Post by tom on Dec 9, 2010 5:19:47 GMT 9.5
In the quest for improving the handling of my kart, last season i tried 4 different chassis, 2 different seats, 5 different axles, and countless changes to things like hubs / front geometry / tyre pressures and tracks.
The overriding thing that struck me was that none of these things were as important as the overall balance of the chassis (corner weights and centre of gravity placement).
I'm not sure how many people take the time to do corner weights on their karts, but i'm not a particularly sensitive driver and i can notice 5kg's difference side to side at the rear of the kart.
I speak to some drivers and they say they have a "favourite" direction of the track. I bet their favourite direction just happens to be the direction where the "heavy" corner of their kart is on the inside.
I've bought karts from 5 different manufacturers, and while they will all give you a position where they recommend to put the seat, and some will tell you what they think your weight distribution will be, none have ever invited me to sit in the kart on scales while the seat is fitted before delivery of the kart.
Things like height of the driver, as well as type and placement of motor and accessories effect the balance. Also the obvious one of placement of lead.
For next season i have upgraded to digital corner weight scales, and am in the process of getting a scale table built.
If there is any interest i will have the scale table at Adelaide next season, for $10 you can find out what the balance of your kart is like. (not sure if i should be making the other 125cc Heavy guys faster though?)
The overriding thing that struck me was that none of these things were as important as the overall balance of the chassis (corner weights and centre of gravity placement).
I'm not sure how many people take the time to do corner weights on their karts, but i'm not a particularly sensitive driver and i can notice 5kg's difference side to side at the rear of the kart.
I speak to some drivers and they say they have a "favourite" direction of the track. I bet their favourite direction just happens to be the direction where the "heavy" corner of their kart is on the inside.
I've bought karts from 5 different manufacturers, and while they will all give you a position where they recommend to put the seat, and some will tell you what they think your weight distribution will be, none have ever invited me to sit in the kart on scales while the seat is fitted before delivery of the kart.
Things like height of the driver, as well as type and placement of motor and accessories effect the balance. Also the obvious one of placement of lead.
For next season i have upgraded to digital corner weight scales, and am in the process of getting a scale table built.
If there is any interest i will have the scale table at Adelaide next season, for $10 you can find out what the balance of your kart is like. (not sure if i should be making the other 125cc Heavy guys faster though?)
