[m7ammed]

I want to lose weight maybe around 10 KG, and I was wondering how would that affect your lap time in go kart? I mean I want to loose the weight but I don't think I'm motivated enough, I had this idea of doing a couple laps with a go kart in Bahrain and taking my best time and set a lower time to beat after I loose the weight , depending that loosing the weight would actually make a difference, that is why I'm asking if it would. Setting this type of goal could keep me focused and motivated.

[DougLikesBMW]

Yes, less weight = better time.

[m7ammed]

Originally Posted by DougLikesBMW

Yes, less weight = better time.

how much of a difference would you think? might go this week and give it a go

[MTV]

It really depends man. If you're a certain weight, they give you a more powerful go-kart.... lol

[m7ammed]

Originally Posted by MTV

It really depends man. If you're a certain weight, they give you a more powerful go-kart.... lol

lol I'm not that over weight, I just have a little belly I'm 179 cm and weight 89 KG

[josephr25]

My friend is a track and kart junkie and was complaining about kids winning because of their weight advantage. He is around 6' 0" and 180 lbs.

Less weight allows you to brake deeper into a corner; yaw and longitudinal acceleration are better as well. 10 kg will be a lot of weight.

[scollins]

Loose weight won't help you, it will just slide around a lot more. Probably throw the handling off too.

But if you LOSE weight, then yes, your times should improve, but hard to say by how much.

Quite a few karting places have lap times based on weight. For example, the local place (Sykart) has the following target lap times for qualifying in their 6.5HP karts:
1 lbs.-150lbs. = 35.000s
151lbs-200 lbs = 35.5000s
201lbs. and over = 36.000s

So clearly, they factor driver weight into their lap time expectations. Karts are generally pretty low horsepower, so any weight reduction you can achieve will be beneficial. 10kg is not insignificant either...

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by adood84

I want to loose weight maybe around 10 KG,...

Oh, man, that sounds messy.

[al4m]

yeah, 10 kg would probably give you a faster time. i would figure a few seconds off, depending on the track of course (27 sec track, 30 sec track, etc)
but beware, heavier fellows are usually given a nonweighted kart. so if you lose 10 kg, you might be bumped into a weighted kart

[asdflkijd]

Originally Posted by scollins

Loose weight won't help you, it will just slide around a lot more. Probably throw the handling off too.

But if you LOSE weight, then yes, your times should improve, but hard to say by how much.

Quite a few karting places have lap times based on weight. For example, the local place (Sykart) has the following target lap times for qualifying in their 6.5HP karts:
1 lbs.-150lbs. = 35.000s
151lbs-200 lbs = 35.5000s
201lbs. and over = 36.000s

So clearly, they factor driver weight into their lap time expectations. Karts are generally pretty low horsepower, so any weight reduction you can achieve will be beneficial. 10kg is not insignificant either...

We should hit up sky-kart during the summer