Id say meet the minimum weight requirement dry, and then add in your fuel +like 1-3,laps worth to be safe. So when youre getting down to the end it doesn’t starve, and you’ll cover any idling that you might have to do. That’s how Im going to be setting my kart up. Since I’m a newbie, not racing just yet but I’d say that’s the general idea.
That sounds like a lot of fuel extra weight. I weighed dry, added fuel to the midpoint, and that was an extra ten pounds. Then I topped it off to see how it affected the weight distribution. I suspect minimum weight plus a full tank would be more than a 15-pound buffer. Seems like a lot.
(As a side note, a full tank gave me a better starting balance to work from.)
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You don’t burn much fuel in a race and you don’t want to run the tank low, as the fuel sloshes around when driving and you risk starving the engine mid-race.
I keep my tank half full at all times.
3-5 lbs buffer is what I always shoot for. Typically that is enough to save you if the scales change slightly during the day too. And you aren’t really giving up any performance.
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Definitely don’t want to run the tank low. Thanks for the feedback.
…tank half full at all times.
Why is that?
The reason I ask: When I compared the baseline distribution (without added ballast) between full and half-full, the full version was closer to 43/57.
Or does half-full offer more placement options for weight locations?
I meant that I run the tank at least half full to prevent it from sloshing around and missing the pick up. You can run it however full you’d like. I don’t like it too full because then it sloshes out the overflow and coats my leg.
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I hadn’t thought of the overflow. Thanks.
I try to run enough weight on the kart to make weight or be close (Masters, 390 lbs) then use fuel as a buffer. Gas weighs ~6 lbs per gallon. My weight drops over the season as I get into ‘karting shape’ meaning I either have to run more gas (not the worst situation) or add one of the 4 lb weights I took off (when I was packing winter weight 
) to the seat. I’ve been known to drink water (8 lbs per gallon) before a race if I think I’m going to be close on weight and I’m out of other options.
(If I should start a new thread with these questions, please let me know. They’re all related to ballast and weight distribution, so I’ll post them below for now.)
A local league said that they don’t allow ballast to be mounted on the skid plate. In order to get more weight up front, they recommended “brackets to attach ballast to the frame” (because hose clamps aren’t allowed.)
Does anyone know of these brackets? I checked Comet, Acceleration, and Point, but I didn’t see anything.
If you don’t have or need ballast you adjust CG height with seat height. If I had a 5’7", 120# driver I’d probably raise the seat about 30 mm relative to where I set it for myself at 5’8", 190#.
We need (lots) of ballast.
My son is a Junior, 85#, and the local series’ minimums are 310# and, shockingly, 335#.
I’m a Senior/Master, and the minimums are 360# and 390#…
What kart? I know that weights designed to fit the frame of OTK karts. It mounts to the frame where steer column is. You can probably find similar for other brands.
Our karts are DRT (made by CRG).