From 8th to first here is the go pro from my last race

With dual brakes did the kart not kick right under braking? I always assumed that kick was a combination of all the weight hanging off one side plus a single brake on one side of the axle.

it cadets and jn mixed together

That explains the top end difference. You were running a different slide than they were, but they would have been at a lighter weight.

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i was in a cadet so i had less wegit but slowwer moter

Only having raced McCullough’s and European engines, I have never experienced either of the things you’re talking about.

Engine type shouldn’t matter. You know how when you hit the brake hard enough to briefly lock the rear? In that moment the kart rear shifts sideways. I always assumed this had to do with the fact that the engine hangs off one side of the lart but also because we have one single brake caliper at the rear side axle as well.

I was wondering if having brakes applied evenly to both sides of axle simultaneously reduced this kick out.

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I was always taught it was the fact that when you are 2 tires up, they lose most of their traction and the weight of the driver, going forward, causes the kart to spin. The front tires are rolling so they still have traction.
I remember the first time I drove my kart with four-wheel brakes, how my normal breaking point was 5 to 10 feet, maybe farther, down the straight than normal. It took me a while to get used to that.

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Brakes are applied evenly to both. Brake stops the axle and axle stops the tires. Kart twitch under the slightest lock up because brakes on rear only. Locked wheels have very little traction. Also slight steering input has one rear tire light making things worse.

Race a shifter with brakes on the front and balanced correctly front to back and you do not get that.

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A car without antilock brakes will do the same thing. With antilock brakes, the tires don;t lock up, they keep rolling, they don’t slide, they don’t lose traction because of the sliding.

I had a personal experience with my Ford Taurus. A woman suddenly made a left turn in front of me, I slammed on the brakes, fully expecting the rear end to come around, it didn’t, I didn’t hit her, the antilock brakes did what they were supposed to do, stop me really fast, no sliding, no spinning out. It really surprised me how well the antilock brakes work.

Thanks. Come to think of it, driving the KZ in kartkraft doesn’t have the rear swing out under braking. Instead you get the front end hopping.

I think that has more to do with the brake bias. Like cars, all wheel brakes on karts are set up to apply more braking pressure to the front than the rear. That way in the event of a lock up, the fronts will lock before the rear allowing the vehicle to stay in a front line (relatively). It is also why on cars the rear brake pads and rotors are smaller than the front (to reduce braking forces) and on karts its the opposite (two sets of pads/rotors on the front and one larger set of pads/rotor for both rears).

To Al’s note, since the advent of Anit-Lock braking systems, cars have been able to dial up the rear brake pressures and slow down vehicles in shorter distances. You may have noticed in the last two decades that rear brake pads are wearing out in fewer miles than they used too. Its because they can apply more force than they used too and subsequently wear faster.

Sorry this is off the original topic.

Good race Olivier, much better lines into the downhill right hander back up the hill. You were turning in later and moved the apex further into the corner and it showed with your better acceleration up the hill on exit.

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Good explanation, Greg. That makes a ton of sense and explains the front end hop whilst the back stays orderly. Less rear pressure!

Yes apologies for thread highjack. Blame the add.

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