Supercharged: welcome to the future of rental karting
I have to say, Suoercharged is impressively big, shiny, and new. The karts are very nice Rimo electrics that make zoom noises through speakers. They are peppy and handle well, a good fleet.
The track is a gorgeous modern thing; it swoops up and around a dark chamber (more on that later) which reminds me a bit of the old space mountain ride. It’s very technical and very fun and would be an absolute hoot to race on.
The facility is new and seems nice. There’s also a really nice driving range in the complex. It’s conveniently located in Edison, which is close to the city, kinda. It’s a busy place.
Now for the bad news. It’s got issues (in its present form as I experienced it). Why?
- It’s too successful. I went on Tuesday at 6pm, not when you’d think it would be super busy. In fact they were running 5 bays of 7 karts, constantly while I was there. It was an assembly line.
This means that their procedure is annoying as heck. You get called into a room and wait 10 minutes as they read you the rules and give you a helmet. Then, you are told to enter the pit area where you wait in line for another 10 minutes. Then after the prior group comes in, you get in your karts and wait another 10 minutes for the group that was just released to come in. Then, finally, you go.
So, it’s a long ass time waiting to get on the ride at Disney, basically.
The karting is the next disappointing bit. While the facilities and equipment are fantastic, they run the karts at speed 3.This kills it as a place to go karting for racers. It will make you frustrated. The track is hilariously twisty and has a boatload of elevation changes. With the torque of the electrics, it’s a hoot. But, it’s toned down so that just as you start to feel the power come in, it hits a limiter.
The corkscrews and the like make it rather technical and even at speed 3, you can have moments in the corners. But between the corners, the kart gives you nothing, nada, zilch. So it’s kind of flat out, with the ability to take corners flat out since you have more grip than power.
I get why they do it. The clientele is an amusement clientele. It’s tricky enough at speed 3 for most. But, Oh, the potential! Give us more power!
My final gripe is the lighting. They made a big box, painted it black, and then put a black track in it. Cmon guys. We need disco lights, color, fun. Give us Versailles crossed with Spa, not Panera at the mall.
Anyhoo, that is my report. Final note, one of the sessions had a large group of ladies in their 40’s and 50s (I think) that traveled as a pack and were out for blood. It was nice to see.