The anamorphic is an odd one…
it is a very wide angle but is less wide angled than their normal ultra wide accessory lens.
It uses some sort of cinemagic to compress and reshape stuff so it appears less distorted. It also has a very squat and wide FOV. Finally, light sources produce Bokeh effects.
Here’s the difference:
Lens mod 2.0 (177 deg)
Anamorphic (150 deg)
Much less vertical FOV means can’t show hands. However, movement is more “natural”.
Interesting. That’s a good point about not be able to see the hands (e.g., less total view), but the quality of the view that is visible is definitely a bit nicer looking. Never been a fan of the fish-eye look, but it’s always just been part of it.
Thought of the day:
“To win races you must first learn how to lose.”
-the Rebel Scum
karting, particularly rental racing, is a bit of a roller coaster, results-wise! Once you’ve learned how to lose, you can let yourself win when the opportunity arises. 
It fascinating to ponder what adaptations you’ve undoubtably made which are specific to rental kart racing and that someone who is fast in another form of karting would have a hard enough time adapting to (at least without a bunch of seat time). For a while at least most people that jump across categories will be slower, in a relative way, than they are in their own category. This aspect of motor racing (category specific adaptations) have always caught my attention, and ultimately makes it difficult to compare drivers across categories.
At the end of the day I find joy thinking about the idea that you might leave some F1 drivers, let alone drivers from other categories, struggling to catch up - at least until they figured out the nuances of the rental kart.
“The truth is, the best driver in the world might be a kid in India, or a girl in Africa, but we’ll never know because they’ll never get the chance to sit in a race car.”
“The most astonishing insight we produced through our own research was that the average cost to take a young racer from 5 years old to F1 is $33,000,000,” Porsche explains. “This means that all but a tiny minority will ever realize their potential. Most will never even get the chance to showcase their talent at the grassroots karting level.”
I think about that, too. There’s some kid somewhere, in a village with dirt floors, who is potentially better than Senna. The sad thing about racing is that it is out of the reach of most, which is a pity. It also mythologizes those who acheive success in a field that is small as a result of its barriers to entry.
Regarding specific adaptations… I think the restarts were a good example of that. When the pack got unruly I know to not make any inputs, to let the kart go slack, and ride through the chop, not try to force it through. Let them lock up/slide and lose control. Bend like water.
Touring Kart Championship banter, summarized.
How do you guys think about rental karting compared to the karting we do? I think it is fun for entertainment, but I don’t participate in any of the rental series. I see it as kind of a waste of money unless it’s once in a while.
I think it’s a lot of fun and I enjoy it as much as when I raced TAG.
I think the main differences to me aren’t so much about the karting but about the day/process.
I very much like the idea of arriving/driving/talking smack/leaving…
Without a trailer! Without any ongoing maintenance!
sure, the karts aren’t as good but it’s still pretty darn good,
Also, to be fair, I’m a big wimp and I like the idea of wraparounds.
Insofar as a waste of money… I mean maybe… but isn’t regular kart racing the same? Owner karting doesn’t necessarily open any doors that rentals don’t. I’m not sure paying to be under Norberg’s tent would change anything, other than spending even more money.
Leaving the notion of professionalism aside, is karting a waste of money. I think not as I am physically very fit compared to most dudes my age. Thank you go-karts! That being said, working out to lose weight would be cheaper! But jogging is hell and lifting weights is also annoying.
I need to dig up those pics of Brenna sashaying around the world in race cars. She was a rental racer but somehow managed to get car seats.
This is a good perspective. We are all wasting money. If you are having fun doing it and can afford to do so, keep it up!
Thats all that matters.
I used to look down at rental karting as “not real racing”. Now, I realize its just different (none of us are “real racing”; or maybe better said that all of us are “real racing”?). Not better, not worse, just different.
Maybe Jim meant “waste of money” as in it doesn’t translate to driving an owner-kart? That debate would be interesting.
Hehe it’s a bit like debating about playing,
Playtime is good. Wether you have a modest straw doll or a GI Joe with kung fu action grip, playing is fun.
Speaking of…
This is an interesting take once you think about it.
Is the driving so fundamentally different that the two are not the same?
Hmmmmmm. I am not sure on this one.
the rentals are defined by weight and wraparounds. Those things do change the way it drives.
But, the dynamics are the the same, it’s just that the weight/tire behaves differently (ie much easier to hop in rental).
And finally the wraparounds mean that contact isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Now, subjectively, I’d agree that a lighter race kart on stickier tires is more agile and “fun”. However that “fun” requires significant investment in time/learning to unlock. It’s a lot easier to make a mess of things on yellows with 30hp.
But the feels in a rental are basically the same just slower and heavier. The accessibility tax.
F1 or IndyCar would be amazing to drive, but Spec Miata and SRF are way more attainable and have more people driving them 
As a driver, being able to adapt to different chassis, engines, dynamics, etc. makes you better. The best drivers are able to make those adjustments the fastest.
Cool compare in one way I can think… the car folks probably are inherently less concerned about being in the “dorkier” car because the barriers in cars are insane.
Im into high downforce cars in sim. I can’t stand road cars in sim comparatively. IRL there is 0% chance I will ever have the funds to be able to afford to gain mastery of such a vehicle. Were I to do cars it would be what I could afford and I think that’s HUGELY clear in cars and people maybe aren’t dicks about it?
In Karting, the leap from formula ford to F1 is quite a bit less pricey. Gx270 to KZ, basically.
Where I am it went up in price and I think it’s kind of a lot now. The last time I took a friend it was something like $150 for 4 races. Now I sound old though, '“Back in my day, this was x dollars!” haha.
Yeah it varies quite a bit, now. Some places are still a good value, though.
When I go to Xtreme zone, I pay 90 for 5 sessions. On the other end of the scale, Supercharged is 85 bucks for 3 shorter heats.
I find the better value to be racing stuff. The Ironman is 100 bucks. Leagues, that sort of thing.
That’s very reasonable and closer to what indoor stuff used to be near me. I do enjoy it if the kart has good tires and the power isn’t restricted. Some of the surfaces and how the kart slides on them plus the added weight can be a good challenge.
That is what I meant. As long as I have my own I will never go to an indoor place except for randomly. It’s a good first date ime.
