Steering Column on Tonykart 2012

Chassis Setup, Tires & Handling Forum
1

Hallo
New to the hobby
I have bought an old Tony Kart from 2012 (dont know the exact model number ? and yes i know its painted “FA blue”)
'Long story short… I was on the track the other day, for the very first time. Until now, I have been running and old Gillard / P.D.B kart from early 2000. But I noticed that the steering was very tough and hard to turn in corners. I had to use a lot of force, and got tired in the wrist pretty fast… What is the default setting for the steering column ?? Do people sometimes run it, in the inner position ?? And if I move to the inner position, do I then need to setup the toe etc. again ??

Thanks

steering-column
steering-column.jpg4160×2340 1.76 MB

2

Assuming it’s not mechanically bound in some way…

The weight in the steering is likely a combination of additional caster and/or track width compared to your 00 PDB chassis.

The holes in the column affect the rate of the steering moreso than the weight of it. The bottom holes are the default.

Take a look at the camber/caster pills and see how it’s setup.

3

Okay thanks. So you are saying, that they are in default position already ?

The camber / caster are in the default direction, with the arrow pointing forward.

4

Steering column is set default right now. Do you have a neutral caster pill in the bottom of the yoke or is that also an eccentric?

The OTK has got more caster and front grip than many karts, so it tends to feel fairly heavy for most drivers coming from something else.

1 Like
5

On the bottom. The arrow is pointing towards the back of the kart ?

IMG_20200430_163235232
IMG_20200430_163235232.jpg2340×4160 2.44 MB

6

So the top eccentric is pointing forwards, and the bottom pointing back? That would be minimum caster. Right? Is my brain reversing it?

7

Your brain is betraying you. Top arrow forward and bottom arrow backward = maximum caster.

So yes, you have maximum caster in the kart @Silverline. If you rotate one of the pills so both arrows are facing the same direction, you will have neutral caster, which will lighten the steering and reduce mechanical jacking.

2 Likes
8

Thank you so much…

So default is with both the arrows pointing forward, and is an okay starting point for a beginner???

9

Correct.
Both arrows forward or backward = neutral
Top arrow forward, bottom arrow backward = max positive caster
Bottom arrow forward, top arrow backward = max negative caster

You can also get a neutral pill that is concentric rather than eccentric, and running that on either top or bottom will give you halfway adjustments so you can do half negative or half positive caster for finer tuning.

For now, I’d keep them both pointed in the same direction and keep it neutral.

1 Like
10

Thank you very much. Looking forward to test on Monday :slight_smile:

1 Like