It took me about 3 years of racing motocross as a kid for us to sort out what we needed and what we didn’t for a race weekend. As an adult, the same could be said of my mountain bike racing setup. In an effort to try to shortcut that timeline a bit with karting, any advice is appreciated.
For now, we only have a Comer 50 kid kart but I will likely be joining the mix at some point. What all do you always ensure you have with you for a practice day? Any different for a race day? So far I have:
Kart
Driving gear (helmet, gloves, suit, shoes)
Fuel
Tools (I have wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, pliers, allens, etc.)
Lubricant, like Tri-Flow - for lubing up bearings after the session
Air inflator & tire pressure gauge - you’ll be playing with tire pressures throughout the sessions
Carb rebuild kits - Comer’s have a love/hate relationship with their carburetor. Find the sweet spot and life is good; be off and you’ll hate life and need a rebuild.
Compressed air - easiest way to clean carbs and other components
Folding table - for a working surface other than a tailgate
EZ-up - shade makes all the difference when you’re working or cooling down from a session
Water and snacks - I’ve nearly fainted a few times after a long session in the summer. Make sure and keep you and the kids fed and hydrated
Extra gears - for playing around with gearing depending on the track layout/conditions
This is a decent list, which will grow as you get more into it. Bringing every extra you have available (chains, carbs, tires, etc.) is wise if you have the room.
I’d say a bike floor pump unless you have an air compressor, not bad to have. I bring my own lunch, lots of water and snacks (get some salty stuff to replenish electrolytes, and something sweet to give the kiddo some energy).
I make sure to have money on me in case I break something and need to purchase some parts. If you have a pit space with power it’s not a bad idea to bring a fan and a canopy. Bring some fluids like loctite, wd40, chain lube, and engine oil if you’d like.
If you do need to get your hands dirty I recommend mechanic gloves, safety glasses, rubber gloves (if you’re changing oil not much other use), and shop towels to keep yourself clean. Coming from MTB myself I do also bring isopropyl alcohol to wipe down the rotor if I touch it or accidentally drip some lubricant on it.
Lastly, zip ties and spare hardware are your friends. I’ve lost parts on the track before that would’ve prevented me from going back out.
Sorry for the long winded reply, hope you find this useful, but obviously take this with a grain of salt and prioritize based on your needs and how much your kid runs. You most likely won’t be changing the oil and rebuilding clutches with the comers but that’s what I bring for 206. I don’t run the class and I wouldn’t want you to bring s bunch of stuff for no reason.
Happy karting!
For air, I fill a 5gal tank with dried air at home, but, with kid kart, you aren’t going to be playing with pressures much. Depending on the spec tire and the kid’s speed, you’ll be running way high on air pressure to try and build temp.
A hand held compressor from Harbor Freight (or Milwaukee/Ryobi/your brand of choice) is a great little tool for filling tires that doesn’t require you to bring a big compressor or air tank.
I’m lucky that I have a truck to throw the kart in for quick trips, a small 4x8 flatbed trailer, and a full 6x12 enclosed trailer for bigger endeavors. We have a small compressor, a small generator, and even a Four Wheel Camper on my truck. So mostly I’ll just need to buy the karts and spares…already having a lot of the peripherals was one of the reasons getting them a kart felt like such an easy call.
Make sure you know how the race day schedule works. Just about every race I have been to, announcements get made over a PA that less than half the participants can hear and the remaining half can barely hear cause someone is reving an engine (or an air compressor is going off).
Learn to identify the other classes quickly and know your slot in the mix if there are no printed schedules. This will save you a lot of stress about what you are trying to get done before your next session.
For kid kart - you will probably need a heat gun with scraper. The tires don’t get hot enough to rid the tires of the pickup. Most rule sets have a max OD, so you will need to scrape almost every session.
Foldable chairs.
Cooler.
Big floppy hat.
Shade (tent or something smaller)
Hydration packets
Spare clothing
Towels
Power (I use ryobi battery thing but some folks go big)
Sunblock
Mr. Zogs sex wax (wait a sec, that’s not for asphalt… unfortunately we don’t get nice odors like surf wax in karting, though castor oil is apparently used in beauty products).
Pain killers
Spare glasses if you are like me and lose them alot.