New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Kid Karter Topics

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Scott Allen
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New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Scott Allen » Sun Dec 02, 2012 7:17 pm

I am a new member to the forum and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Scott Allen and I was at at the track a month or so ago to see if my son was interested in getting into karting and he definitely was....but was disappointed when all we did was stand around and talk to other members, and he didn't get to do any racing.

After looking around, I did find a Birel Kart for sale that I just picked up today for him. I am going to run it over to 3G Karts tomorrow to have it looked over. While I am very interested in cars and racing, I am completely new to the world of karting. My only experience is your basic track days at MSR, Track 21, etc... My oldest son (Kai) just turned 6 years old last month and my youngest son (Ari) is 3 1/2, so hopefully we can get together with some other dads to learn some basics when it comes to kart racing. We live in SW Katy near 1093 and 1463. I will probably start my youngest son around 4yrs old. He is far more physically advanced for his age than my older son was at that time, so I'm hoping that he will also find interest in karting and we can have some good family memories racing.

I think initially we will start off with some basic parking lot practice with basic cones and an adjusted throttle stop to slow things down until he gets the hang of it some. Once I feel he is performing well enough, being safe, paying attention, etc...I will start adjusting the throttle out some. Hopefully some other parents have some advice on best practices so that I can start him off on the right foot. I will also be needing to source out the safety equipment, helmet, rib protector, suit, etc... I kind of wanted to make sure he was interested in driving the kart before I spent hundreds on new gear, but obviously I need to get some stuff ordered. What helmet are most of you running? I've seen Vega helmets for a decent price, but I'm not how heavy they are, and I don't want to get him into a helmet that makes his head bobble around. Pyrotect was another option I saw. I am fine with spending money on a nice helmet, but I don't want to over-buy a helmet since this is for a kids head that will be growing. So I don't want a $500+ helmet at this time.

So basically, I just wanted to say hi, introduce myself and get some helpful advice. Hopefully I'll be joining the track as a member here soon and we'll see you guys out there.

Happy Holidays.

Scott

Kenny Brown
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Joined:Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:00 pm

Re: New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Kenny Brown » Mon Dec 03, 2012 12:22 am

Welcome Scott. My son Kade is 6 1/2 and we started racing this year. You will find lots of help at the tack and on the forum. I know of (2) other Kid Karts that will be new to racing next season and we had as many as (6) karts at a couple of races this year.

Your plan to get your son started off mirrored mine. Track time will be the most important thing once he gets a feel for the kart. You will see they really like to practice together and they gain speed as a group. They also will hang out with each other between races.

I'm right down the road from you in Fulshear. Call me at 713-825-3083 and I can show you our gear.

Scott Allen
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Joined:Sun Dec 02, 2012 6:03 pm

Re: New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Scott Allen » Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:59 am

Sounds good. I'd like to meet some of the dads and hopefully build relationships outside of the track. I think it would be good for the kids to truly know people versus just having track friends so to speak. He already has Kung Fu friends that he only knows at martial arts, but there is a huge difference in his interaction with those kids and his friends that he knows here from his neighborhood that also goes to the same martial arts academy.

What kind of schedule works best for you? Evenings, weekends, etc... My job is pretty flexible so I have random time available most days.

Kenny Brown
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Joined:Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:00 pm

Re: New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Kenny Brown » Mon Dec 03, 2012 5:55 pm

Anytime, my schedule sounds similar.

Scott Allen
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Re: New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Scott Allen » Thu Dec 06, 2012 11:00 pm

I'll try and get in touch with you tomorrow if you're free. I actually just bought my 3 1/2 year old a kart earlier this week. It's a Top Kart kid kart, blueprinted Comer 50, hollow rear axle, lightened rear rotor and hydraulic brake setup, Ribtec seat, K&N intake, AIM steering wheel w/ Mychron 4 computer. And it's on an almost brand new Avanti frame. I couldn't pass on it even though I had no use for it. So now I have 2 kid karts. Planning to swap some parts around between the two. I actually like the Avanti frame better than the Birel, as well as the Ribtec seat over the Tillett, and the brakes, axles, etc... should offer a bit less rotating weight. But I'm leary on the blueprinted Comer. Need to make sure its 100% legal before I bother having my older son use it. But my younger son can use it for now since he won't be doing anything competitive. We'll just take him out for fun. Just need to get some sticker kits for the Top Kart since it currently has purple and pink decals on it which I know my son will not want.

Johnny Spiegel
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Joined:Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:23 am

Re: New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Johnny Spiegel » Sat Dec 15, 2012 5:01 pm

Scott ,
I'm at the same stage you are . I have a 6 year old Spencer that fell in love with karting. We went out there a few times and spencer and myself were made to feel very welcome. Kenny brown and his family made us feel at home out there .( thanks to the brown family).
I also have a almost 5 year old Maddox who wants to race also . We have been going over to the high school on Sunday afternoons and setting cones and a coarse . He is very ready to be at the track and I'm waiting for my membership application to get approved .
If you want to meet us out there sometime let me know and they can test together.
I've been around racing from 89-2008 but never karting so I'm very sure ill be learning something every time we go out.

Johnny Spiegel

Scott Allen
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Re: New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Scott Allen » Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:14 pm

We just gave my son his new kart today and got him out to a local school parking lot for some seat time.....2 hours later, we left. Couldn't get him out of the kart. Need to get some tuning done to the kart however. Need to meet up with some experienced dads to see what we need to adjust on his kart to make it truly race ready. But he had a blast. Didn't take my youngest son out today, he was not in the mood, plus I'm scared about him being reckless. My older son is much more cautious and thoughtful in his actions, but my younger kid is just balls to the walls.

Kenny Brown
The master poster
Posts:84
Joined:Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:00 pm

Re: New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Kenny Brown » Fri Dec 28, 2012 1:21 am

A couple of us KId Kart Dad's will be at the track Saturday afternoon. There would be time between the kid's running to look at your (or anyone else that's interested) kart.

Scott Allen
Rookie Poster
Posts:23
Joined:Sun Dec 02, 2012 6:03 pm

Re: New Member - Kid Kart father looking for advice

Post by Scott Allen » Sun Dec 30, 2012 7:51 am

I have not paid my dues to be a member at the track yet so I didn't want to show up to practice there until I am a member. Plus I ordered a new carb for the kart. Having issues with his current one. I also ordered some parts to rebuild it as well so I can have a good back up carb. Once those are in, maybe we could meet up again for you to take a look at it and see what else is amuck.

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