Something always breaks. Isn’t limited to just changing sprockets. I can start an extremely long list of failure points common to both my 206 and this LEVO spec.
From the PR announcement How and Why, the same limitations can be placed on any local option class. these are self imposed, but not without issues.
C-V can also fail (it’s a mechanical piece)
A local option class can spec out parts.
Meh, not an argument. Same can be done in any kart.
Expecting 20 karts to line up at 1 supplier to change tires for all 20 karts before the race day isn’t feasible. I use 20 here, but even 5 people waiting for tires will cause a problem.
A My5 isn’t needed for lo2o6 either. 90% of people use it as merely a laptimer so invalid argument.
Bit rattle and shake all the time. Seat posts break. Crashes happen causes things to bend, etc etc.
I love the concept of CVT and improved acceleration for a 206. I’d be on board for trying that; however, my personal thoughts on this as a whole isn’t exactly ecstatic. I want to see karting grow, specifically the 206 series. This feels more likely to dilute that effort.
Oh well, can’t eat your cake and have it too. I’ll be interested in trying the C-V system when it’s ready on a second kart.
I’m not particularly interested in having another engine besides the 206 right now. I meant try it on another 206, but that’s neither here not there. Just a personal thought.
Electric… some day. Batteries are getting cheaper and for lower powered karts, say less than 20Kw, motors are not too unreasonable. However, you’ll really need at least three sets of batteries to be competitive on a sprint track. One for test and qualy. One for the heat. And one for the main.
The biggest problem with batteries is charging infrastructure (same problem for the road), a lot of tracks don’t have power and those that do don’t have a large enough power supply to charge everyone fast enough.
I participate in the Margay Ignite class. Not because I don’t want more speed, but because it’s a simple way to get into the sport. I’d like more speed but don’t have the time or knowledge to run a 2 stroke. So - the cvt is intriguing.
It makes them a bit more needy with either changing battery packs or charging them. But performance wise the faster options are a little under shifter and just under TaG and enough power for 15mins.
Its always a problem with batteries, whenever you try to get a high flow rate of power they overheat. The series trying to organise a tesla model s series only managed an outlap recently before the car put itself in get it home mode.
But even assuming the batteries work great, with current technology, we’ll reach a limitation in charging capability fairly quickly. So if you look at buying a diesel generator for example, who is going to buy that, because lots of circuits can’t afford it. Will it be able to handle the inrush load of 30 karts plugging in at the same time.
A friend just posted this after driving it.
" I rode it at Moore Park this past weekend. It stays in the power band constantly for extremely fast start speeds and pickup through the corners, which is where a standard four stroke lacks. When I drive my normal LO206 I basically am all or none on the throttle, where with this you have to feather it because its power is extreme."
I talked to Greg recently and the torque converter on it sounds like it is overspec’d for durability. I didn’t ask what tire it uses but I know it is probably a bit harder for mileage.
I can see why it is a “need to see it to believe it” type of deal. If i have it correct Greg is 33 and been karting since 4 yrs old. He is also a mechanic by trade. I am really looking forward to trying it. I drive a CVT on the street and it took a bit of getting used to. Every time someone tells me those transmissions go out I can swear I hear mine making bad noises for about a week.
I am not really concerned about it hurting karting. If it works it should help with a better entry level point.
My biggest concern would be that a one size fits all doesn’t work. Say the spec’d setup favor tall driver or short driver. If no weight is added then the lighter guy has to have an advantage all other things being equal.
That’s interesting because what I’ve seen with CVT in karting application is that it acts as a crude traction control with its constantly increasing ratio.
I would assume that is due to the quality or adjustability of the Torque converter - how it is tuned. I don’t know how the CVT determines which way to go on the ratio. I am sure my car has computers sensors and all that, Kart has to be way simpler. Seems like one way would do as you say and act as traction control, the other way would tend to give more wheel spin. It should be interesting. It is my overall feeling that the more the tuning is limited the more critical everything becomes.