Today I discovered an interesting driving technique that I adapted to out of necessity, and now I’m wondering how this technique could be used on the asphalt.
Once you understand the surface I’m running on, it will probably make more sense - it’s a dirt surface and it’s an oval, but it’s a oval that goes uphill, downhill, and even off camber at times, as well as has some hard edge roots, rocks, and bumps all around. So it’s a little MX-style karting. Which appropriately is what I started taking to heart - anyone who has spent five minutes on a dirt bike knows the way to go fast in the dirt is to be fairly disconnected to the bike, so hence standing up is 95%+ how you’ll see someone riding a dirt bike.
In this same way I’ve found that in certain really rough sections I can go quite a bit faster, suffer less battering, and keep the kart and myself more stable by sitting up A LOT in the seat until the kart can settle again and then I sit back (e.g., once the heavy corner loading really starts). This is completely counter to anything I’ve ever done on asphalt, where I pretty much try to pin myself in the seat except for, maybe, the very gnarliest of curb jumps, and maybe even then.
Anyway, it was a revelation to me that full-on sitting up was actually the faster way around the track.
(photo of the track, however I’m not sitting up in the photo - but this is definitely one of the parts of the track that I do that in now. The shaded area ahead where the turn tightens up and a berms starts is where I start sitting back again to load up the kart)
I do this from time to time. I’ll brace and lift my body out of the kart, sorta stretching the kart out. 2 situations, ultra tight weirdness, Bumpiness.
So yeah no butt at all weight high. But you have to push against the chassis by pushing seat back and pedal tray away from each other and lift up with your middle.
Interesting. I think the way I’m doing it is more like, "Butt in the seat, and sitting as straight up as can pretty much - like a sit-up, so my upper/middle back isn’t touching the seat back at all.
Yeah, I guess the clear point at which it makes sense to move from a ‘normal position’ is when/if a negative feedback loop is actually occurring between “the meatsack in the seat” and the kart itself. I think it takes fairly drastic circumstances for this to be the case, but it can happen.
Yeah I think by stretching the kart out, bracing self between pedals and top of seat back, pushing outwards and upwards, must force something that helps mute hop or keep kart from hopping in tight situations.
Last check list before trackday on nicks tony rotax done .
Found some loose bolts but nothing bad .
Engine sounds ready .
Service of carburator on georges iame x30 super done . Holds steady on 9 psi , but we got the stronger spring on the needle and thats normal . We change the rear axle with a new one otk standart stiffness and i am expecting to find some more traction than he had with the hard kz axle on it .
Waiting next week to grab my new motor for my chassis at home .
It a well used x30 125 engine but still kept me anxious at nights and happy as a kid in a candy store , even if its not here till now .
Preperations and study for my new engine now and hell !
Youre on Factory Karts now? Curious how it drives and the balance. I had a single speed factory kart back in 2022, but it seems like they’ve made a bunch of changes since then.
Just playing with the FZ125 shifter package. I didn’t fit in Oliver’s seat so I only did a couple of laps before giving up.
Big updates to both the single speed and shifter chassis for the start of the year. I hope to have a proper shakedown soon, but there is a high likelihood I’ll be in black and red this year.
In 5th and 6th it gets moving. I’d say it not much slower than KZ there. Where I hit 87-88mph in the KZ the FZ was 83-84mph. 2nd thru 4th the KZ feels 20-40% faster and more raw.
I’m considering getting one just to keep smashing laps and keep the hours off the KZs. I’d say it’s 70-80% of the same amount of physical exertion as driving KZ.
Very much the Rotax of shifter engines. Low(er) maintenance, seems overbuilt, wet clutch so you don’t have to worry about frying it. Don’t think you have to be running 110-112 octane.
