My first national race at NCMP. I was not used to having so much grip down, as my home track in MN doesn’t take much rubber if any. 1.5 Seconds off per lap. Just looking to become a better driver overall. Help with driving line and racing needed. How to race in rubber? Any feedback is appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Kart setup
2017 Tonykart Racer 401s
Neutral Caster-Camber
Long H axle
MXC RIMs
11-72 gearing
Hopping in celltower corner. Kart felt stuck.
Set-up tips?
1 Like
Video 1:
@1:31: As in the other video with the KPV, the gap that opens up on the start cannot happen. My suggestion is to apply at least half throttle once you are gridded up and approaching the green, so as the kart in front of you goes, you go.
@2:58: I was going to be critical of your cautious start, but at this point I see why! That was pretty crazy, nice work weaving through there.
@3:37: Similar to the KPV video, it looks like you are being quite gradual on the brakes, and then the kart washes out in the center of the corner.
General comments: The kart looks like it has decent speed through the high speed corners. It really looks like you simply aren’t getting the kart slowed down enough for the more technical sections, as you miss the apex relatively consistently, and the kart will ‘wash out’ from under you in the center of the corner. The fact that you gain on others going in, and then lose that gap as you exit the corner is another classic sign of this.
Second video:
Not having run newcastle before, I’m sure someone else could give you some better tips on the driving. The braking is still somewhat of an issue.
The kart does appear to hop in the cell-tower corner, but looking at the undulations in the rubber, I suspect that other people are having the same problem.
Where was your front and rear ride height set?
I agree with most of Eric’s points. To me, it looks like you’re carrying too much speed into the corners because you aren’t hard enough on the brakes. And missing the apexes pretty consistently, especially in fast corners, and especially in the beginning of the run.
I don’t see hop in the cell-tower corner, I think it’s just the profile of the corner. I post this video all the time, but it’s a good comparison to yours, where we can see both our feet and where we are braking and accelerating.
The kart was neutral. The seat was at neutral settings and level with the frame. Should I be more sudden on the brakes then?
Should I be harder on the brakes then? Did the kart seem boggy off corners? Is gradual braking wrong? Should I change my style then?
Your braking application should be rapid. If you are slowly squeezing onto the brakes, you will always lose time in the braking zone. This does not, however mean you should slam on the brakes. It will take a little practice. If you watch TJ’s application, it is rapid and quick, the kart skitters under brakes, but it never gets sideways. This is threshold braking at its best. OTK karts especially love this type of braking style, and require a lot of front loading to really work well. At least, that has been my experience.
Do you ever look at your driving data? If you’d like, we can look through it together, just looking at a braking trace. they should look like they fall off of a cliff, rather than roll down a hill.
1 Like
Should I practice just locking the brakes to find the limit of the braking? And should I always be locking the brakes?
Great question!
The answer as you suspected is “sometimes.” I wouldn’t always lock up the brakes, but into hard braking zones you do need to maximize how much you are braking.
I would go out and practice braking at the limit. Find a style that works for you, to where you can turn consistent lap times, but also drive into the corners and braking zones with adequately aggressive braking. Into higher speed corners you likely don’t want to lock up brakes.
1 Like
my home track is usually green. Does that mean I can be more aggressive on the braking?
Yes practice braking, even if it’s green. It’s arguably the hardest think in Karting.
You need to attack. If the motor is shutting down, you’ll probably need a carb adjustment too.
Maybe we can have a brake-off at Stockholm when it warms up 
Also, worth listening to the podcast series we did with Mr @Terence_Dove on driving techniques if you haven’t already. It’s on SoundCloud and iTunes.
Episode 20: (Part 1) "Learn How to Master the Art of Kart Driving" with Terence Dove
1 Like
Okay thank you!. If the weathers alright I will be practicing in March. Have you done a lot of laps at SKC?
That’s a good question. Probably 300 or so over the years. I haven’t been able to get out as much as I’d like. Last year was the first time in three years that I was able to get out.
Okay. I have been racing there for a year and a half. Are you racing this year?
I hope to get out there a few times. Either the 206 and/or an outlaw. But I don’t have any specific plans yet. I’d like to get my daughter out for more laps next year too 
Hope to see you out there! Thanks for the help!
1 Like
I’m a relative n00b and just got back from 4 days of coaching where my objective was to git gud at braking. Or at least not be awful.
So unlike what I thought, it’s not stand on the brake, back starts to kick out, reduce pressure.
It’s actually much more pedestrian and repeatable.
Inititally it’s unlikely you will be unable to consistently find the 99.33333% pressure which represents max pressure without lockup. So don’t try. Settle for 98.
Each time you approach the major braking corners use that exact same pressure. That pressure is your constant. Now pay attention to your braking point. That’s the variable. With each pass, move the braking point in a bit closer. Don’t mess with the pressure though. It’s going to feel like you are going too quick as the brake point gets further and further in. Trust your 98%. Repeat a hundred times.
2 Likes
All great advice here on KP as usual!!
I give away free the braking chapter in my book, it should give you some more insights…Download it here:
1 Like
Thanks for the advice!
Every single corner requires something different. Going into the cell-tower corner for example, you are barely using the brakes, so you don’t need to slam on them. But getting slowed down into the left hander (old turn 4, new turn 5) requires hard braking on the very limit, as well as the I-70 corner at the end of the first straight.
It just takes experience and practice knowing how hard and how fast to brake for each corner.
1 Like
Okay thank you TJ. Are the x30 braking points similar to the Ka100 braking points? I have been watching yours and Braden eves videos to help. I noticed you both hit the brakes to the limit and then slowly get off them at or before the apex. Is that considered trail braking or threshold?