That would be the bees knees. Enough power to spin the wheels on corner exit would make things a lot more interesting.
I have not experienced this notchiness in throttle. My experience has been very linear with deceleration being also a linear throttle reduction.
I would like to try e-karts that have the power the spin you with sloppy cornering exits. One of my pet peeves is how people aren’t punished for mistakes with the instant torque. You only capture the small difference of their error and don’t get the benefit of pulling on them down the straight.
@tankyx – the original version had a true gearbox, although the article I linked does show how they’ve gone “virtual.” I don’t think it matters for my purposes – the enjoyment is introducing a driving element of skill: when and where to “shift.”
For me, the “win” for electric would be to ensure ~perfect parity and reduce total cost of ownership. There are no valves or cylinders or carburetor or oil changes or magic fluids. No tuning needed, no rebuilds needed. Best driver wins.
Not cheaper to run than gas karts
It would never be cheaper than something like LO206, but it could be cheaper than KA100 which costs >$100 in gas per weekend vs. $5 charging the night before. So it would need to be KA100 speeds at LO206-like running costs.
Battery memory effect, which requires constant investment in batteries
Perhaps battery could be run under-spec’d, so it isn’t best battery wins? E.g. some kind of voltage regulator that let’s say fixes a 40V battery to run at 36V, which even old batteries could easily meet as they wear?
Don’t know our K1 Speed in Canton Ohio uses lithium’s batteries designed by owner and have been going for almost a year now. Even with all the Endurance and GP races. And arrive and drive bumper car people… I agree with other people on here there are some BIG wins for electric karts… Over Gas… Hope the cost of electric gets cheaper to be comparable to gas… Will get there over time. Just getting started…
It seems you haven’t yet had the chance to experience truly high-performance electric karts, which we at Blue Shock Race refer to as “zero compromise technology.” While I don’t intend to criticize other companies attempting to develop electric karting solutions, the reality is that no one in the market currently matches BSR in weight, performance, and overall technology. To provide more clarity, here are direct answers to your concerns:
Poor energy density, makes for heavy karts that don’t run for long
How long does a standard karting session last during training or races? Typically 10-15 minutes.
BSR Power Unit systems can deliver 15-20 minutes of racing with 44 hp power output and still retain over 30% battery capacity after the session.
So, where exactly is the “poor energy density”? Our technology ensures competitive runtimes without the excessive weight often associated with electric vehicles.
Battery memory effect, requiring constant investment in batteries
BSR is the only technical karting manufacturer offering an unlimited warranty for a full year on its batteries.
Practically, if used properly, BSR batteries last 2-4 years without needing replacement.
When calculating usage, the operating cost per racing hour is only $3-5.
Can any internal combustion engine (ICE) kart match that level of cost efficiency? No ICE kart offers such low depreciation and after-sales costs. BSR has already achieved this reality.
Poor charging speed, requiring specific infrastructure to charge a full fleet
BSR karts are versatile and can be charged from:
Standard household sockets
Solar panels
Electric vehicles (EVs)
Battery swap system:
Batteries can be swapped in under 60 seconds, meaning you can start the next session while charging occurs elsewhere (e.g., in an EV or a standard power outlet where you’d plug in a kettle or toaster).
Real-world example:
At the BSR Jacksonville event, 14 BSR-X4 karts (33 hp) were charged entirely from one electric vehicle over three days at a cost of only $35 total.
Drivers were offered unlimited track time, yet no driver managed to fully deplete their battery, as the charging from a single EV outpaced battery consumption.
In short: the claim of poor charging speed is factually incorrect.
Loss of efficiency at high RPM (e.g., on outdoor FIA Grade 1 tracks)
It seems there’s some misunderstanding about efficiency principles. Let’s look at the physics:
The most efficient internal combustion engines (ICE) achieve only 25-30% kinetic energy efficiency.
In contrast, even the least efficient electric motors reach 82-95% efficiency, with the best performing motors approaching 98% kinetic conversion.
Even if an electric motor lost 50% efficiency at high RPM, it would still be nearly twice as efficient as an ICE engine at peak performance.
Recommendation:
Take a closer look at efficiency curves of electric vs. combustion engines—the difference is technologically undeniable.
Huge upfront costs for karting facilities and drivers
Let’s compare apples to apples:
A 44 hp internal combustion kart with a corresponding chassis typically costs $9,000 to $15,000, depending on specifications.
A BSR 44 hp electric kart costs around $13,000 to $15,000.
While the initial price difference may be 10-30% higher for electric karts in certain classes:
Over the next 3 years:
BSR owners face virtually zero system maintenance costs.
By contrast, an ICE kart at this performance level requires $500-$1,000 in repairs and maintenance after every race weekend.
Bottom line:
After 10 race weekends, you’ll have spent enough on ICE maintenance to buy another kart, while BSR owners are spending that money on better travel, accommodations, or simply saving it.
Not cheaper to run than gas karts
Statements like this usually come from people relying on outdated perceptions (20-30 years old) and lacking firsthand experience with modern technology.
I understand reading this may challenge some deeply held beliefs—and you may feel inclined to prove otherwise. People have been telling me this for the last 10 years, yet BSR continues to grow by 200-300% annually.
