Racing a kart

[JimClarkFan]

I do a bit of kart racing, not all that much though, but I like to get as often as I can and money allows it.

My question, to all those who race karts, is just what is the best way to drive the thing;

Are there any tricks that you know of, that you have seen, or do yourself to make the kart go faster?
Is the old adage of loose is fast by and large true?
Are there any good video which demonstrate how ex kart masters, such as Lewis and Vettel, to illustrate your point?

Anyway, post up what you think, I want to wipe the floor at my next meet up and given that I can't be behind the wheel as often as I would like, I would prefer to learn from others that can.

[beelsebob]

I always found that yes, loose is fast. Break slightly too hard into the corner, use that to get you turned, and then get the power down in a straight line. This also has the side benefit that you typically are breaking later than the people around you, and makes passes more possible.

[Nando]

momentum is key. There´s almost no power in most karts so keeping the momentum through the corner is crucial.

[Tommy Cookers]

the technique of kart driving interests me (more than doing it)

that is, why don't small light drivers have a great advantage ?

my guess is because there is no diff the kart doesn't want to turn in unless the inner rear wheel has little contact load on it
(the taller, heavier driver will develop more overturning moment so the inner rear wheel has (relatively) little load)
do drivers ever lean into corners ? (or even outwards ?)

answers, please !

[Nando]

I talked to some guys at my local karting track and we showed up 50 guys, one was a national champion or something,
(can´t remember exactly but he was competing competitively)

He was probably the biggest guy out of all of us and he whooped us so bad it looked like he had glue on his tires

Basically he said lighter drivers have an advantage everytime you go full throttle and go straight.
Heavier drivers have more weight to play around with in corners and is an advantage if you can use it.

[beelsebob]

My experience karting is certainly that heavier guys tend to have a little bit of an advantage, because kart tracks tend to be corner heavy and straight light. It always intrigued me that weight seemed to be an advantage in a corner in a kart. The intuition would be that the extra mass you're accelerating would be a disadvantage. But it certainly seems like being able to load up wheels more has a really significant advantage.

[JimClarkFan]

Anytime I have been karting the lightest guys who have a racing brain also are the fastest. I am 95kilos and see a noticeable difference with the lighter and heavier guys. I nail them on the corners that require grip, but often if there are very tight corners I get hammered with the build up in speed.

I always found that yes, loose is fast. Break slightly too hard into the corner, use that to get you turned, and then get the power down in a straight line. This also has the side benefit that you typically are breaking later than the people around you, and makes passes more possible.

I used to use to get to tail to move out in certain corners (hairpins) however I was never sure if I was gaining much of an advantage. I'm heavyish and when I do that sure I get turned quicker but it does take longer to get the kart going. I'm not sure how the trade plays out.... really what I would love is to have unlimited access to a track and just experiment like crazy

momentum is key. There´s almost no power in most karts so keeping the momentum through the corner is crucial.

I have been driving more like this lately, I'm quite heavy and if I spin I don't have all that much power underneath me to get going again.

[Nando]

The thing with karts is that instead of keeping your weight pushed into the corner you should roll some of the weight to the outside wheels.

relax your back some and let it slide out a little bit.

[beelsebob]

You're right, there are times where it certainly bites me to throw it in too much, and it certainly depends on the corner, and what comes after it. The track I'm normally at has a left hand hairpin flowing into a 90° right, and then a long straight. Throwing it into that I find I loose too much time down the straight. But that straight ends in a hairpin, which slowly opens into a complex. There I find I commonly make up a lot of time on people by throwing it in.

I should probably try and be super smooth through the S and see whether I can improve a bit.

[Nando]

rent karts come with only rear brakes as well, braking from top speed into a hairpin is extremely hard to get just right.
So easy to let the rear step out and kill all momentum.

Here´s my local track, first long right hander is flat, feels awesome taking that at 80km/h
Hairpin afterwards is very very tricky. Also the left hander afterwards, haven´t figured out the line through there yet.


think these karts are a little bit faster then the rent karts,
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inuudndQRk4[/youtube]

[Nando]

Btw, have you asked for the track record in the rent karts?

i´m 2 seconds of pace but i have only run 10 minute sesssions once a year or so.
20 minutes the time we were 50 guys and ran a tournament.

[hollus]

The thing with karts is that instead of keeping your weight pushed into the corner you should roll some of the weight to the outside wheels.

relax your back some and let it slide out a little bit.

I hope you do kart more than once a year if you are handing out tips. I don't, so I only have questions. This with letting your weight go to the outside in the corners I have heard quite a bit, and it makes sense as it helps lift the inside wheels.
My question is, shouldn't one then do A LOT of it? Why not move your whole body 25cm to the outside?

[Ozan]

I used both 6 and 9hp karts and momentum is essential in karting. Brake kills power.

[Juzh]

rent karts come with only rear brakes as well, braking from top speed into a hairpin is extremely hard to get just right.
So easy to let the rear step out and kill all momentum.

Here´s my local track, first long right hander is flat, feels awesome taking that at 80km/h
Hairpin afterwards is very very tricky. Also the left hander afterwards, haven´t figured out the line through there yet.


think these karts are a little bit faster then the rent karts,
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inuudndQRk4[/youtube]

I raced a bit of 125cc max so I'll share my 2 cents.
The guy in the video is clearly driving a 125cc automatic with lift technology (similar to vtec or smth like that, im not much into technical stuff anymore) judjing by the sound of engine, so he's getting ~32-35bhp at peak revs, whereas all the other have normal 125cc enginges with 28 bhp. Thats why he's only faster at top end, but not in the middle of the acceleration. Speed difference is way too much. Also slipstream is not nearly as powerfull in 125cc to make up for that speed.
Rear brakes will kill you, that is correct. If you brake just a little bit too much into the corner, you're soon gonna find yourself facing backwards. If brakes are top notch, you can even spin in a straight line if you dont hold your steering wheel hard enough.

Normal rent karts are 270ccm 4stroke lawn mowers with 9 or 17 bhp depending on the model, not worth a single penny of your money. I could litteraly run faster round the track.

[Kiril Varbanov]

I have raced both 6 and 9HP karts - different tracks have different grip levels, and that's for sure, so you need to adapt.
Generally, I tend to brake very late and spool the throttle at the same time while turning in, so I get out of the corner on proper revs.

In S corners (a la Ascari on Monza) where I'm flat out others aren't so sure. I started doing karts when I was 65kg, now I'm almost 90, and the weight is an advantage. General fitness is also a plus, as on endurance races most give up - the karts that we drive are very nervous and require strong hands for prolonged amount of time.

What I'm not particularly happy about is the snap oversteer induced by low levels of grip on certain track - gives you very little confidence to "push like hell" and generally kills the fun.