Heyhoe

For whatever reason, I want a Honda E!

I'm not really sure why, but hey. After looking into this you're looking at around a 6.5k deposit and then £259+ p/m (PCP over 3 years).

Now, I'm sorry, but for a car which can only travel 120 miles on a single charge, that is just way too expensive for most people. I feel like the Honda E would be a second (or third) car for a middle class family to use for short commutes in the city or a work commuter. 

For most people, those kind of payments would likely be expected for a "main" use car. A multi purpose, go anywhere, do anything daily.

Let's have a look at some other options..

Honda E (Standard model) - 137 Mile Range

OTR Price: £27,180
Deposit: £6,549.26
Monthly: £259
Over: 3 Years
Final Payment: £14,526
Miles Per year: 8,000


 

Renault Zoe - 234 Mile Range

OTR Price: £27,595
Deposit: £6,550
Monthly: £168
Over: 3 Years
Final Payment: £12.232
Miles Per year: 8,000

VW ID.3 - 216 Mile Range

OTR Price £27,135
Deposit: £6,391 (Maximum Deposit)
Monthly: £206
Over: 3 Years
Final Payment: £14,070
Miles per year: 10,000

MINI Electric - 140 Miles

OTR Price £26,000
Deposit: £6,550 
Monthly: £235.15
Over: 3 Years
Final Payment: £13,094
Miles per year: 8,000

Without going into EVERY brand available (because nearly all mainstream brands are now offering an all Electric option), you can see that You are looking to spend at least £25k to get into the all electric market.

Renault have 0% on their PCP deals when you commit enough money down as a deposit which makes it the cheapest EV option. I've used the example of a 6.5k deposit, but in reality, who wants to give up 6.5k of their hard earned cash on a PCP deal only lasting 3 years? 

So the £168 per month may look attractive at first glance, but that leaps up to £350 p/m with £0 deposit.. Interestingly, for 3 years, £0 deposit and 8000 miles per year, it's actually £5 cheaper per month to go with the 3.9% deal rather than the "0%" deal. This is down to Renault's larger dealer contribution on the 3.9% deal.

Internal Combustion Equivalents?

It's actually quite hard to find the actual Equivalent due to the manufacturers loading the "EV" models with extra features. Some of which you may not need, or desire..

Below is a table comparing the "Base" models with Internal Combustion engines to the "Base" EV options. I've used the "On The Road" cost (OTR) as trying to use finance examples with all of their slight differences doesn't really get the point across. 

When you combine this increased cost with the current difficulties facing EVs on a daily basis, it's clear (to me) that EV isn't really a viable option TODAY.

With the governments decision to ban ICE cars by the year 2035 (but still allowing some HYBRID vehicles..?) Could we see the ICE second hand market hold strong after this point? Will ICE vehicles be the weapon of choice for the masses for the foreseeable future, and what can the government do about this?

Is EV actually the answer? 

The monetary cost of EV is realistically only a small factor in an industry which has seen it's biggest shake up.. Ever. Can the infrastructure be built quick enough? Will the infra be compatible across all vehicles and for how long? Will the cars need updating? Will the chargers needs updating? 

Will there be an ACCEPTED ISO standard and will we stick to the standard for 5 years? 10 years? Or would this slow down the current rapid advancement of battery and charging technology, due to the lack of incentive for manufacturers to fund R&D?

A quick search seems to suggest there are multiple "Standards" currently, which kind of defeats the object. The big players (manufacturers and electricity suppliers/retailers) need to agree on the most efficient and practical standard, then implement it into all EV vehicles.

There are so many questions surrounding the transition to EV in an incredibly small amount of time.

Written by somebody who has little interest/knowledge in the industry but quite fancies an EV. So, as of 19/08/2021 EV is not an option for me, nor 85% of the population.

Still quite a few bugs (such as the wacky chain) but they have been fixed recently.

This video is meant to demonstrate the AI capabilities. I can't say I'm amazed by them but it's hard to tell until we get our hands on it.

Entries as on 6th December:

Quote

Nearly 450 people have already registered for the 2019 British Kart Championships, following overwhelming demand from the sport.

The titles will be promoted through a new Motorsport UK division called Karting UK Operations. Each event will be based around a dedicated Race Centre and all the action will be live streamed online.