Why do you think that is?
Is it because doubters are right?
Or because those who try BSR technology keep recommending it to others?
Food for thought: Sometimes, personal experience is worth more than theory.
If you’d like to experience the difference firsthand, we’re always open to demonstrations or sharing detailed performance data.
Good luck in your research, and I hope you’ll get the chance to test the technology that’s redefining karting worldwide.
I will read the rest of your message, but I will say first that I have been asking you multiple times if you could me plug me with the person handling the BSR kart in Mondercange, Luxembourg, as I am truly curious about it, and I live 20 minutes away from the track.
EDIT : Will answer tomorrow, some points are valid, some others are straight shilling for your business. Now I talk from a rental outdoor facility perspective. Maybe it wasn’t clear, but running an electric kart in a sprint setting during a competition weekend isn’t groundbreaking. From the outside, BSR looks like any other EKart, on paper doesn’t offer anything next gen compared to Sodi/OTL/Rimo etc.
I have very limited knowledge about the rental kart market. I would say that 40-60kmph may be fine for indoor tracks but will not be for outdoor tracks.
I would set the outdoor performance (rental, and karts owned) at the LO206 level.
Same here. I need roughly the same performance and cost as a traditional 125cc kart to even consider making the investment.
My same rule for electric vehicles right now. Until I can properly tow my camper, get the same range, and charge speeds nearly as fast as a gas pump I won’t be making a change.
I’d be pretty happy if we could all go electric. I’m so sick and tired of cruising with the windows down and some jalopy is just pouring out sickening fumes.
For outdoors karts on normal tracks, gx270 (for adults) is minimum. Thats good for 45-50ish. Indoors track designs can use less top speed so long as they eschew long straights and keep corner to corner distances short. Like supercharged t1. (But not t2).
I think alot of people need to go out and try BSR / K1 Circuit and others before they make any conclusions about Electric Race Karts. They are a blast to drive and nothing gets you to speed quicker and the torque is unbelievable. And different power levels you can do is awesome. From a learning stand point !!! Great job on Electric Karts from all the manufactures on thinking outside of the GAS Kart Box !!! Like I always say going to be a great 2025 Kart Year for Electric !!!
That’s fine. I’m thinking of ekarts as more of a racer than a rental driver. My guess is those karts are much more expensive upfront than a traditional higher HP gas kart.
The issue to me is weight. Thats what makes it different. They have big torque tho, so they aren’t laconic. But, that weight does make the kart feel a bit different from a regular lighter race kart.
90% of people on this forum (especially the ones responding on this thread) have tried electric karts. That is why they are bringing up questions and making points.
So 90% of the people have tried Electric RACE Karts on here Hmmm . We are NOT talking about electric rental karts 2 different animals. I hope that’s true ??? That means the electric kart sport is growing… And sooner or later it will be accepted at all the tracks … Can’t wait… I think all the questions are great… More knowledge means more people will find out how great they really are !!!
It sounds like you (BSR) are targeting the KZ crowd. My experience has been that this is a small subset of karters. Comparing cost of ownership this way is not relevant to most of us. As mentioned earlier you would need to offer KA or better performance on a LO206 budget to really be enticing. Keep in mind that up front cost is very important to a lot of people. Comparing cost of purchase and ownership over a multi year people isn’t a great comparison for a lot of people. A lot of people are not in a position to pay 30-50% more upfront in order to save over a3-4 year period.
Battery capacity is an issue regardless of what has been said. A 1 year warranty may be fine for a commercial customer but for the average person a 1 year warranty doesn’t excite me. My experience with Li batteries has shown that they live there best life when they are kept within the 20-80% charge zone. As a consumer we want to charge to have maximum charge and will inevitably discharge it below 5% at times. To protect the batteries overall lifespan you would need to program the battery. Controller to only allow this 20-80% range while displaying and functioning as if 20% is dead and 80% is full. Of course this requires having a battery that has about 35% more capacity than needed or used. From what I’m hearing we don’t have that much extra capacity right now.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not against electric but I don’t think we are there yet when it comes to replacing the average gas kart.
Pretty much what the RC world does. Sets the ESC with cutoff of nominal 3.7v/cell pack at 3.4v/cell to protect the pack, 3.0 to maximize runtime at the expense of battery life. I ran some down to 2.8 due to the current dips on big acceleration pulls for larger 1/8 races and oval races with super small light packs.
But none of the tech is capable of supporting a race weekend yet. Typical club race entails 2 practice sessions, qualy, prefinal, final with anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes between each session. There is no way current tech can last all day and there is insufficient infrastructure at the track to support charging, and that assumes the packs can even be adequately charged in that amount of time.
Make it cost competitive and performance comparable for a club venue and people will do it. But until then, it’s a bunch of marketing promises with key details left out or glossed over.
The k1 Circuit chassis are race karts. Not sure who they (OTL) are sourcing the rollers from, but it looks like a standard shifter race chassis.
The k1 indoors mass market karts are rental karts with all of the added weight and stuff. Much more bloated as is required by the recreational/fun seeking clientele.
