A sprint kart is going to be a brick no matter what you do (within the rules). I think that’s why the gains seem to be marginal other than getting yourself out of the wind.
I’d be curious to see how much of a difference there is between old school breadbox (with and without the narrow steel rear bumper) and the modern (Supposedly) CFD designs.
Maybe we’ll see bicycle shorts and shirts (or ice skate racing suits) in karting soon 
Whee! Aero!
Warren, I bet you would have like slalom/downhill snowboarding…the ability to lay down turns was amazing on the slalom/downhill boards. Awkward very front pointing stance (both feet) but at speed, such control of edging.
Ross Rebagliati
"The International Olympic Committee initially stripped him of the medal due to a failed drug test for cannabis use, but was overruled by an appeals court two days later, resulting in the medal being restored. Since retiring from snowboarding, Rebagliati has become an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry.
Alls well that ends well.
Thanks to this thread getting bumped, I just saw my question in this thread back in October 2023 haha! Based on the rest of this thread, I’ll take it that no, we don’t have accurate weights for the 507 fairing or how much weight it saves over the OTK hotdog?
I’ve heard people say it saves a huge range of weight, from 3lbs to just a few ounces haha. Trying to figure out if replacing my hotdog with the 507 would save enough weight to make it worth it. It is so weird to me that weight isnt a standard specification in kart bodywork product listings!
Position of your body in the kart → Understood, weight distribution matters.
Choice of helmet → Wait, what? How does your helmet make you faster?
Agree, especially that racers are spending $$$ for weight savings in things like carbon floor trays.
This is absolutely true, I kind of suspect at some point we will go towards suits closer resembling Bobslead/tight leathers then car fire suits. We do have some limitations on body positioning almost all us large guys in 206 are at the legal limit.
I would say the effect of panels is massively different based on body type as well. A ideal kart racer body (Short and Skinny) has way less to gain from driver panel changes then I do at 6ft tall 220lbs. I have incredibly short legs though with a massive Torso.
I would add fitment of bodywork as well. The same bodywork can be fitted differently and The Bodywork Shape. As in the same Bodywork can be pretty massively different. This is because of shipping/How it came out of the mold or good old racer modification. The panels do not have templates they have to meet. So you can put them into hot water and adjust as needed pretty much.
P.s. I am also massively in agreement over bumper choice being a result of its ability to absorb impacts for pushbacks.
Frontal area and shape. You’d want the most aerodynamic shape possible, with the smallest frontal area.
There’s one team that I work with who has tested a number of different suits in a wind tunnel (seated in a kart obviously) and found substantial difference between a tailored suit, and a loose fitting off the rack suit.
What will be interesting is if any race organization ever actually enforces the damn rules. There’s a couple drivers currently using suits that are a complete joke if they were to come out of the kart at any considerable speed. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait for a serious injury and subsequent lawsuit for everyone to enforce the rules.
This got me thinking (and perhaps this is better for another thread), about how necessary is kart suit abrasion resistance actually? From what I’ve seen, the vast majority of every crash karting happens during a corner. Speeds in the corners are also much lower than the top speed reached in any given lap. When crashes do happen where a driver is thrown from the kart, rarely (if ever) have I seen them thrown and then slide along the track at high speed. Trying to think back, I feel like every driver thrown from a kart was thrown in the run-off area.
I dunno. I don’t actually think I would wear a suit with zero abrasion resistance and having a durable race suit just makes plain safety sense. I just think its weird that if abrasion is such a concern that we wear heavy abrasion resistant suits but then wear essentially lycra gloves… 99% of every glove I’ve ever seen a karter wear would disintegrate in a split second during a slide. Most clubs (and therefore insurance companies) seem allow jeans with a separate jacket too. That would be better than nothing but moto studies show jeans to be pretty useless in a high speed slide and a separate jacket may also be pretty bad considering we are oriented feet first in our karts. So if abrasion is such a big concern, why are these allowed?
This particular aspect of karting has always felt odd to me. Compared to my other hobbies, in some ways it feels backwards. Cycling and gravel racing for example - high speeds on tarmac and/or gravel roads (20-30 mph+ is common) where almost every crash involves a significant slide. Despite that, we wear lycra short sleeve clothing because a slide really isnt the primary injury concern (impact is). In karting, our helmets (and their certifications) would indicate that impacts are the primary concern. Based on my not-scientific-at-all research, it seems that impact related injuries cause almost all karting deaths.
I know, I know, a bunch of people probably have anecdotal stories of some brutal slides. Not saying they don’t, won’t or can’t happen. I’m curious how common high speed slides are actually occurring which justifies the extremely thick suits we wear? Personally, I’ve see fire risk be a much more serious concern in a crash than abrasion has (kart flipped, fuel dumped all over the driver and track).
The FIA is now introducing abrasion resistance tests, and you’ll start to see gloves and shoes being homologated. You’ll probably never see anyone in the US require them.
The reason that this hasn’t been a concern in the past is because it’s highly unlikely that anyone would be sliding on their hands for any extended period, or with any great amount of weight. When people are thrown from a kart, they typically tumble and then slide on a flat broad part of their body. (Most commonly this would be back/scapula, leg/hip/quad.)
As someone who has crash tested a number of kart suits over the years, as well as someone who’s come off a road bike at 40mph, I’m pretty happy we have the regulations we do.
With that said, no article of safety equipment can protect from every eventuality/injury.
Also, the only fires I’ve seen in karting have been 4-strokes. 2-Strokes with the oil mixed in don’t ignite nearly as easily. I’ve seen two fires in 25 years, and neither resulted in the driver being burned as the driver was well away from the kart by the time anyone noticed any flame. Nomex, is pretty pathetic at abrasion resistance, so I would have a really hard time taking anyone seriously who is advocating for that.
i can tell you first hand abrasion resistance is defiantly need. I cart wheeled one a few years ago and slid along he track for a fair few meters. the OMP suit i was wearing was torn through the outer layer but the inner lining stayed in tacked saving my back from being torn up.
I haven’t weighed the 507 but did get a chance to weigh the 508 Nassau, among some other new body pieces. See below…
Nassau
Side pods
Can also confirm the KG 508 Nassau panel is compatible with 506 and OTK M7 top brackets.
The KG C3 rear bumper also fits OTK
Dude, your setup looks awesome. Love the stickers and 507/506 bodywork combo.
Bumping Spencer’s question above, have you weighed the 507 Nassau panel?
Thanks bud! Appreciated 
It turned out great for sure😁
I haven’t weighed it yet, I have the Kz in another location for now. Will weigh when I get it to my new house
I would expect the 507 fairing to be a fair bit lighter as it doesn’t have the entire lower bolt on duct assembly.
And who designed your stickers, if you don’t mind sharing?
I contacted jakedesign with my ideas and he made them into reality 
I asked Comet if they could weigh the M7 and the KG507 fairings. They replied with, “The OTK M7 driver panel is 2.2 lbs (998g) and the KG507 driver panel is 1.7 lbs (771g).”
So, it sounds like the KG507 fairing is 0.5lbs (227g) lighter than the M7 hot dog. I assume this is without stickers FYI.
I think I am going to swap to the 507 fairing this season. I’ve read that the M7 brackets should work with some slight modifications. I may go with the titanium brackets from fastec which should save another 0.3lbs (144g). The weight savings is appreciated but as a 6’2" 185lb driver, I think the aero benefits of the wider 507 fairing may also be a benefit.
