K1Speed Indoor Electric Carts 12/23/15 Wilimington MA

[nhbubba]

Looks like they are going to use the same or nearly the same equipment as K1 does. Should be very similar.

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I forgot about the dumb fire suits. No such requirement with the electric karts.

Don't be like me though; remember to bring your own helmet. Ewe..

[tls25rs]

Go Cart Racing in Hadley, MA - Go Karts Hadley, MA - Autobahn Indoor Speedway Hadley, MA. Sounds like it will be the same thing.

Like Colin said the karts appear to be the same make as the karts used at K1 Speed and the barrier system appears to be identical as well. It'll be interesting to see what their track layout and surface wind up being.

[SwiftTone]

I think they should do mini bike racing at F1 Outdoors. It'd be so cool!

[Kurlon]

It would be but they are dead set against it. They don't want to do anything that might damage the pavement, and minis dragging pegs and spilling race gas would absolutely rip that place up over time.

[MaRce1o]

They used to do it at the indoors tracks

I don't know why they're so worried about the pavement at the outdoors facility. Unless they repaved it all, last time I was there, racing a shifter kart, that was the worst track I had been to, so many bumps everywhere, which is a shame, such a beautiful facility.

But I would go there to race 9hp karts, that would be fun

[nhbubba]

F1 Outdoor in East Bridgewater? Pavement was excellent when I was there in June.

[nhbubba]

Back to K1 in Wilmington. Surface there is concrete. You can see where they scraped up tile from finished space. Supposedly the surface was bead blasted "for grip". It isn't bad. Not terribly grippy but then not absurdly slick either. My only complaint was the karts are virtually impossible to trail brake. But that is probably kart setup and possibly intentional.

Joel was talking with the kid they sent in to set up the facility. He showed us video of one of their facilities out west that had a much bigger track that was asphault. That looked like the beez lower-thighs.

[MaRce1o]

F1 Outdoor in East Bridgewater? Pavement was excellent when I was there in June.

Did u ride with real karts or with 9hp rentals?

[nhbubba]

Rentals. I don't think I've ever ridden a "real" kart.
FWIW: That's true for all the facilities I've reviewed here. I am doing an apples to apples comparison in that respect.

[MaRce1o]

Rentals. I don't think I've ever ridden a "real" kart.
FWIW: That's true for all the facilities I've reviewed here. I am doing an apples to apples comparison in that respect.

That would be why. Shifter kart can pull upwards to 3gs on a corner and destroy the pavement fairly quick if not properly layed for racing. I have seen a kart track being repaved 6 times before they finally had it right.

[Philkinson]

Went to K1 last weekend, did 8 races for $106 with tax. Way cheaper than F1, and boy was I sore the next day.
The concrete track really didn't do anything positive for grip issues, the karts are virtually impossible to turn sharply, and you're right- trail braking is impossible. I was also surprised that the electric karts didn't have the pickup from slower speeds like I was expecting. IMHO the F1 karts accelerate quicker, turn more predictably and slide better. The F1 track has better pavement and a more fun layout... K1 is completely flat with 3 or 4 hairpin turns.
For the money K1 was good but I honestly doubt that I will go back. F1 Boston has it right..besides being crazy expensive (but I guess you get what you pay for)

[TheIglu]

I felt the same way about K1 in Orlando.


Just didn't have that same gas powered feel that I'm used to at F1 or PVIK.

[SVRACER01]

i like F1 boston but the elevation changes suck when youre of "american" build. plenty of times ive been faster than someone and riding their rear bumper just to have them pull a kart length or 2 up the hill. then im back on them in the tunnel. rinse and repeat. im also not a fan of their "countryside" track. they should rebuild that and try again.

MIK eliminates that by being flat. being heavier may even be an advantage since you can overpower the grip of the tires sooner to initiate the slide. i also like that MIK changes up the layout regularly. i frequented a place in AZ that had moveable barriers and we would change it once a month. it was rarely the same.

my wife and i did F1 outdoors and it was pretty awesome. the grip is insane on pavement. we were the only 2 people there so they left us out there for a 30 min marathon. i was smoked when we were done. even though i lapped my wife, i couldnt keep her behind me. she thought i let her by. i didnt. she thought she won. i let her think that for about a day until i reminded her that she was actually a lap down when she passed me. . id go back there any day. id also love to try a shifter kart sometime

i gotta get down to K1 sometime and try out the electric ones.

[SVRACER01]

Im in albany for training and theres a K1 across the street. Looks like i found something to do. Just wish i brought my helmet.

