped out on track to race. I was not able to hang around and race with them, alas.

This dog is unrelated to Xtreme Zone but serves as a reminder to submit more pics of your race companions.

I was pretty sure that Matt would remove me from the lb for the day. A) he’s faster (it’s his facility after all) and B) they had a nice rubbered up track that me and Nick had prepped for them all day. However, it appears that they were unable to dethrone me. Ha!

I’ll edit vids tonight. If anyone wants to see me glued to the bumper of my son and politely getting around pub racers, these will be interesting.