There are 2 races left in the season. My son has won all but 1 race. I’m happy he’s winning but I think he would learn more if he was a little slower.
How can I reduce the power? Maybe block part of the air filter? Is there something else I should do instead?
Can you just reduce the amount of throttle he has
What engine? Moving the throttle stop back a thread or two is probably easiest
just put a smaller sprocket on the rear to slow him down a bit through the turns
Instead of reducing power have your son start behind the field. I assume he is faster not necessarily because of motor just driving better so he is starting in the front so have him start last or even fall back at the start.
That would reduce top end right? Is there some way i can reduce mid range?
It reduces power everywhere, same as if he just lifted a little.
You can also add ballast to slow him down, but I am in the camp that fears karts are getting too heavy relative to their drivers. If he already has a lot of ballast, I wouldn’t want to add more. But if he is not running much ballast, this could encourage more smooth driving and better corner exits which would build good habits as long as the positioning of the ballast doesn’t dramatically change the handling of the kart (ie, put it close to the CG).
Can’t you just have a conversation with him that if he wants to keep growing and succeed he also needs to learn what it’s like to battle the field upwards.
I can remember that, as a kid, I noticed every little change in the kart’s behaviour. A tiny rock on the front left, a slight misaligned steering wheel or lacking power coming out of corners, kids will notice.
Changing the technical parts of the kart and him noticing could also affect his confidence and he will then adapt a new, maybe slower, driving style, achieving the exact opposite of what you want him to do.
If you really want to force it, I’d say use the throttle cable to let it ‘slip’ before it actually opens the carburator valve thus reaching about 80 or 90% WOT.