[SVRACER01]

so i ran the K1 karts in albany. they were more fun then id thought they would be. i like that you arent racing for position so generally people get out of the way. i also like how quiet they are so people dont run defensive lines and when you appear out of nowhere on the inside you scare the shit out of them with just a little wheel lock up.
i took advantage of being last out of the pits and gave everyone a 2/3 of lap head start. had all but 2 laps to myself.
definitely set up to understeer, which was a little frustrating when youre trying to squeeze that last few tenths out of it.

[tls25rs]

Oxx,

If at any point in time you, or anyone else for that matter, want to go to the K1Speed in Wilmington for an evening of go karting fun let me know. I have found them to be fun enough that I have been there pretty much at least once a week and have a decent number of races on my card to use whenever. Typically Wed and Fri nights are good for me but I could probably make others work too.

After entering the GP Challenge this past Sunday night I found that I need to figure out how to maintain more corner speed as the point and shoot method will only get the lap times to a certain threshold. The fastest guys there (track 1 20.549s), roughly a second faster than me (track 1 fastest of 21.438s average lap of 21.6-21.7s), are typically not using the brakes at all, or very little, during a lap. Seems that the active braking that the electric carts will do is enough to slow you down on the tighter corners without slowing you down too much. I find that when I brake to make the tighter corners either the higher corner speed of the other drivers, or possibly the fact that they get back up to speed quicker, allows them to run faster laps. As with any contest of speed, smooth is fast and I need to smooth out some rough edges in my laps.

I seem to have fun whether I am out there with people as fast or faster than me, because we can work on fast laps without interfering with each other, or if I am out there with slower drivers, because I get to work on passing people cleanly without bumping and still maintaining position against those who are as fast or faster within the same race.

Did have a fun situation in the GP Challenge where one of the other drivers thought that by slamming into the back of me entering multiple turns that they would somehow wind up being able to pass me. They may have had a lesson in physics because I outweighed them by a decent margin and their bumping (read as using me as their brakes for the turn, had I not been there they would have completely blown the corner) served absolutely no purpose other than to aggravate me.

Joel

[SVRACER01]

my second race i ditched the brakes altogether. i propped my left foot on the leg hump near the steering wheel because i kept inadvertently touching it. its hard to get the kart to pivot, which i guess is technically oversteer. im guessing its set up/steering geometry or possibly the linear power delivery the electric kart delivers vs the abrupt power delivery a gas kart does when in the "power band".

ill let you know if i decide to head down some night. my schedule at work has changed to 6 days a week recently so my time off has gone from none to less than none...in fact i think i owe time.

[Sheppo]

I think a Wednesday could work. what's the out of pocket for a first timer??

[tls25rs]

I think a Wednesday could work. what's the out of pocket for a first timer??

K1's website has pricing info on it K1 Speed | HOURS AND PRICING I think they have a midweek deal too though which is a little less expensive that should be good Wed nights. If I go there this weekend I'll check. I originally bought the 8 race package they have that costs $100 but includes the license fee. Like most places if you buy more they cut you a per race discount.

[tls25rs]

Asked last night and they claim to longer be offering any midweek deals as a company so looks like what the website shows is what people are looking at for pricing.

Good news is I dropped roughly 0.200s off my fastest time and pulled a 21.268. Still not fast enough but getting there.

[oVTo]

I've got to make it over there. It's a 10 minute walk from work, so lunchtime is doable.
I noticed Costco had discounts today (up to 47% off); I'll check out the details next time I'm there if anyone's interested.

[tls25rs]

Couple of people from work and a couple of people from outside of work are planning on going to K1Speed in Wilmington MA on Wed Jul 27th. They are currently running a 3 for $39 deal Monday through Thursday so the pricing isn't too bad. It'd be cool if a couple of you guys made it as well. Guessing somewhere around 6:00-6:30 would be a good time to show up.

[Kurlon]

Can't commit yet but will try to make it. Looks like it's about 90mi from work for me so I'd be there at 6:30pm at the earliest.

[Kurlon]

Not going to be able to make this one, co-worker won't swap on call with me.

[Tom M]

Couple of people from work and a couple of people from outside of work are planning on going to K1Speed in Wilmington MA on Wed Jul 27th. They are currently running a 3 for $39 deal Monday through Thursday so the pricing isn't too bad. It'd be cool if a couple of you guys made it as well. Guessing somewhere around 6:00-6:30 would be a good time to show up.

That was a lot of fun. Nice meeting you Joel and thanks for the driving tips.