The events will be the first in the UK to use a proven on-track CCTV system; when the Race Director or Clerks report an incident, images will be fed back to Race Control, where they will be analysed by an independent expert and a former competitor.

“The karting community’s response to our plans for the new British Championships has been overwhelming,” said Hugh Chambers, CEO of Motorsport UK. “We see this as an endorsement of our ambitious plans to promote karting all its forms and put it back at the heart of UK motorsport.”

To register for the 2019 British Kart Championships, please click here: http://bit.ly/2Fn6c2V

• Mini Max: 19
• Junior Rotax: 45
• Senior Rotax: 57
• Rotax 177: 34
• Honda Cadet: 58
• Junior TKM: 37
• TKM Extreme: 49
• KZ2: 10
• IAME Cadet: 47
• Mini X30: 18
• Junior X30: 40
• Senior X30: 35
• TOTAL: 449

Below is the provisional calendar for the 2019 British Karting Championships:

ROTAX (Senior Rotax, Senior Rotax Max 177, Junior Rotax, Rotax MiniMax)
30-31 March: PFi
25-26 May: Rowrah
29-30 June: Mansell Raceway
17-18 August: Clay Pigeon
14-15 sept: Forest Edge
12-13 October: Whilton Mill

IAME (Senior IAME X30, Junior IAME X30, Mini X30, IAME Cadet)
12-14 April: PFi
10-12 May: Shenington
7-9 June: Larkhall (subject to track extension)
12-14 July: Rowrah
23-25 August: Wigan
27-29 September: Whilton Mill

TKM INCLUDING HONDA CADET (Senior TKM Extreme, Junior TKM, Honda Cadet Championship*)
27-28 April: PFi
18-19 May: Rissington
22-23 June: Fulbeck
27-28 July: Shenington
7-8 September: Kimbolton
19-20 Oct: Whilton Mill
*Will have its own championship title.

KZ
18/19 May – Rissington
22/23 June – Fulbeck
27/28 July – Shenington
7/8 September – Kimbolton

The new name of the Motorsports Association, Motorsport UK.

See below for Motorsport UK's press release concerning the name change

Along with the new name, there are HUGE changes being made to the format of "MSA" karting in the UK.

If you were expecting to see SuperOne hosting the British Karting Championships in 2019, think again! In a shock move, Motorsport UK have created a new department called Karting UK Operations.

This department will be responsible for hosting the British Karting Championships in 2019. Motorsport UK have announced the team of individuals who will be running the show.

Click below for the official press release.

Now, it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to realise that the team is essentially made up of Trent Valley Kart Club committee members. TVKC run their club meetings at Paul Fletcher International (PFI). Hopefully we will see fair decisions benefiting all the clubs within the UK. 

Here is what MSUK say about the 2019 British Karting Championship:

MSUK have announced which classes will be ran as British Championships in 2019, these are:

Bambino (6-8 Years)

• Comer

Cadet (3-13 Years)

• Honda
• IAME

Junior (11 - 16 Years)

• IAME X30 Mini
• Rotax MiniMax
• Junior TKM
• IAME X30 Junior
• Rotax Junior Max

Senior (15 Upwards)

• IAME X30
• Rotax Max
• TKM Extreme
• KZ (Gearbox 16+)

SuperKarts (Long Circuit - 16 Upwards)

• 125 National
• 250 National
• 450

2019  will see a return of the KZ class. Early indicators are that this class will be ran to the KZ2 CIK regs as opposed to KZ UK which Super 4 utilise.

Will SuperOne survive as the UK's premier IKR series?

Will this move be a positive one for club level racing?

Can MSUK run a successful British Karting Championship?

Will Super 4 continue to enjoy large grids for KZ UK?

There are many questions which will only be answered in time. Such a big shakeup is bound to produce winners and losers and we just hope that ultimately it has a positive effect on karting in the UK.

We are interested to see how this will pan out as it really is the biggest change to UK karting in the last 20 years. 

See below topic to keep up to date on the 2019 British Karting Championship

This fell flat on it's face...

It's two years later and the review we wrote is, to put it simply, useless.

Black Delta (developer) has been silent for over a year... Until recently!

The game has been released on steam for Early Access users at a discounted price.

We will likely write another review but its hardly the exclusive review we promised years ago!

We hope to start this in Jan/Feb.

Paul.

Due to a huge software update and negligence on my part, the site will be undergoing some much needed TLC.

