Hi there.
Seen quite a few Parolins getting around my local tracks and winning consistently. There is a Parolin dealer near me whom I already do most of my business with. Just mainly wondering what sort of chassis they are? Heard a few people say that they are soft, maybe even softer than a KR. Anyone got any experience with Parolins?
Thanks.
My kart is a Parolin. I can’t say whether it’s better than KR or OTK etc. because it’s the only kart I’ve driven with the X30 engine. But I really like it and am happy I went with it. What does your Parolin dealer say about them? They win a lot around my local tracks as well and I too have heard they are very soft.
Here in Australia they’re very competitive at a national level, but at regional and state level series they’re not very common. A lot of people here love them but the general opinion is that they are an extremely soft frame. Which is ridiculous because most frames at the moment are ridiculously soft. On the weekend we raced Victorian state titles and the Parolins were very quick in the hot weather and sticky track conditions, but they were as quick as every other chassis when the heat wasn’t extreme.
I think that’s because club people look for a chassis that lasts a good while, like one year, when they hear soft chassis they think that it will last for two or three races. Meanwhile other brands last longer or even if they no longer have that durability the public still have that perception about them
In the US at least they have been phased out almost completely in the senior classes. No one is really running them besides the cadet classes.
In my opinion I ran a parolin made chassis last year and it was far too stiff for low hp which I was running. It was good in low grip but it got locked down with stickier tires/higher grip. Just my experience but I dont think anything on the market is as soft as the KR currently and definitely not the Parolin.
If they’re fast where you are and the support is good there’s nothing wrong with them though, I thought the fit and finish and quality of parts was very good.
When a chassis is dead, what exactly happens to it? Do your lap times just fall off a cliff and no set up changes make any difference to the feel/handling?
I understand guys at the national level getting a new chassis every couple of months but that just seems like overkill and a way to ensure everything is fresh and nothing breaks in important races?
I’ve done 3 race meetings and 8 practise days in my Parolin and on the last test day was as fast as it’s been lap time wise. I’d hate to think halfway through the year the chassis is toast and be forced to get a new one. In that case I’d probably switch to a KR but wouldn’t I be facing the same issue with them anyway?
Parolin is one of the biggest manufacturer, very high quality. They also makes a lot of the chassis out there, they have many chassis models. Soft to stiff, 30mm - 32mm and mixed 30/32mm
When a chassis starts to crack a lot and not respond to changes it is time to change
No need to worry about changing it, I’m running my Energy Eclipse Kz for the 3rd year now. Still great with plenty of underside wear
Don’t worry, your kart is not going to wear out halfway through a season.
That sort of rumor is just people with too much money justifying buying new karts every weekend when they can’t figure out why their driver is slow, or chassis dealers trying to make a buck off people.
It’s been well documented and asked about a lot here. Plenty of big race wins have been done on karts with lots of races or multiple seasons on them. I’ve had lots of national podiums and strong results on 3 year old chassis. I ran strongly in my regional one-off last year on a 3 year old kart. Just as fast as anyone.
You’ll know a chassis is “dead” when it stops responding to changes.
Parolin makes a perfectly fine kart. They are one of the biggest manufacturers and produce chassis for a lot of smaller brands as well. So while you might not see so many branded “Parolin” in the senior or junior classes, I would bet 25% of the field is on something Parolin has produced for another brand under a different name.
Yeah basically what TJ said. It’s ridiculous the idea you need a new chassis even every year but it’s also partly due to manufacturers pushing this idea to sell more karts.
I have had one kart that basically became too fatigued to work properly anymore. It had been run 8 seasons in a row with a couple decent wrecks and was still incredibly quick, but we ended up having to straighten it many times since it kept going back to being bent. Eventually one weekend it just got incredibly loose and wouldn’t respond to most changes so we retired it. 8 years of consistent running is pretty good imo 
I’ve heard people say that Parolins are great at the start of a race, but towards the end they drop off in performance dramatically. Any thoughts?
I didn’t race in Vic states, but I went down to watch on Sunday. Saw lots of Parolins up the front of the field. People are saying that Parolins are good at the start of a race, but towards the end they drop off in performance dramatically. Any idea if there’s much truth to that?
Most karts these days are pretty similar and infinitely adjustable and capable of winning. The tire is really what dictates a kart’s strength in the course of a race, so your tire pressure and wheel design will have a larger impact on the kart’s pace throughout a run more than anything.
Chassis setup or design can certainly affect tire wear, but I’m not sure how much truth there is in the notion that brand A or brand B tends to fade over a run. Parolin or Parolin-derived karts have won plenty of races over the years, so I wouldn’t let that sort of paddock hearsay dictate my chassis choice.
When it doesn’t respond to set up changes or the tube is too fatigued so it gets easier to bend by itself, especially on bumpy tracks. The latter is still usable though. For example a friend got second place at the beginning of the year with a very used chassis and also won twice the local Rotax Max championship with a 2008 chassis against his principal rival who buys new chassis every 6 months.
I remember hearing recently that Parolin makes the cadet karts of Sodi, though I don’t know if that’s true
Sodi makes everything themselves.
As far as I know Parolin currently makes themselves, Merlin, Nitro Cadet, Vemme, Falcon, TopKart and Energy but there may be more or some brands that have left. I know the TopKarts as well as the Merlin Cadet and LM30 are exact copies of Parolin chassis whereas the Merlin MR29 is just manufactured by Parolin. Not sure on the other brands if they are identical or just made by Parolin, correct me if I’m wrong on anything.
From my experince you start to feel it when tje rubber comes on the track. You just dont feel the flex anymore and it stsrts to slide more.
Here’s the complete list of who makes who.
I used that but there’s some missing on there I’m pretty sure.
I was just having this conversation yesterday. I think the first thing to understand is the difference between a “worn out/flexed out” chassis, and one that has been bent or cracked/welded. IMO, you can only weld and straighten a chassis so many times before performance drops.
As for older chassis’ that are considered worn out due age, there aren’t many drivers that can point to the chassis as to why they aren’t winning races. There are a lot of other factors to consider before getting a new chassis. But, if you have the money and want to peace of mind, absolutely buy a new chassis!
I got a used Parolin Le Mans, pre-2023 model. It has a Rotax FR125. I love it. Set it up to be ‘neutral’ and it goes where I point it. I don’t have to fight with the kart.
Lousy lap times would be the driver’s fault.