The subject says it all. But I was wondering if I should switch to Birel art for rotax max.
For context my track sells Birel but in the used market in my area used OTK chassis are cheaper than Birel Art chassis…
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Welcome to KartPulse!
If I understand correctly, you have an OTK now? In general, Birel will be more planted in the rear than OTK, so more prone to understeer instead of oversteer. I think its a driving preference really - both are perfectly good chassis.
If you feel like the support for OTK is not as much as you would like it to be, than switching to Birel could be a good idea for that reason, and potentially comparing setups if that’s primarily what others are on.
Is there a problem you’re having with OTK that you think Birel will solve?
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Only you can answer this question. Only you can weight the benefits of having local track support vs the ubiquity of OTK parts.
Both a proven karts. If you can test both, and afford both, you go with what chassis works best for you.
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Being on one or the other will not be the difference as to whether you win or lose. Both karts are equally capable of winning.
Comes down to parts and support availability.
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I’m not sure if everyone here is trying to be PC but I’d stick with the OTK, especially for Rotax.
I have hated every OTK I have driven but I am also tall in the kart and heavy. So they feel like bouncy wet noodles to me. I have driven Briels and loved them.
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I agree that in general OTK seem to be built for the Euro driver who is certainly less than 6’.
I disagree that the OTK doesn’t work for taller drivers. Puhakka is like 6’. There are plenty of Masters drivers running it successfully as well, who are taller and heavier.
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I have seen it as well. Just not for me.
Oh ok I never heard that but I am around 6’! But if anything I feel like OTK chassis are better quality to be honest; a lot of magnisium parts and the brake caliper is a monoblock… The only thing is if I want to start racing chassis setup is really important and I feel like it will be easier with track support.
Also is it better to learn driving with more oversteer or understeer?
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You’re all wrong, buy a CRG!! (ducking for cover)
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Anybody can throw a brand in and really a lot of them are interchangeable anyway.
The question is why a given brand would suit this person’s situation.
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Better to learn what is fast on a given day under given conditions through experience.
Setup will be easier with track support and you’ll likely get better results with that support than without it. Mag carriers, monoblock brakes etc etc are all nice… but what matters is what is most likely to get the best performance for you over the course of the season. That said I’m sure you can get mag components for the Birel too.
So I’d lean Birel for the reasons you stated yourself. But with OTK having such a huge presence in general, it’s not like you’d be totally out to sea on setup either.
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What I’m learning is the chassis manufacturer is less and less important as I’ve seen almost every manufaurer on the podium. Tuning and track support and parts separate winners from loses in most cases. (Skill and experience also make a huge difference)
Example:
Know a guy that is stupid fast on his Arrow chassis. But he broke his seat strut and decided to retire his chassis. Still wanting to race, he showed up to the track on an used VLR chassis that he had never been on before. I think he was only like 2 tenths slower than normal. Imagine what he could do if he knew how to tune that chassis better, as the skill was already there.
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That’s not exactly how it works. It’s best to learn driving by experiencing every type of handling and practicing on feeling how the kart reacts in a variety of conditions.
If you continuing karting, you will deal with oversteer and understeer and you’ll need to learn how to deal with it all.
Ideally you don’t have oversteer or understeer…
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Ok thanks everyone! I think I’m going with Birel for the track support at least until I get a good enough level to go with my preferred brand!
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Want one? Mine’s for sale, nobody else races CRG in SoCal and Mr. Tinini called me a traitor to the USA!
From your original post, it looks like you don’t have a kart yet.
Where are you? Do you have another kart shop that sells another brand of chassis? Would you prefer to deal with them or with the track? How long have you been racing - long enough to tell the difference between a top-of-the-line chassis and a 1300-euro TopKart NewB? There are a dozen big chassis manufacturers, most of them can build a durable and tunable chassis!
I went from sodi to otk in dd2 this year. Wanted ro try it out. Compared to the sodi the kart works alot better and more constant on high grip conditions. But i still do not like it how it behaves. It is very direct on on the front and you need alot more arm power because the steering on the standard setup is pretty heavy. I am going to try the kart republic this summer.
It always surprises me when people complain about a kart’s heavy front-end. My arms look like twigs and I’ve never had any issue with arm fatigue when driving any kart. It’s always my neck and back that can’t keep up with my driving ambitions… But I have even seen bodybuilder types struggle with arm fatigue when in a kart, so I guess everyone is just built a little differently.