Wrecked go cart

[sbhunter]

Everybody needs that guy to point at and use as an example of what not to do. This week, it’s me. I have been go carting for a month or so and driving it pretty hard. Some would call it snake bit but I’ll just call it stupidity. I layed into the throttle in second and it came around on me faster than I could catch it. I went off the road and slid up a small hill and backed through a wire fence. The good news is, I didn’t get hurt other than my pride. The roadster survived better than I thought considering what happened. I bent up the panels on the back and the drivers foot box. The worst damage was the drivers side pipe got bent under the car and twisted the header into a pretzel. Both back tires have gravel in the bead so it was skidding hard. The scary part is the top strand of barbed wire was still intact. If I had gone through face first, it was about neck height. There are scratch marks up and over the roll bars. Here is the take away:

DON’T BE A ME!!

There are plenty of warnings on this forum about the power and driving characteristics of these roadsters. They are serious and they are talking to you!

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Happy to hear that you are OK. The car can always be fixed. Think very few of us if we are honest with ourselves has not had at least in OH S**T!!!!! moment.:D

[Boydster]

Dang man. Glad you're OK. Car can be fixed... you, not so much. That wire part... whew. Scary.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Glad to hear that YOU came through OK Scott. The car can be fixed. We had another Indiana guy have a go cart incident a few years ago that put him into intensive care for weeks and subsequently didn't get medically cleared to drive for almost two years. It can happen so be careful out there.

Jeff

[MisterAdam]

WOW. Glad you are ok and didnt get arrested. You are driving an unregister uninsured not road legal thing on the roads and you are pushing it that hard. Could have been a hell of a lot worse. Thanks for reminding us.

[Paul2STL]

Glad to hear you are safe. I also have been in gocart for a few months. I had a scare when I drop the clutch while rolling over a speed bump in the neigborhood and she got sidways real quick. That scared the s%$@ out of me. Im sure you learn a leason the wont be quickly forgot. Now that it happened to you in the gocart stage, maybe once you are in paint it will never happen. That would have been a costly repair.

[edwardb]

Wow, really sorry to hear about that. As others have said, glad you are OK. An expensive lesson for sure. Hopefully all of us will learn from it.

[cv2065]

Good to hear that you are OK! Cars are always secondary to your well being! Goes without saying that neck height barbed wire is certainly a wake up call any way you look at it!

[GoDadGo]

Sorry that you had this mishap, but you'll likely never have such an issue again.
Good Luck & You'll Be Back Go-Karting Sooner Than You Think!

[Fugi]

Scott, Thank you for posting this. So glad that you are okay. I've got about 10 miles on our go cart, no seat, no belts, only my dumb *** sliding around on the metal floor, grinning like an idiot. However, I've been very tempted to lay into it, but have held myself back because the engine (4.6L4v with super charger) only has a base tune, which I've been upset about as the engine builder did not like running the gocart on the dyno at wide open throttle without more protection for the driver. I now realize that I could have and quite likely would have ended up in a similar situation were it not for this professional knowing about safety. Your story also reinforces how important it is to be fully prepared for the consequences of my right foot and the place with the least consequences is usually not the street.
Cheers,
Vince

[Zach34]

Pictures!!

Glad you're ok. Pretty chilling to think of what that barb wire could have done to you.

I vividly remember how quick these things can swap ends. IMO, if you are at all inclined to step on the go pedal hard, one of the first things you should do is take it to an autocross. You will spin, and you'll learn how fast it comes around. If you're not experienced, it's shocking. Short wheel base, solid axle, and no power steering is a great recipe for a fast, uncontrolled spin.

I vividly remember the first time I spun out. I was pulling out of a gas station at night, off-camber turn, went around before I knew it and stalled on the side of the road, literally right across from a police car I hadn't seen. He saw the whole thing - turned his lights on and pulled up behind me. I thought I was going to get handcuffed. Instead he comes up and asks what kind of car it is and just gawks all over it while I try to get it started. It fired up after a couple minutes of cranking. All seemed well, and he complimented the car, told me to be safe and have a good night. I drove very slowly all the rest of the way home. Ha! I'll never be able to make sense of how dumb and lucky I was at the same time that night.

[KDubU]

As other other have said, glad you’re okay. Also thanks for posting as many wouldn’t. This is a good reminder whether in go-cart stage or road worthy, these cars are fun to drive but can bite back quickly.

[Bobby Doug]

Count your blessings that the damage is fixable and you are okay. I had my O $hit moment on an Autocross course. Every time I think about playing road racer I remember my autocross moment and the urge subsides. These cars will swap ends faster than most of us can react.

[GoDadGo]

These cars will swap ends faster than most of us can react.

Amen Brother Doug, Amen!

[Jacob]

Good to hear you’re ok...a good lesson that may help you in the future!

[Mark Eaton]

So glad you are ok, it took guts to post this and I'm glad you did. We are all human.

Mark

[Mark Dougherty]

very glad to hear you are ok.
There are sooo many in the same boat as you but never say anything.
Is the car aligned?
if not they can be evil.

[Avalanche325]

With the rest of the bunch, I'm glad your OK. And thanks for telling on yourself in the spirit of warning others.

If you have a Cobra and haven't done a few autocrosses, this is you....
89363

Heck, 3 yrs of autocross and two local class champion trophies (not as impressive as it sounds) and this is me on cold tires:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]89364[/ATTACH

[Duke]

Alignment and corner balancing really help keep these things pointed in the right direction when traction decides to go on a smoking break. Sticky tires also are a big help.

