So you’ve signed up for the best rental kart championship in the country. You’ve bought a cool new race suit, booked yourself some practice – and you can almost taste Formula Fast’s famous pizza. But there’s a problem: You’re 60kg and people have been talking about a standard minimum weight for drivers of 90kg.
The solution? Create a weighted seat. Now first we should point out that the Formula Fast are able to supply you with up to 20kg of lead blocks to fit in the sidepods, so in our example above, the driver would only require an additional 10kg of weight. However, it’s up to you how much of your additional weight comes in the form of a weighted seat. We’ve seen drivers with 5kg-30kg over the years. As long as the seat is deemed safe and presentable by the officials, you will be able to use it at BRKC.
Where to start?
The first port of call when starting this little project is getting hold of the seat itself. We recommend a Tillet kart seat, preferably Medium/Large or smaller depending on your size. If you’re lucky enough to know some ‘owner driver’ karters, pester them for one of their old damaged seats. Since you aren’t bolting it to the rental karts, it doesn’t need to be in the same condition as on an ‘owner kart’.
However, most drivers will find a seat on Ebay. Don’t pay more than around £30 for one – and never buy a brand new seat unless money really is no object.
Next
Now you’ve gotten hold of a seat, you’ll need to attach the weight. This should be in the form of lead sheet which can be purchased at any builders’ merchant. For 10kg, you should expect to pay around £30. It may be worth speaking to local roofing companies (get the yellow pages out!) to see if they have any old offcuts of lead you can have for free.
Attach the lead to the back and the sides of the seat with strong adhesive (No More Nails etc.) and allow to dry. Different drivers have different opinions about the best place to attach the weight – high, low, left, right etc. Why not start a discussion on the Facebook group to see what suits you best?
Finally
The final thing you will need to do is cover the back of the seat (i.e. the lead) with carpet or soft fabric. This is to avoid scratching the rental kart seat. Carpet shops usually have plenty of off-cuts which they can give you for free. Ask other drivers how they made theirs.
Make sure the seat fits snugly into a rental kart seat by visiting your local track and trying it out! Adding some car washing sponges under the carpet on either side usually helps in this endeavour if your seat is pretty small.
WELL DONE! You’re a professional rental karter. Post some pictures of your creation on the BRKC Facebook group. Now where was that pizza…?
