I have noticed grip is less especially here in the Uae during the summer out shredding it on the track at 45 degrees but with the 80% humidity it feels like 50+ and I have definitely felt my laps are getting slower than during spring time and winter, is there any techniques or different lines I can take to possibly close that time gap?
Tires work in a specific window of temperature. When it gets too hot, the tires just start overheating. Smaller inputs will minimize tire heat.
I’m mostly driving Sws karts so I’m assuming they run on harder compounds however my track is very technical especially when they use other layouts so its hard to minimize inputs
Video?
Sounds unlikely to me that your hands can’t get quieter but I’m not familiar with it being so hot that hards overheat. I am guessing you have a pretty narrow window into how much the tire will allow, given the climate. You might need to be rounder and less aggressive with your turn ins and have the front end not be used as brake. No push.
Have you seen Tanguy drive a rental? I think that’s kind of what Tj might be talking about and I know that Tanguy is considering tire when he’s at work.
dont have a video but lap times have definitely changed from spring time to summer
with rentals i was averaging 1:13:5-1:14’s
now its always 1:15 and above
1 Like
There’s less oxygen in hot air and less oxygen in humid air. There’s much less oxygen in hot AND humid air.
At 50C, you have 10% less oxygen. Even if you don’t change jetting, carbs will still provide less fuel automatically because of how venturis work.
And then there are overheating drivers and overheating tires.
4 Likes
It’s normal, nothing you can work on that you aren’t already.
By that I mean smoothness to minimize sliding which you’ll be more likely to be doing with the humidity. It affects every driver on track though - it’s not only you going slower. Just one of those things we accept here.
went to kartdrome last night noticed it a lot first session got a solid 1:16:9 pretty much in turn 11, 12 and 13 is where the sliding happens a lot fixed it and managed to put in a 1:15:1
1 Like
We run in 35-40C AIR temps on the regular here. You aren’t hot yet if the track is only 45C! 
We raced in 30C Saturday and it felt amazing for end of July in Texas!!!
I would expect slower lap times, especially if you can’t adjust tire pressure and carburation. The relative density of the air will hurt engine performance, as higher temps, lower barometric pressure, and higher moisture content all reduce the mass flow of air into the engine. If the carb cannot be adjusted it also results in a slightly rich air fuel mixture which will further impact power, especially at the top end of the RPM range.
On the tires, too high of a pressure could lead to overworking a small contact patch and overheating, one would typically go lower pressure to compensate. Our race tires usually gain grip as temps go up, but are prone to fade much much faster from overheating. Some surfaces get greasy when it is hot, some do not…it is very surface dependent.
1 Like
unfortunately its Sws and rentals so tyres and tyre pressure isnt really in my control here