I haven’t raced in a few months but during my last few races my kart would drop off the face of the planet and my lap times really fell off. This usually would start to happen around lap 12 or a 15 lap race.
Whats the best way you’ve found to combat this? As the day progressed I would drop air preassure which helped a little.
Gotta determine what the issue is. Is the kart starting to slide or get tight at the end of the run? Are you getting tired?
Should be adjusting your tire pressures so the kart comes in and has little fall off through the run. So maybe need to go lower on pressure. Also could look at a wheel change to something with more consistency that keeps the tire from overheating a bit more. What wheel are you on?
Are you starting too much pressure and getting slow 1/2 through? That seems like an obvious starting point so you’ve likely thought of it.
Track temps dictate psi, but Florida being “somewhat” consistent around 85 degrees +/- 5 degrees I usually run 10-15 psi. (MG Reds)
1.1. mile track (for reference)
12 Lap Qualifing in the morning: 15 psi
12 Lap Pre-final: 12 psi
15 Lap Final: 10 psi
What I find is my kart gets tight and begins sliding really bad, and in some cases I’m loosing 1-1.5 seconds per lap. What this translates to (for me) the field behind begins closing in on me toward the end of the race, and I have gone from P-1/P-2 to P-3/P-4 in the last few races; all on the final lap.
“Tight” and “sliding” are typically contradicting terms. “Tight” usually means the kart is locked down or stuck to the track and binding. You’re saying the rear starts sliding?
Either way, a 1-1.5 second drop off is massive and atypical. Maybe some video would help to see what’s going on. Even with a wonky tire pressure or super poor tire management, the most I see usually is 0.5 drop off from drivers I work with.
Unless you are VERY experienced, it is almost always driver induced. Whether it’s falling out of the seat, tightening up corner entries, or just missing lines, focus on driver first.
What happens if you start at 8?
Certainly can try it but 8 is pretty low for Reds. The lowest I go in KA is 10-11.
Yeah just as a thing to see if it’s pressure. He’s describing getting too hot from what I can see. 8 would be low but maybe just a practice session to see what the kart handles like hot at 8 start temp. Would answer the question of temp as opposed to driving.
It’s possible Dean is getting tight (in the head as opposed to the kart) but he’s been at it a bit so I’d think he’s not sawing away as he tires out lap 10+. But it’s possible!
Video!
Does it behave the same in practice sessions?
What type of wheels you running? I have found even in my 206 big difference over average race length a big difference between wheels. If I run aluminum/large volume Mag/solid Mag my tire performs in a much smaller window then a low volume mag wheel. Generally, this is a giant ass push after about 8 laps regardless of tire brand or no grip early in the race. (Depending on starting pressure)
Low Profile Douglas Black wheels.
You know during practice I never turn 15 laps at once. Usually like 8-10 laps then come off. Do some changes or take a break. Maybe I need to up my laps and see if it does this during practice. But here is the kicker, now I’m on an X-30 as I pulled my 206 off last month. I haven’t driven the X-30 yet, still waiting on a few parts to button her up.
I was told recently that 80-100 laps on a practice day should be the goal.