First rim is standard Parolin rim (douglas?) and 2nd rim is AMV 3F. The 3F doesn’t sit as deep on the hub. What kind of handling effect should I expect this difference to have, if any?
If you adjust to the same rear width, the bottom wheel will have the axle covered more by the hub (stiffer), but the amount of wheel cantilevered outside the mount point will be increased (more flexible). These will “cancel” to some extent, but not totally, as you have changed where the axle/hub/wheel combo flexes.
How it effects your kart is going to depend a lot on what state the kart is in before making that change, your driving style, and the tire/track surface at play.
For what it is worth, when I switch from OTK MXJ wheels to a set of Douglas low volume wheels, I can’t tell a difference in the handling on my KZ even though the back spacing on the rears is different by 6mm and the wheel construction is different.
The only change I really seem to notice is the rate at which the kart comes in for a given tire pressure, meaning that I notice the thermal characteristics of the wheel more than the mechanical.
2 Likes
Thanks for the reply! That was the hope going to the AMV rims; not changing too much in the way of how the kart feels or throwing off my set up dramatically, but allowing me to start at higher cold pressures so the kart comes on quicker, but doesn’t fall off at the end of the race too much either. The difference in the spacing was something I noticed after the fact.
I reckon it’s going to feel quite significantly different Matt.
My experience is that MXJs feel horrible and bound up on an TagR kart at IKC, but MXC are smooth and buttery feeling by comparison. I expect you will feel that the 3F are going to feel super soft compared to the Parolin wheels in a similar way.
Super soft in a good way? I’ve only ever run the vented Parolin douglas rims so can’t compare to anything else. I’ve read/heard some places the 3F’s are similar to MXC but others say more like the MXJ. Majority of my competitors are either running an AMV rim or the MXC’s. I’ve always had to run significantly lower pressures compared to them.
I haven’t driven a Parolin for a while, so I don’t have a frame of reference exactly, but I really don’t enjoy the feeling of driving on MXJs. MXCs by comparison just feel ‘easy’. Everything is more relaxed and smooth and less need to muscle the steering.
1 Like
The 3Fs are a great wheel. The progression is as such:
MXJ ——————————> 3F —> MXC —> 9F
1 Like
TJ, can the average person actually get a performance advantage MXC to 9F or is it pretty small out there on the end of the spectrum?
The Parolin rims are called Eurostar, can’t find what the specific model is called. Does anyone know what the equivalent might be compared to other rims?
It’s definitely a very noticeable difference in terms of how the tire stays in the window and doesn’t overheat with those two wheels. Maybe your average driver doesn’t feel the difference but the stopwatch doesn’t lie after a 20 lap run or on a particularly hot day. The tire won’t fall off.
To be clear, you are saying the 9F is noticeable better at managing tire temperature than the MXC?
In my experience, yes. Other than mounting tires on them, they are better than the MXC. However, the MXC is great all-around. I used it in 40° to 90° weather and it worked great across everything. The 9F is more suited to hot weather since it keeps the tire even cooler. It doesn’t work in as broad of a spectrum. I would say the 9F is really only necessary if you’re running in a hot climate or national events with a lot of rubber down. The MXC is good for 90% of drivers.
1 Like
This is sort of off topic, but related, I guess. I was in a “creative mood” starring at my kart and I wondered if anyone has ever tried or thought about a zero(ish) offset rear wheel with a really long axle and/or hubs. Obviously be a really expensive test, for a wild maybe and it’s probably illegal, but I’m still curious what it might do, if anything. In my head at least, it seems like it would free up and help keep the back of a 206 kart flat on sticky tires.
Anyways, back to my hole.
So the equivalent for the 9F would be the MXQ or MXL?
I only ran the MXLs once and they were very free and felt like the tire never got into the temperature window, so I would say the 9Fs are similar in that respect. I haven’t run the Qs.