Now it’s really important to distinguish between stiffening the frame vs. It becomes difficult when we start adding components to the kart which can interfere or contradict with the action of the chassis. Obviously the popsicle stick twists more easily because it’s softer. Take a popsicle stick and try twisting it. The goal is to get the waist of the kart to twist, so that the inside rear can come off the ground. This is a pretty simple concept softer chassis will flex more, stiffer chassis will flex less. So how do we actually get lift? Well the chassis has to flex. So if you’re trying to free the kart up, you’re trying to adjust the rate at which the inside rear lifts, to get it to lift more/sooner in the corner. It’s not a case of “too much grip”, it’s a case of not enough lift. In reality, the more grip you have, the faster you can corner, right? The reason the kart has “too much grip” is because both back tires are on the ground and it’s binding. In general, I really try to get people off the idea of “grip” and whether you have too much or not enough. Modern karts have become heavier, wider, softer, and smoother. Just look at a top-level driver of 1994 compared to a top-level driver of today and look at their posture in the kart and the karts attitude is on-track. Nearly everything has changed since then in terms of chassis philosophy, driving styles, engines and tire compounds etc. Now, first I would say that trying to tune a 1994 Tony Kart is going to be completely different to tuning a modern kart. It can be difficult to decipher because with all the variables at play within the chassis (not to mention the engine and tire combination which can completely flip everything), many things can seem contradictory. It’s a lot to take in, so you’re right, it’s hard to wrap your head around it all. So, do you think my thought process is correct and I’m on the right track? Or, do I have it backwards? I guess it depends… I forget what thread it was on, but I thought I read that someone was saying a “free” kart has more “grip” and so on. However, when out at the track last, I was talking to a guy that said I should be going the opposite direction, that I need to take away rear grip in order to give the front more grip relatively. Basically, my thought process to get better turn in and lift is to stiffen the chassis. My next steps are to add toe out, drop tire pressures all around to increase side bite, and I just purchased long rear hubs to test (currently running fairly short hubs, so I’ve been working with what I have). I have two additional seat struts on the left side and one on the right by the motor and dropped the rear pressures a bit. I’ve put in the rear torsion bar and slid the side bar over the joint. So, I’ve gone wider at the front and narrower at the rear (was at 53, then down to about 52.5" and it seemed to be faster) with as much caster as I think there is. I also feel that I’m not getting the power down as well as I should on corner exit. I feel like I’m not getting that inside tire to lift like it should, thus the kart is not rotating like I’d want it to. Right now, I experience understeer on corner entry, particularly into our tightest couple of corners. To me, a “soft” set up meant less grip and more free, and resulted in more speed.Īnd I know that you’ve said it all depends, so I know that experience can’t exactly relate to my current situation, but based on that, I’m trying to dial in my current chassis, a 1994 Tony Kart with a KT100 on it. As I made these changes, I progressively got quicker and got within a quarter of a second of the leaders. Lowest ride height possible, as wide at the rear as possible (55"), super short rear hubs, soft seat, soft axle, higher rear tire pressures, and no additional seat struts. Based on recommendations, I did pretty much everything I could to soften the set up. Having a stiffer set up meant that knife edge was more perpendicular to the asphalt to dig in, whereas a soft set up would make that knife be more parallel to the pavement and thus cut the grip. The analogy I was given was a knife blade. That’s how I interpreted it: stiff meant grip as the lift rate is faster. I was told that my chassis and set up was too stiff, thus too much grip, so it was binding things up and bogging down the motor. When I was racing 206 a couple of years ago, I had a new 32mm Righetti (Extreme) chassis while everyone was running 30mm or smaller chassis. I think about things a lot more logically/theologically): Here is my most recent experience/knowledge (I don’t remember much from when I was a teen. So, I’m trying to wrap my head around all of this, because once I think I finally have it “right” in my head, I hear someone explain it exactly the opposite in regards to “too much/little grip” or “hard/soft” or “free/tight.”
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