toms diary

[tom]

OK. I've been watching this forum since i decided to come back to racing karts for one last time, and it seems that nobody is posting any information here. I know that a lot of discussion has moved over to facebook, which is fine, but i thought it was a good place to share information in a centralised location.

So.. At the risk of boring anyone that happens across this site, i am going to write what i am up to with my karting and update every couple of weeks or so, or more often when i am doing anything technical (technical for me is anything harder than putting a wheel on the kart).

I thought i had retired from karting, but that changed when i convinced the man that i think builds the quickest KT's in the world to build me a motor. Not much point having a quick KT and not being able to race it. My aim this time around is to share as much information as i can about what i am doing, hopefully people can pick up some useful information.

So far i have bought an old 2nd hand kart, which is in good condition for it's age and straight as an arrow (thanks Nathan). I believe that you can get most chassis to be competitive, you just need to see what your kart is doing compared to the kart you are trying to beat, and then improve that area. I'll go through that process more when i'm racing and have some feedback to work with.

For now i've fitted my favourite back bar (it would be extended except they are now banned!), fitted some footstops, and fitted my favourite side-pods. The seat is medium stiffness which is OK for KT's. I've changed the header to one that i can fit an O2 sensor, and also an EGT probe, as i'll need that when i'm sorting out the new KT when it arrives. I've also fitted a chain tensioner to try to keep the whip out of the crank. I will be running the KT at a tight clearance, and i'm planning to fit a water vaporiser system to cool the motor. Other than that it's a pretty standard set-up.

I last raced in 2010, and it took me about a year to get up to speed but in the end my 125 was very competitive. Ultimately i'm hoping to get the KT even more competitive again.

1.5weeks until my first race (on P's). It should be fun.

[wrenchman]

G`day Tom ,
i look forward to reading about your Journey

[tom]

OK. Just getting myself organised after my first meeting back with the KT's. I have joined Blanchetown as we will be living about 30km's from the track. I was very impressed with the facilities there, the track is a road-base type track, with a lot of undulation, and it is very long. I was glad to be starting ROF, as i reckon i might have got lost otherwise first time out!

The kart was ready to go, and the chassis worked well, i think the tyres were made before i was born, as they are starting to crack around the sidewall and are pretty bald, but as the track gripped up it wasn't too bad, and i was pretty happy with the way the kart hung on, turned in, and came off the corners. I think Blanchetown will be a good track to test at, as it has a good combination of different types of corners.

The motor was run without even looking at it, and it was quite hard to start, it feels like the crank seals are gone, and it didn't have any low down response. I have my 'B' spec motor back from the US now, so depending on how much time i have i'll either freshen up the ebay motor, or bolt on the quick one.

2 more meetings to go starting from ROF, the next Blanchetown meeting clashes with Bathurst, so i'll look at the calender and plan out a couple more meetings until the end of the year. It's great to be back behind the wheel, I'm sure the kart is right around the ballpark with set-up, so it's just a matter of getting a couple more meetings under my belt.

I'll have more to report when i get down to Adelaide or Strath where there are bigger fields of quicker karts.

[tom]

Just to show that i have my priorities in order, i have missed a couple of meetings so i can sit at home and watch the V8 supercars live!

I'm still hoping to get a couple more meetings in this season, failing that i have been spending a heap of time at our farm lately getting ready to build our house, and in the spare moments i've been mapping out a great spot to build a test track. I have tried to explain a few times how i tune my carbies with the lambda sensor by taking a video of the sensor lights alongside my tacho. I will go through this step by step when i have my test track built, as i'm sure it will make more sense if i can post the video's on youtube to go along with a description of the process.

To those that are actually racing instead of sitting on their butts watching TV like me, i hope it is going well!

[tom]

Spent half a day yesterday getting the test track started. It will be good to be able to do testing and running in of motors just next to our house! I have also purchased a kart for my daughter, so that will give me the opportunity to have a play with the 'J' motor, something i've managed to avoid until now. I'm looking forward to watching her enjoy her karting, she is excited to try out the track at the farm. Unfortunately i think i've run out of time to do any more racing myself this season. Hopefully i'll get a bit of sorting out done with my US motor, and be ready to go for next year.

[tom]

The track at the farm is driveable. My girl has been cutting a few laps, getting faster each time around. The soil has a lot of clay, i'm hoping to try to lay down a lot of rubber so i have a nice grippy surface (good for engine testing). I've got a 6 day a week job that doesn't finish until April, so won't be driving much 'till after then. Hopefully all the pieces will be in place to have a real crack at a wide variety of tracks for next season. I imagine it will take a season or so to get close to the full potential of the new motor, but i'm mega-excited after seeing the dyno performance.

[tom]

Wow! Karting season is well underway, i'm still working 12hour days / 7 days a week! Most of the grapes are in the tanks now, so i'll have a sleep for a few days when vintage is over, and then take some time to make some karts out of all the parts I have accumulated over the last few months.

My US KT is undergoing final tweaks, and will be on a plane over here before too long. In the meantime I caught up with my old Italian engine supplier, Umberto Merlin, and managed to convince him to supply me with the last of the Formula Super A 100cc Open motors. I used to love racing the 100cc open, and i'm looking forward to racing selected events with these motors, I haven't heard a rotary valve motor at peak revs for many years, and I imagine there are some people racing karts now that have never heard one.

My daughter and I are rebuilding her junior kart as a project together, so in the meantime I got another kart for her to start racing in, she is excited and nervous about her first time racing, but has had good practice at the farm, so should go OK.

I'll be tooling around at the back of the field for a couple of meetings to get off my P's, then it's time to get serious.

By the time my next post is written, I hope to have at least got my kart in 1 piece!

[tom]

OK.. karting season is nearly finished! I now have in my possession is a KT that has had more time spent on it than all my previous motors put together. Just over a year in the making, I hope all the love translates to performance on the track. I still have a bit of work to do to my chassis as in the testing I had previously done I wasn't happy with the performance of the axle. The person who used to make my axles is no longer in the business, so it has taken some time to get someone else to step up to the plate. I'm pretty certain that in the next couple of weeks, i'll be pounding the weeds down that have grown on my track, and then be all ready to get a couple of meetings in late in the season. I'm pretty excited to get out on the track, it's been a year now since my last race. I'm also looking forward to getting on my track at the same time as my girl, so she can follow me around and get a bit faster.

My engine builder is a bit of a data freak, so I will be running a spaghetti mess of wires that will allow me to record all the vitals of the engine as I go. It's been a looooong time since I ran KT, but I still remember that the most important factor is getting the compression as high as possible and still being able to run the revs required. Hopefully by monitoring EGT/CHT, and Lambda, we will be able to run the ragged edge of tight clearances without welding the back of the piston to the cylinder. All going well, it will be fast enough without having to go too close to the limit of reliability.

Hopefully by my next post i'll be writing about an actual race meeting I've been missing out on the fun for far too long.