UK Karting - Notice Board (Combined Forum) : Re: Cadet Equipment

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Re: Cadet Equipment
Posted by 'SimonS' on 24 Dec 2008 @ 21:58

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SimonSJoined: December 2004
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"But out of interest, what are the other arguments against a full size chassis?"

Most of the arguments against a cadet in a full size chassis are the disproportionate positioning of the controls.

There is a five year old who goes out in a modified cadet chassis at one track.

The pedals are mounted on four inch blocks either side of the petrol tank.

The Steering wheel looks as if it has been cut down,

The seat is extra small, has a liner and teh boy still looks as if he is perched 'outside' the seat.

Stick that child into a full size kart and you have real problems.

The legs are likely to be splayed right out, to get round a full size petrol tank. So even if you mount the pedals on blocks, he isn't going to have proper control

You are going to have to do extensive modifications to the mounting of the steering wheel, otherwise it will be too high and too wide to be comfortable.

You will have to install a special seat, and reposition the seat stays, otherwise the child will be perched on the edge of the seat and some for or five inches too high, so that he can see over the sterring wheel.

A full size jkart is surprising difficult to steer, I know lots of new adult drivers who fimd it hurts their arms, so a 'sub-cadet' isn't going to be in control for long.

We know that a lot of the grip in a kart comes from when the tyres warm up. A sub-cadet is probaly too light to get them properly warm (and don't even think of pumping them up overpressure, that will just ruin any handling further), so the kid isn't going to be competitive on track at all.

I doubt any responsibel track will let him out, and certainly not with any 'cadet karts'. So he isn't ever going to get the competitive bug, he's just going to be fighting it on track.

The kart is so big and heavy that if it breaks loose, he hasn't got a hope in hell of getting it back again, so he will either be very slow or always hitting the tyres. That hurts.

To limit that engine to a 'safe level' with such a light weight on board is going to place it firmly outside teh power band, so even more of a bugger to drive.

The brakes are likely to be adult brakes, on a kart which weighs twice if not three times what the driver does (he's what 30 to 40Kg, the kart is going to weigh 80+), so if he gets going, he isn't going to have the power to stop and if he can he'll be using his full power and pushing back into that cobbled up seat.

So apart from not being able to steer, not being able to accelerate much, probably very uncomfortable and 'loose' in his position, unable to brake and unable to be on a track with anyone else (if any track will let someone so mismatched to the kart on the track) and probaly scared witless to drive it and possibly witless to tell you he hates it, apart from that there's probably not a lot wrong with the idea of getting the kid to like karting.

And certainly, once modified, its highly unlikely you can use it yourself without reversing all the mods. Certainly not just taking out a seat liner and driving it yourself.

And, one fears, that having gone to al that effort you just might be tempted to run it in an empty carpark if the ttacks won't let you use it there.

And lets face it, if it is too expensive to put the child out in a cadet sized kart, then it is too expensive to even begin. At least with a cadet sized kart you could take the modifications off and sell it.

Unless of course you aren't really interested in whether Junior wants to drive it regularly and this is a route for YOU to get the kart 'in his name'.

Message Thread:

Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 16:02)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'colin' (24 Dec 2008 @ 16:12)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'physcokarter' (24 Dec 2008 @ 16:17)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'AlanHarding' (24 Dec 2008 @ 16:43)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:21)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'MJC' (24 Dec 2008 @ 18:25)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'HC64' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:04)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'blobslosak' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:18)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:26)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'RichyC' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:47)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 20:33)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:24)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'blobslosak' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:28)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:47)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'blobslosak' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:49)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'HC64' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:50)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'HC64' (24 Dec 2008 @ 19:45)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 20:25)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'lard ass bob' (24 Dec 2008 @ 20:33)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'HC64' (24 Dec 2008 @ 20:46)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 20:50)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'costleysport' (24 Dec 2008 @ 20:28)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 20:36)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'Minisueg' (24 Dec 2008 @ 21:59)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'SimonS' << You are here!

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'JamesHughes' (24 Dec 2008 @ 23:10)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'Minisueg' (27 Dec 2008 @ 12:12)

Re: Cadet Equipment by 'richn14' (29 Dec 2008 @ 23:28)

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