I never really answered you. I suspect if you hit a plateau quickly it’s likely that you are driving the kart like a normal gas kart which coasts and sometimes requires braking.
In the case of Suoercharged we learned that braking is a big no-no. You must modulate speed using the throttle only. Because the power is so linear, this works.
The other difference is the nature of the grip. It’s probably more akin to racing on dirt oval than sprint asphalt. You must drive in slip angle and let the rear of the kart move around. You can’t be wasteful, but you do need to be more floaty and rotational.
This varies a bit. RPM Stanford felt more like traditional asphalt driving. Andretti Orlando was substantially slipprier than Superchwrged.
In the case of K1 and RPM, they are best enjoyed at pro speed. This is unlocked typically by posting laptime that “qualifies” you. Chat with the attendants and ask if there’s a pro speed and what’s required to qualify. They don’t always run pro speed sessions, however. Still, as an accomplished karter, the prospeed sessions are typically with competent drivers and more engaging.
Three facilities, three different surface/grip/driving approaches:
Grippiest (Stamford): good tire - wood and asphalt behaving similarly:
This feels the closest to “normal”. It’s a new layout and the surface is pristine, thus grips well. Also, they have the latest Sodis on the OEM tire. Finally, the karts are a bit faster and are geared to have a more normal “powerband”.
Supercharged (bad tire - wood and asphalt very different grip)
Old surface, seems to have lost grip over time. They also replaced the OEM tire with a presumably lower cost one. We lost 2s over the surface and tire changes, relatively. Also, karts have all the power in the bottom end, which plateaus very quickly. Sorta chainsaw like.
Slippiest (Andretti) - asphalt section MUCH lower grip than the wood (oddly):
A tight and twisty layout with a very very slick bottom asphalt level. Unusually slick.
Interestingly, the slippiest surface is where I’d actually use brake. (Andretti ground level.) You can hear me doing a super short lock up on bottom asphalt section for both 180 turns.
I’m braking to set the rear free. I then use the gas to rotate the back around under power. The mini lockup is to put the kart on the nose and free the back. Under low grip scenario like this, you get jack for jacking, and have to make the magic happen manually.
