Let's talk about Seat Position

I think this is why someone (not me - too stupid) needs to come up with a finely adjustable seat mount that can reposition the drivers mass within a few millimetres without drilling. The position of the driver in the chassis is profoundly important - and yet as an earlier poster stated, setting it is daunting, messy and maybe the greatest area of untapped innovation in karting.

My mass moves around over time within a window of about 5 kilos. Would you like to be able to put that 5 kilos where the chassis wants it?

Me too.

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@Motormouse it’s not quite what you wanted ie. you do still have to drill holes, but a guy has made these http://kracer.com.au/k-racer-asmo.html which seem to be a good thing.
They are called ASMO’s, I haven’t used them myself, but from all reports they are quite good

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I’m going to be helping my buddy mount a smaller seat on his kart, because the bigger seat was just becoming too much of a nuisance for him. He’s also changing classes, from the inboard drive Clone to KT100. He’s also often mentioned he felt way too skewed to the left. With all this in mind, I want to bend the right seat strut over about an inch to the right to center him a bit more and help him reach the throttle pedal easier if his leg doesn’t have to bend around the tank. Doing this, though, I’ll need to bend the left strut in by about 2 inches. What is the best way to do this? I’ve never had to make such a change to a seat strut, rather just bending the tab a little in or out. IMG_3220

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My gut says, scale it before you bend the brackets. Generally the seat is offset to the left as stock. Then bend them as/if needed to get the L/R balance you need.

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Anyone got the dpe/arrow seat chart saved from earlier on the thread, I need to mount a new seat too my x1e before the weekend and the dpe website is down for maintenance

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Hey @Whiterhino14

Would you mind updating your profile to include your full name?

I think the file you are looking for is in this topic: Post Links to Chassis Setup Guides Here

Ok, first I promise I am going to read this while topic, but I haven’t finished it yet as there is a lot here so please forgive me if this is answered already.

I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations on a deeper seat? From my earlier topic I do think I could do with being a bit further rearward in my kart, however my seat is almost as far back as my mounting holes allow. If I was going to go to the effort of buying a new seat, it might make sense to buy something deeper dimensionally.

I have stumbled across “Deep Seat” by Koyen in WI (Wisonsin?) USA. Anybody used one? I haven’t so far found any measurements that show the Tillet etc etc depths.

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Let’s step back for a moment. What is the problem you need to solve with the kart…

Are you unable to get the kart to scale F/R weight distribution wise?
Are you a particularly large, or small driver?

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I’m 6’4", not hugely tall but tall enough. I feel ok in my kart but still a bit scrunched up.

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Oh, what you need is a porch extension for your kart so you can stretch your legs out and get the seat where it needs to be.

I believe @Ty_Schlorer had one on his arrow at some point.

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I’d recommend checking with KartsportNA.com to see if they’ve got a porch extension kit for your Arrow. I have one on my X-3 and it helps a lot. I ran a Deep Seat for 10plus years. I liked it, it was very comfortable for me. However it was quite stiff and heavier than my current Tillett seat. I’d bet that my chassis was a bit bound up because of how stiff the seat was.

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I found this on the website:

But I can’t seem to find the match IngI upper crash bar and floor tray.

What other parts do I need?

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Your upper bumper bar should work. You’ll need the floor pan extension, hardware, and longer brake rod. The hardware, if I remember correctly, was bolts to attach the pan and some spacers for the pedals. I think they used to offer everything as a kit though.

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The DeepSeat (my dad is the owner) is more designed to protect your ribs and spread load out over your torso and eliminate pressure points, not really to get the driver sat back further.

6’4" is tall for karting. As Ty and James said, a front porch will probably sort your issues. However, Tillett does make some specific models of seat that have a wider angle for taller drivers, so you end up sitting more leaned back. That might be something to look into as well.

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Thanks TJ, that’s really useful information.

I am asking a few suppliers currently whether they can supply the front porch. I may have found a good deal locally on a kit being sold as a “closeout” item. I’ll update if/when it comes through.

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Would like some advice for my son’s kart. Tony kart stvk. He’s 4’8" and 95 pounds. I have the seat height at the middle of the frame rails and it scales at 43f/57r. 310 lbs. It’s not jacking the inside wheel in corners. I tried raising rear ride height and seat struts but it still sits flat in corners. I’m going to try removing the front bar tomorrow and see if that helps. Any advice? Raise the seat higher?

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How is the kart actually handling and how do the tires look. You don’t always have to obviously visually lift the wheel, rather you’re looking to unload it.

Like anything other stopwatch has final say. Broadly speaking you add caster or front track width for entry to apex and control the unloading from apex to exit with the rear track width.

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Tend to agree with James. What tire are you on? I’m assuming something harder if you’re running an STVK. On a harder tire, a kart isn’t going to jack weight like it will on a softer tire. If your weight distribution is as it should be, and it sounds like it is, then I wouldn’t worry too much if your pace is fine.

On the harder tire you’re not necessarily going to see it truly lift the inside rear, sometimes just getting the tire light enough that it isn’t scrubbing is all you can do. But if you need more jacking, a stiffer front bar or adding caster will both achieve that. It’s pretty much guaranteed to lift if you add caster and stiffen that front bar.

That sounds like the seat is set quite low for someone so small? I’m not giving advice, more looking at what people think. I’ve seen kart set ups whilst I’ve been researching that had small drivers spaced way up high.

I think James and TJ are providing great actual advice though. I’m just learning and find different approaches interesting.

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I’m curious about that too. I probably should raise the seat some more, but how do I know when it’s too high?