Baseline NTK: We run sniper pills, so gives us some tuning flexibility.
Caster is minus 1 from neutral.
Front width is 1-1/2 spacers.
Rear track is usually full width or very close.
Rear axle is HH.
No seat struts.
We run mid height front and rear. Tried lower rear and he didn’t like it in 1 and 2 at all.
I think this is one of the biggest opportunities. But I need someone that is not me to analyze and explain. Experienced person can articulate better, and most importantly they aren’t dad.
Thank you! Managed a P17 out of 27 entries. Carb issues, float sticking in left turns and starving engine cost him finishes in first two rounds. Took engine penalty for round 3 and started at back. Ended up putting him P26 for the final. So he pulled 9 spots. Still struggled with relative performance in high grip vs low. He was top ten pace when it was wet or no rubber, and about P15 pace when it was warm and rubbered up. Might have sorted it if I hadn’t cost him track time for 2 sessions screwing with the carb. Lesson learned, next time take the penalty as soon as you think an issue is present! At least that way you get track time.
I am not as familiar with the LO carb, but I had the same thing happen to me during the qualifying start at Summer 2. The float needle got stuck in the closed position and would not pump fuel into the bowl. That is the second time its happened. Two notes on that. Always drain your carb after race day and if you are not running an inline filter, get one. You are using pump gas and it may contain sediments not usually found in canned fuel.
I am by no means the fasted guy in my class, but I would be happy to talk to you son. Maybe I can re-enforce your words with out the bias of being his dad. I am also much quicker in the rain than most in my class. It has to do with how being tall transfers weight. That same weight transfer is what causes the hopping in the grip. Setup and most importantly, driving style will help with the hopping.
So we now have a set of MXC forged wheels we will be running for the first time at TSRS in Midland. Still considering 9.5 seat but leaning towards waiting until the old one shows a bit more wear.
Only two races down since my original post. 1 club race and 1 regional race since my post. Skipped a club race for a test weekend in a Miata last weekend!
Regional race the motor was a turd, carb issues. Driver still showed signs of binding up when track gained grip.
Club race, decent early relative to field, lost time relative to field as it got warmer and grip came up. Also saw some overdriving of corner entry making the bound up kart situation worse.
That will continue to be an issue. I know when my kart gets tight, I want to drive it “harder” and thats the exact wrong thing to do. Gotta get back to the gas sooner! Good luck and thanks for the update. Let us know how he progresses.
Hey Chuck, thanks for the update. I am sorry I forgot to come looking for you at the last couple of races. Which club race did you do, Summer 3 or 4?
Don’t be afraid to one or two more clicks forward on the caster setting. His high center of gravity is putting a lot of flex through the chassis which is contributing to the hopping.
I just ordered a set the other day. I was tired of chasing tire pressures over the longer runs later in the day.
This is definitely an option, but like I mentioned earlier you can just lean the seat back more. On my T11, the back of the flat bottom is just below the frame rails and the front edge is just above the bottom of the frame rails. On a Large seat, thats good for about 5-6 degrees more lean back.
Yeah, when the grip comes up you gotta try to straighten out the exit more. Slow down more, turn in, get the kart rotated earlier and then get back to gas in as straight a line as possible. I was watching some of the TaG Cadets do a really good job of this back at Summer 3 in T7.
I won’t be back at NTK until Summer 6. Taking a little vacation with the family up in New England on the South Coast of Mass. The highs there have been around 85*F. It will be a nice break from the 100+ day weeks we have had here. If you are at Summer 6 feel free to come find me. I am usually at the end of the pit runner, TaG Sr/Mstr 469.
Hi, I race in australia using the sticky LeCont SVB on a CRG KT5, and often have that issue when dialling in a track.
We often make a few changes to the kart and 90% of the time it is either fixed or bearable
I use a cut KZ Hard axle for those high grip tracks
Lean the seat back a bit to get more weight over the rear axle
Middle bearing undone
Drive the kart in and make one input with a little bit of throttle mid corner to keep the kart settled
Hard Tillet seat
One outlier to these was when I was jacking under a high grip - high speed uphill double apex, and going to a soft axle fixed everything. Sometimes making some big changes to the kart can find some unrealised gains too so if anything crosses your mind, just try it because its better than not knowing
Hope I can help out!
Man so many good ideas and information posted here already. Being a guy who is 6"4 and has raced between 180-240 my whole life, I feel you. First thing, IMO, an OTK kart is the wrong kart for someone your size, they are just too soft. You will likely need to go stiffer across the board and what works for others (and factory settings from OTK) will not work for someone your size. Lower the seat, below the rails. Yes, you will start going through seats but that is part of the price to pay. As everyone else has said, keep trying different setups. I still fight mine on and off with a hop at exit. When I put a smaller/lighter driver in the car it virtually goes away. You have a big huge lever with a ton of weight that is trying to roll that kart over. Higher tire pressures are a must, I’m usually anywhere from 2psi to 4psi higher than other competitors. If I try to run their pressure I can literally feel the tire rolling over on itself.
Well, this weekend was a nice change. Texas Sprint Racing Series raced at a low grip track this weekend and the kid showed out with good pace all weekend. P3 in the final, and P4 quals, P4 in H1, P2 in H2, and P3 in H3.
The MXC wheels didn’t make much difference, even in the 106F temps. The track was just was too slick with fresh sealer and lots of dust. Regardless, it was nice to not fight the bind we normally deal with at OTK!
This coming weekend we will be back to our usual high grip club racing challenges. I will update with our results next week.
We missed summer 4 short track layout, he was getting his first test drive in a Spec Miata. Will be back out this weekend for Summer 5 and plan to be out for Summer 6.
@GregF, well it took some on track insanity in his favor, but he finally managed a P1 final at the high grip club track. We were not the fastest, but the closest we have been all summer. The MXC wheel definitely helped us stay freed up in the high grip. Top 4 karts were within 0.1 for pace, but lots of rough driving even in quals. We ended up dumped off the banking between 1 and 2 in the prelim ending his race and putting him on back row for final. He hung back on the start and waited for the carnage expecting to pick off a couple. Never expected two different incidents to take out 2 karts and slow down enough to let him slip through to P1. He coasted from there and sealed the win.
Nice follow up to the low grip podium at TSRS Midland!
Was good to go back and read this info. We had a practice race yesterday on a cold dirty track and my son was hopping in 2 of the corners (silo and top of boot if you know Badger)
He’s closing in on 6’4” 175 running a 2023 OTK. Ran the MXJ yesterday
Going to try some of these suggestions. The ride height is something we haven’t tried at all.
This is older info as I haven’t touched a kart or been to a track in a couple years now, but I found lower ride height (raising the axle), cut hard axle, and pulling the seat struts off has been great, granted none of those were on an OTK.
If you want to get kinda crazy, I’ve tried running just seat struts and removing the two rear bolts that connect the seat to the chassis and found success with that as well
I have a feeling that if the kart is hopping through the top of the boot and the silo corner, the kart is probably also binding up through most of the other corners as well, it’s just not as noticeable since those two are the tightest corners on the track. I would try freeing up the kart and seeing if he can adapt to it, otherwise he may just have to deal with the hopping like you said
I’m in Chicago now, but I work in IndyCar and IMSA media so I don’t quite have the time to be available for club racing as much as I’d like to be there. I’m currently contracted for 25 events through the racing season which eats up most of the Badger schedule
If you are at Summer 6 feel free to come find me. I am usually at the end of the pit runner, TaG Sr/Mstr 469.
