F1 car vs superkart

[darksag3x]

assuming a fair race for both, can a superkart beat a formula car around a track?

[manchild]

On a cart track-yes on a F1 track-no.

[Guest]

would a superkart handle as well as (or even better than) an F1 car on twisty
tracks (like monaco)?

[RH1300S]

would a superkart handle as well as (or even better than) an F1 car on twisty
tracks (like monaco)?

Dunno, but in a superkart you need 'kin big balls and they drag on the floor - slows you down some

[manchild]

Dunno, but in a superkart you need 'kin big balls and they drag on the floor - slows you down some

Well, professional swimmers shave their torso, arms and legs to reduce the drag

[johny]

they also put on a hat

[DaveKillens]

A Formula One car and a superkart are two completely different animals, with very different characteristics.
A superkart is fundamentally a light, short, small device that goes like snot in a tight environment. Meanwhile, a Formula One car is a complex machine that goes very quickly, and posesses performance far beyond what a kart can do.
They are so different, making comparisons is like comparing a rowboat with a jet fighter.

[SuperKartDriver]

Actually Superkarts are not so different, but they do lack the top speed to really compete with a F1 car. At Thruxton the 250 twins were hitting ~162mph this year, but a formula car would be hitting 180 mph+.
At Cadwell Park, which really suits karts the outright lap record (by a Radical I believe) is about 1:19.1 and the record set this year at the karting Grand Prix was 1:19.2 (or thereabouts). So - very close. In the 1980s, superkarts did hold outright lap records at several UK tracks.

At Donington last year I was able to lap slightly quicker in my 250cc kart than an ex-Lauda Ferrari 312 did - though no doubt the driver was being more careful than I was, as his car was worth a lot more than my kart/car/house put together!

Round Monaco, which somebody asked, the F1 laptimes are in the 80 mph bracket which is just where a superkart is at it's best, and the track is narrow - which also helps the kart, but the bumps & armco would make it difficult to be really committed in a kart, (no crash structure in front of your feet remember), and there would be a few spots where the power of the F1 car would really tell - under the tunnel, up the hill, start/finish etc.


So I think the F1 car would win that one, but if anyone wants to lend me an F1 car, I'll bring my kart and give it a go.

[Belatti]

I knew that Superkarts 250cc laps at Laguna Seca above 1´23" and that Zonta laped there with the 2006 or 2005 Toyota at 1´06" so thats a considerable difference.

Also as our SuperKartDriver firend tells us, they can be close to 70s F1 car and we know a 312 from the late 70s is much slower than a modern F1.

That being said, I guess one feels the speed in a very different way up there. I have seen videos of superkarts at the TT street track and thats 100% insane. Having experienced a brake failure (massive fluid pressure drop) in a 125cc at 110km/h myself, I cant imagine how that would be at twice the speed.

[SuperKartDriver]

Bellatti, the people who have had a total brake failure at 220 km/h in a kart are probably not able to tell you what it was like. I think we can guess it was painful.
Paul Platt had the locating pins come out of the front pads on one side at Thruxton, and that was quite exciting for him! And at Cadwell park this year a kart had the same thing happen, and the brakes threw the pads 100 yards stright through a window in the clubhouse door. Just missed my boys!

[C09]

On a race kart like that, about how fast do the tires spin? 10,000rpm?

Just wondering...

[jakeconway]

oooh...I can answer this one (until someone corrects me )

Kart rear tyres approx 11" diameter...gives about 0.9m circumference. Call it 1m.
160mph is close enough 80 m/s.
Therefore tyres (and rear axle) spin 80 times a second...equals 4800rpm....approx

[C09]

oooh...I can answer this one (until someone corrects me )

Kart rear tyres approx 11" diameter...gives about 0.9m circumference. Call it 1m.
160mph is close enough 80 m/s.
Therefore tyres (and rear axle) spin 80 times a second...equals 4800rpm....approx

I thought it'd be much faster. Shows what I know. Thanx. I see you are a new as I am. I don't think I'd ever be crazy enough to ride one of those. Well, at least not as fast as it can go, anyway. F1 cars have to meet srict crash safety standards, so I'm more comfortable with F1.

In my opinion, I think that the superkarts have the edge on the turns, but are simply too small to outrun or outpower a F1 car. Also, the driver's weight is a much larger factor in a small kart, whereas in F1 the car is more balanced and stable regarding the driver's weight. On top of that, Karts get much more unstable at higher speeds because of the small wheelbase and CoG, which centers a lot more on the driver. It's a contrast, really, because the driver in a kart has a lot more influence on the kart's handling with his weight, allowing him to alter the handling hisself, rather than being strapped into a c/f mold and tapping buttons. F1 has more control in some areas, while Karts have more in others. It's not easy to compare the two.

Both vehicles are scary fast, and no video game to date can really display the ferocious G forces and bone rattling bumps and vibrations, so I can only imagine what each would feel like.

[N12ck]

on a race kart not a superkart but runs at 17,000rpm

[C09]

on a race kart not a superkart but runs at 17,000rpm

Uh, what runs at 17,000 rpm? The engine?