I have a Righetti Ridolfi “Extreme Kart” chassis that I use with a VLR in my 100cc club race series. Over the course of the shortened season, I have been told by a few people that the chassis is not going to flex enough with my engine to give the right about of grip. I’ve noticed coming out of fast corners my exit just slides a ton more than other people. The guy I’m tenting with tried a few adjustments but still the same result. So in short, would the chassis be the bare reason for this issue?
It could be a variety of things, but the Extreme Kart KZ is an all 32mm chassis, which is likely going to be too stiff for anything other than sticky tires, heavy weight, and high horsepower. The kart is designed to take a bunch more torque and load through the frame, so without that, it’s never going to flex properly.
That’s not necessarily the only reason for your handling issues, but it certainly isn’t helping.
Sigh. I have a chassis, Ben. If the situation is hopeless, talk to me. Also, you are pretty light, so that might be a part of it. I think most chassis are 30/32 mixed.
It should be tunable. Has it been scaled, had corner weights check? Inspected for cracks?
If the kart was too stiff in the rear you’d more likely see the front wash out because it’s not unloading, vs rear being loose… so I think there’s hope.
My internet guess is moving the seat rearward might help if it hasn’t been tried already.
I built my own frame back in the 70s. I raced stock 91 McCullough’s, 100 mL open McCullough’s, 125 mL McCullough’s and 100 mL, K 78. Other than the weight differences between the classes, and the horsepower difference between the engines, I experienced no significant difference in the handling.