The Classifieds section is gone for now as it was incompatible with the new software. Hopefully this will be re-introduced at a later date.

Stay tuned!

Another option if you are racing at a level slightly above arrive and drive is the Tillett insert (It's a bit pricey!)

https://www.tillett.co.uk/shop/shopexd.asp?id=82

Most rib protectors provide protection for the back. So if you are racing your own kart etc these will usually provide adequate protection.

It's worth noting, that most drivers usually get some bruising around the hips or lower back after a full weekends racing. This is unavoidable unless you spend lots of time tweaking/padding this for the individual driver.

Is this arrive and drive karting where the seat is considerably too big for him? Calibre do some great seat inserts if that is the case.

I can't actually find the link the the calibre brand but this is essentially the same thing: https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/karting/seats-accessories/pitking-products-seat-insert

Hope this helps a little. @Robd

Yesterday I found the time to watch some of the F1 Practice at Sochi. I generally filter out what the commentators are saying as it's usually Ted Kravitz waffling on about something. This session was no different and when Ted asked David Croft a question he replied with "Sorry, what was that Ted". David Croft is clearly using the same filter as me and just blanks out the white noise which is the voice of Ted Kravitz.

Anyway, they got into a conversation about points in Formula One. Currently, points are awarded as shown below:

1st - 25
2nd - 18
3rd - 15
4th - 12
5th - 10
6th - 8
7th - 6
8th - 4
9th - 2
10th - 1

There are no points for qualifying and no points for fastest lap etc etc.

Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_World_Championship_points_scoring_systems

Traditionally, World Championship Points have been used as part of the "Prize Money" at the end of the year. This is an EXTREMELY complicated area and something which I don't really want to go into great detail about. I have, however, included a few points below to demonstrate this:

• Ferrari get a large cut of prize money regardless of performance or finishing position.
• Teams outside the top 10 do not receive ANY prize money.
• Teams are categorised into "Columns" which means a team that finishes 9th, may get less than a team who finishes  10th.

Bizarrely, depending on how many championship points were won in the previous season, dictates how much each driver has to pay for their FIA Super License. A new driver would pay around 10,000 euros, whereas a very successful driver could pay around 100,000 euros!

Let's forget about money for the time being and concentrate on the actual awarding of points in a race which determines the championship order.

In karting, for example, we generally award points for every position. Each championship can vary the way they do this slightly but the principle is the same.

If we look at BTCC, they award points down to 15th.

F4 and other open wheel championships appear to award points down to 10th, as per F1.

I'm hoping somebody can enlighten me into this logic. For me, awarding points to everyone would encourage hard racing right the way through the grid. It would also encourage drivers to carry on racing if their car has taken some damage which is effecting the performance.

Thoughts?

Update 2nd April:

Quote

All,

Following lengthy discussions at Committee level on Friday night, it has been confirmed that Llandow Kart Club will not be in a financial position to run any more meetings and will therefore be on hiatus for the forseeable future .

That being said, should financial factors change, the Committee will look to restart MSA racing as and when it is financially prudent to do so.

Due to the factors above, the Committee unanimously agreed that those individuals applying for membership at the start of the year should have the choice of 3 options.

1. Retain membership of Llandow Kart Club as a necessity for racing at other circuits.

2. Receive a full refund of their membership fee.

3. Jim Bee at Dunkeswell Kart Racing Club has offered to "take on" the membership of those wishing to switch their memberships to Dunkeswell, meaning that drivers would pay members fees for that circuit for the remainder of the season. Many thanks to him for this kind offer.

An email will be following shortly to those who have applied for membership where we'll be looking for your individual choices.

N.B. Please note that this post only refers to Llandow Kart Club. IKR and South Wales Karting Centre remain unaffected.

 

Update 12 March:

Quote

LLANDOW KART CLUB'S SWANSONG - PLEASE READ

Good evening. Following Llandow Kart Club's committee meeting tonight, the committee has established that due to the continued low number of entries, the Club is no longer in a significantly comfortable financial state to run MSA meetings in 2017. To that end, it is highly likely that the Celtic Challenge on the 19th March will be the final meeting held by Llandow Kart Club. We would encourage all members and drivers to enter this meeting to make sure that Llandow Kart Club's final meeting is a good one.

The Club would like to thank all those drivers and families who have supported the Club over the years.

