I am looking into getting a new Chassis at the end of the season the nearest support I have is for both OTK (Kosmic, Tonykart, RedSpeed) and Birel ART. I currently race Lo206 and am looking into getting into some TAG, but mainly LO206.
Any opinions on either makes? I do tend to like my chassis to be more towards oversteer than under steer.
Hi. I think if you like the Chassis to be tail happy than i think otk is the option for you. I am driving atm an otk but im going to try the birel next month. I can say the otk is pretty consistent in its Performance over the race. But i didnt like it so much. Its too front biased for me and i never got the feeling for the brake.
I have to mention that i drive a rotax dd2 on mojo d5. I think next month i will tell you more about difference in both
Awesome thanks a ton!
Do you want to run the same chassis for both? While it can be done they are fairly far apart in some key areas with HP being the main one. Tag also runs a battery, radiator, water pump, and the drive sprocket is in a different spot. It would require some significant time to make the switch.
I believe each manufacturer makes dedicated chassis for each class you mention as well.
Are you racing now? Ask around where you race and see what people are using and get opinions on each.
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I’m cheap, so OTK as far as replacement parts are concerned. Birel Art (Freeline) seem to be real proud of their stuff as far as parts prices are concerned, lol.
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But at the end of the day how many replacement parts do you need? Normaly its in the case of the crash and both arent cheap and the difference is not to big.
You’d be suprised, I’m surprised how many parts I go through. I run in big fields. But I’ve also had a string of bad luck lately, so I’m speaking from recent experience. My local track is an Birel Art dealer and I’m always suprised when I go into their parts showroom how much more expensive Freeline parts are. Everything OTK seems to fit my non-OTK kart, and the parts are good quality, easy to obtain, and far less expensive than Freeline.
Just my experience.
Im doing around 5 -6 races a year plus training. Without crashing never something broke on my kart ( ok bolts or some few dollar parts). And after some race incidents it was only some plastic and axles. This is it for me. Axles cost the same as otk, same for bodywork. And else? What do you need more? Rims maybe, ok also nearly the same. Hubs? Never broke in my live. So what i saw is more pricy are the brake callipers, but its a lifetime part
After 1.5 years of cadet racing, we’ve had to replace rear bumper, steering shaft, kingpins, tie rods, and axles. And my little guy is amongst the more cautious out there…
Maybe because i am racing masters and people are more cautious there…
So today i did a first test on the birel.
The track was pretty green and my tires almost dead. I did not want to put a fresh set because it would not make any sense on this conditions.
So my impression was that it is more balanced overall, there was no big feel either it is front or rear biased, so no oversteering out of corners. The steering felt easier not so stiff like on the tony.
The brakes where the complete opposite of the tony. On otk, bit too much pressure and they lock, on birel you really have to slam the pedal and they start to lock pretty late but also hard to predict when, but for me its alot better than otk. I have to mention, from what i have tested, sodi has the best ones.
So in overall im happier with the birel, maybe not faster but happier and maybe more constant.
And the chassis is around 1,5 kg lighter than the tony without using magnesium parts. If all parts, which are on tony from magnesium you would put on the birel, i think there would be another 1-1,5 kg
Odd about the brakes. OTK is notorious for having to slam the pedal to get lock-up where many others are more of an on-and-off switch.
I would also reserve judgement based on one day of testing on poor tires with green track. Not to say the BirelART won’t suit you better in the end, but generally the best karts shine through once conditions become more difficult.
Just curious what pads were on the kart? The stock Freeline in my experience don’t work like what you have described. They usually require less pressure and are more progressive. However, the aftermarket Sinter brand requires more effort to get the action you have described. The problem is the Freeline pads are twice the price.
I have the silver once. These ones are original birel in silver. They have the homologation number on them.
You can buy here the silver and blacks for the same price
You are right, the tony was pretty good on grippy condition. But the brakes, were i had alot problems and also the really heavy steering were the reason i dropped otk.
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So had the chance to test it in better conditions with better tyres.
In my opinion the birel feels more balanced than the tony. Its less direct but i like it more this way. The oversteer comes pretty late and its not so sudden than in tony. With basich setup the kart is bit understeery out of tighter corners. But its way easier to steer than the tony.
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Its funny you say that. I too am in Masters, but here in Florida, the Masters drivers (depending which track you go to) can have some of the most aggressive drivers. Whereas, I’ve been to other tracks where they are the most cautious.
Back to the chassis debate, I recently ran on a Birel and I was amazed how smooth and planted it was. I had never been on anything that wasn’t a TB Kart, so prior to this I had no idea how anything else drove.
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