[grooml]

Wow, its too bad we couldn't all use a simulator to get used to the characteristics of these cars before we push them hard. Being a former dirt oval racer, I had to learn that the hard way too. no practice or training. When you think about it the, wheelbase, and power to weight ratio, along with a real soft right pedal, it can be a recipe for disaster. I'm building mine to the same specs as far as drivetrain is concerned, so its good to have this info. Thanks for posting. As mentioned above, it takes intestinal fortitude to admit mistakes. Have you been thinking about track days every now and then. I have, and the thought of topsiding, or hitting a tire barrier head on doesn't sound like a ton of fun in a roadster.

[GoDadGo]

If you have a Cobra and haven't done a few autocrosses, this is you....
89363

Great Picture Of Me Avalanche, Great Picture!

[Murd]

[QUOTE=Bobby Doug;333141These cars will swap ends faster than most of us can react.[/QUOTE]

Also happy to hear you are ok.

I had my first oh **** moment about a week after I got my car on the road. Tried to powerslide it while turning right onto a country road. Came around faster than any car I have driven. Quite a bit of time driving rear wheel drive cars, including a miata with a similar short wheelbase never had a problem sliding it around ever corner I ever met. Luckily there was a wide gravel shoulder to a shallow grass ditch and while I threw some stones I didn’t bang anything up.
If it had been a curb I’m sure I would have bent the car up.
Apparently these cars don’t like being slid around.
I don’t try to slide it anymore, at least not till I can find a big skid pad to slide it around at.

[FF33rod]

A good reminder to us all, thanks for swallowing your pride and sharing.
I'll add to it...
These high powered machines will also take on a very different set of characteristics in wet conditions. Be double careful - a fully traction controlled F-Type R (550hp 505 ftlb) taught me that the hard way.

[edwardb]

Alignment and corner balancing really help keep these things pointed in the right direction when traction decides to go on a smoking break. Sticky tires also are a big help.

I thought the same thing when I first heard about this. I wonder how many go karts are done with only limited setups, including unfinished alignment, ride height, tire pressure, etc. Not to mention may or may not have bolted down seats, safety belts, turns signals/brake lights, the list could probably go on. Add to that they're typically not titled, licensed, or have collision insurance. All a recipe for a bad outcome. Like others, I applaud the OP for swallowing his pride and posting. Not sure I would be that willing. The go kart is kind of a rite of passage for these builds, and I admit to putting around my neighborhood with each of my builds. But lets all learn from this.

[RJD]

Thanks for sharing and glad you're okay. This post and the youtube crash videos have convinced me to proceed with caution for my upcoming go-karting. Seriously considering some fuure track time too. Hope the repairs go well. Thanks again.

[frankb]

Sbhunter:

It took some guts to post that...thanks for reminding all us that these things are a handfull, with or without the bodies on! Glad you weren't hurt! I still cringe when I read that post!

[Gumball]

Tried to powerslide it while turning right onto a country road. Came around faster than any car I have driven.

Not trying to be the fun-nanny around here, but my request to everyone who owns one of these cars or is contemplating building / buying one is.... Please don't do this on the street - the object that stops your out-of-control slide could be another person. Bruised egos and bent chassis tubes will be the least of concerns if we hurt someone.

Let's keep the intentional over-driving of these cars to the track or autocross - heck, even then, sliding isn't the fast way around a corner anyway.

[broku518]

Glad you are OK. That is some scary stuff :(
After driving my car for some time, I am thinking about putting a stopper on my gas pedal. Some sort of blocker that would prevent me to go a full throttle.
I got the power, but not really need it on my daily commuting to work...

[sbhunter]

I have the seats, roll bars and harnesses fully installed. The car has been aligned and corner balanced and ride height was set, tire pressures set, etc. it was a fully set up driver short body and lights. No it was not insured or registered. I live in the country and have only driven it on roads where there is no one around. That does not excuse my idiocy with my right foot but I wanted to answer some of the questions about other factors. I have extensive driving experience with off road vehicles and am used to going sideways. The rate of pivot of this car is far in excess of anything I have driven or was ready for. I appreciate the comments and only hope that this thread will save someone else the grief and cost that I have incurred.

[GoDadGo]

SB,

We all have Boo-Boos, do stupid things, but the best mistakes are those that make us think.
If you want to see stupidity, check out my seats and non-existent seat belts during my go kart testing.

https://youtu.be/PCngiKoopkA

Only your pride is hurt and that pesky side pipe, but you'll be back in action and good as new in no time.
Don't waste time Stinken Thinken and you'll be better before you know it.

Good Luck & God's Speed!

Steve

[Jazzman]

It is a wise man who learns from the mistakes of others. Thank you for being so honest. Your "educational experience" may have saved lives. Glad it saved yours! Now go forth and sin no more!! :cool: You know, one good outcome from this is you get to do all those panels and parts again, and you will do them even more expertly than the first time!!

[Jimtmich]

Thanks for sharing for all our benefit.

[Al_C]

Ouch. Thankfully, things usually work out for the best. This is especially timely, as I'm getting closer to this point myself. I just better remember your lesson! Glad you're OK. As others have said, the car can always be fixed.

[scottiec]

It takes a hell of a lot to own up to it and put the ego aside. Happy you are okay. Thank you for sharing.