For further information regarding this issue, please feel free to drop us a message on here, or via the contact pages on www.llandowkartclub.co.uk/contact/

THE CHAIRMAN & LLANDOW KART CLUB COMMITTEE

N.B. South Wales Karting Centre Ltd will continue to organise non-MSA and IKR meetings and Corporate Bookings.

 

If you are wondering which OTK bars you need to buy to make sure you will be in the scrutineers good books this year, see below!

2013 or newer OTK chassis with M6 or M4 bodywork: 

+

2012 or older OTK chassis with M6 or M4 bodywork: 

+

All bumpers are listed on this page: http://www.spellfame.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000099.cgi?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww.spellfame.co.uk%2facatalog%2fNose-Cones.html&WD=viper&PN=OTK_.html%23a2614#a2614

If you are having difficulty finding the viper bar, for some reason Spellfame do not list it under the OTK > Bodywork category, only under "OTK spares for Tony Kart > OTK Bumpers Front & Rear".

Summary

It seems as though most nose cones are managing to be inside the rules with the new bars. I've drafted up a little summary of which bars you require depending on which Chassis/Bodywork you are running.

2013 or newer OTK chassis with M6 or M4 bodywork: 

+

2012 or older OTK chassis with M6 or M4 bodywork: 

+

All bumpers are listed on this page: http://www.spellfame.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000099.cgi?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww.spellfame.co.uk%2facatalog%2fNose-Cones.html&WD=viper&PN=OTK_.html%23a2614#a2614

If you are having difficulty finding the viper bar, for some reason Spellfame do not list it under the OTK > Bodywork category, only under "OTK spares for Tony Kart > OTK Bumpers Front & Rear".

Still no confirmation of a "New" M6 front nose cone.

Used nose cones seem to be falling short of the 27mm.

Facebook user Shaun Finch

One case of a brand new nose cone with new 2017 bars reported that the gap was larger than 27mm, but this was marginal.

It's not yet clear whether new nose cones are slightly different, or if used nose cones are deforming after contact. It's likely to be the latter as there is nothing being said about a new spec M6 nose cone.

We are hearing that OTK have released a new nosecone to solve this issue. Unconfirmed.

So £90 for two new bars + £62 for nosecone

So, we have had MK1 and MK2 nose cone blocks and MK1 and MK2 bumper bars.

A total of 4 revisions to get this system correct and it appears there COULD still be issues!

A new rule for 2017 (March onwards) states that there must be at least a 27mm gap between the chrome front bars (Upper and Lower) and the plastic fairing (Nosecone).

It appears from early adopters that an area on OTK chassis, with M6 style bodywork, are very close to the limit. If the nosecone were to move left or right, it would be classed as illegal.

Here is the actual rule:

Quote

There must be a clearance at all points between the front bumpers (lower & upper) and the front fairing of a minimum 27mm at all times.

 

Facebook User, Max Tyler noted that one area of the OTK M6 nosecone is VERY close to the 27mm limit and any sideways movement could cause one side to be under 27mm. We have highlighted the area concerned:

Image courtesy of Max Tyler.

This seems to be an issue on the OTK karts as the bodywork follows the contours of the bars quite closely.

OTK have released new bars (upper and lower) for 2017 to meet the new regulations set out by the CIK. It could be that the new bars have actually introduced this problem and that OTK may now have to release a new M6 nose cone to cure this problem. We will update you on the progress when we find out what's happening!

Will it ever end?!?

On 20/12/2016 at 5:39 PM, Hildred said:

I would like to see a review on kart rims, different types/brands. Full mag/half mag and what the real difference is. As the range and scale in price can be massive. 

 

 

 

Good shout Matt.

We could possibly set up a review between a few types of rim. Off the top of my head, we could do:

• OTK MXC
• OTK MXJ
• Douglas Full Mag
• Douglas SE
• Aluminium rims

There are a number issues with this test/review however...

1. Kart rims are often used as a setup aid, this means that on a really hot/gripped up track, the MXC could be the rim of choice, but on a lower grip circuit, they may end up being slower.
2. Test location. We would probably have to test these on a test day, so grip levels are likely to be lower than at a race meeting and may not give a good representation of race weekend performance.
3. Measuring performance. One of the main areas which we tend to associate with rims is how quickly they can get heat into a tyre. As we all know, the first few laps can be tricky, so it's difficult to gather any good data relating to the first few laps. This may have to be measured on how confident the driver felt within the first few laps of each session. It's also difficult to attain results which directly represent the rims effect on lap times etc, rather than results which highlight other variables such as track temp, track condition, driver performance etc etc.
4. Cost. Ideally we would need 5 new sets of tyres to run this test.

That said, we could maybe figure something out to make the test fairer. Maybe we could run each rim twice, at different points in the day and also have two or three drivers on each rim so we could potentially see a pattern?

Any ideas are appreciated

The draw will take place tonight!

Simply submit an advert in the classifieds section HERE between:

18th November - 20th December 2016

For the chance to win a PRISMA Hi.Pre.Ma 3 Evo!

WORTH £175.99

EACH ADVERT BUYS YOU TICKETS.

MAXIMUM OF 3 ADVERTS PER MEMBER.

FREE ADVERTS = 1 TICKET

FEATURED ADVERTS = 2 TICKETS

YOU MUST INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME AND POSTCODE ON YOUR PROFILE IN THE

COMPETITION INFO FIELD.
(This information will not be visible to members or guests)

Theoretical maximum tickets = 6. 

Featured adverts submitted using a promotional code will only be awarded 1 ticket, as per the standard free advert listing.

---------------------------------

FURTHER INFORMATION & TERMS

ATTEMPTS TO CREATE MORE THAN ONE ACCOUNT WILL RESULT IN ALL ACCOUNTS FOR THAT USER BEING WITHDRAWN FROM THE COMPETITION.

NOBODY BUT THE ADMINISTRATOR CAN SEE NAME AND ADDRESS INFORMATION.

THIS INFORMATION IS TO ENSURE WE DO NOT GET MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS REGISTERED TO THE SAME INDIVIDUALS. THE PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SENT TO THE POSTCODE IN YOUR PROFILE.

IF WE SUSPECT THAT MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS ARE REGISTERED TO THE SAME SELLER, WE WILL REMOVE THESE ENTRIES.

MORE THAN 3 ADVERTS MAY BE SUBMITTED BETWEEN THESE DATES, BUT ONLY 3 WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE DRAW.

SO, BE NICE, PLAY FAIR AND CROSS YOUR FINGERS!

**ACTUAL PRODUCT TO BE WON IN IMAGES BELOW**

To follow up on th KZ class name discussion, I have been told that next year it will run like this.

Super 1 - KZ1 UK - 175KG

Super 4 - KZ2 UK - 180KG

The classes will use the same tyres and the only difference will be the weight limit. Likely to be the Dunlop DFH.

The AbKC Super 4 Championship will also be classed as an "MSA National Championship" as of 2017.

So, sometime last year or the start of this year a tender went out for a system to track the use of tyres at club level.

barcodesystemtender2016.pdf

It's now October 2016 and we are eager to see if any submissions have been made.

If this can be done properly and cost effectively then I'm interested to see if this will take off.

We are going to see if we can have an update/comment from Joe Hickerton who is the Technical Manager at the MSA.

Stay tuned.

ABKC - October 2016.pdf

The latest Newsletter from the ABKC.

I am pleased to see that the ABKC and the MSA opposed the decision of the World Motorsport Council to reduce the ages of Junior and Senior classes. Unfortunately the change went ahead regardless.

I'm slightly confused to why the gearbox representative opposed changing KZ1 into KZ2, given that the class which is actually ran is identical to KZ2. The MSA requested this change. To me, naming a class to what it truly is, can only simplify things for the good. We have enough confusion in karting to the perspective newcomer as it is.

The decision by the MSA to introduce a system for tyre control to clubs earlier in the year to me is just an expense which we do not need. If it works I may eat my words but it seems like a significant investment/gamble to solve something which is not a big issue. I think there are areas which would have better used the cash injection. This is clearly the MSA addressing the issue of drivers leaving to race Non-MSA/IKR but I'm not sure it will work.

I have seen some complain about having to buy a new upper bar if their current one does not meet the new regulations laid out by the CIK. The system as far as I can see, has been a success. This is a tweak to ensure all bodywork is performing the same. It's not a huge expense, so I'm not sure the objection is warranted.

Following on from this, there s mention of clamps being "over tightened". The MSA are looking to create a gauge which will measure the area/gap between the bars to check for clamps which are over tightened.