liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:17 PM |
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karting advice
went on a "team building" karting day last week and thoroughly enjoyed it, maybe too much.
Lets face it i'm a hefty guy at 19 stone so i knew i was never going to win.
I managed a fastest lap of 24.8 which i whittled down from 26s over 6 sessions of 10 laps. Fastest time of the day was 23 flat by a 13 stone guy and
the lap record is 22.5 by an 11 year old
I was able to catch and pass the quick guys through the corners, but on the straights it was like i was standing still. like wise off the start the
whole grid would pass me leaving me to claw back position through each race.
I reckon i could have been good at this sport if i'd have found it young
how much time do you think i was forfitting carrying 6 or more stone over the winners.
No smart comments about losing weight now! I have already lost a bunch and am going the right way
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blakep82
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:23 PM |
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difficult to say really, i guess it depends on the track. you may have better technique going into the corners, but as a, er , huskier gentleman
you maybe lost out on acceleration. depends on the layout of the track i think. was it mostly corners or long striaghts?
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don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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ReMan
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:27 PM |
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Been there, I feel your pain
I'm 16-17st and many pre recession years ago karting was always the team event of choice.
I thought my karts were the dud's but learnt as you have that weight plays a big part in the equation.
This still applies to the Indy and 2 up kills the performance
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hellbent345
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:28 PM |
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im also interested in this, the last time i went karting was at a corporate event type thingy with my dad, i was young but about the same weight you
were describing and ended up mid field in 8th, i think with gokarting weight really effects you, i couldnt get off the line, braking into corners was
a problem (had to brake earlyyy) and accelerating out was an issue too lol (slooow)! if i went back now i wonder if id be any quicker?
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200mph
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:29 PM |
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There's also air resistance to take into account, as heavier people tend to have a larger profile so two reasons for going slower.
Plus, everyone knows there is a faster kart that someone else always gets!!
Mark
If it isn't broke, fix it until it is
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hellbent345
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:31 PM |
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HAHA i remember that about hiring karts! you'd watch the karts going round and pick out a favourite (read the one that looked the quickest) then
it was a lemans style sprint to your pick when its your turn! ahahahha good times
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:34 PM |
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this is the track
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handyandy
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:35 PM |
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i,ve no experience of karting but when i raced bikes for a semi pro team my team mate was 3 stone heavier than me, we rode the same bike & the lap
times were very similar between us,
tho i,ll be honest & admit my team mate was in my opinion a better rider than me, we used to discuss various ways of us both going quicker etc,
over winter he lost 2 stone in weight & his lap times reduced by about 1 second per lap (1.37 miles ), this doesn,t sound much but in a 20 lap
race, well thats 20 seconds quicker than previous season, that can be the difference of winning or coming 10th place etc, so i,d say you were probably
losing at least a second or two once you were rolling.
sounds like you are quick if you are that close to the lap record 
andy
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:37 PM |
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I'm 14/15 stone and always enjoy karting with work, as its great fun beating the bosses.
There was one big dude there, who was always pretty quick, whilst he never beat me, he'd drive the track differently to me, and use his weight
to take corners in ways that I would spin out trying to imitate. I guess weight has its advantages as well as disadvantages.
26 seconds is one SHORT track. There is a great one in warrington that I got within a few seconds of the lap record at, except the laps are over a
minute there.
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hellbent345
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:38 PM |
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looks like a long straight kind of track doesnt it? does that mean its better for heavier people or worse?
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blakep82
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:41 PM |
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yeah, that track is kind of more straights than corners. i'd say it was acceleration and top speed that would have let you down there
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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the_fbi
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:47 PM |
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Also depends on the power of the karts.
We have some drivers who take us over the 175kg (minimum) limit for our series by quite a way, and they're still as quick as the guys at
175kg.
Weight over the back axle can be good as it gives better traction when braking and also forces the outside tyre into the ground more on hard cornering
so turn in can be better.
23 seconds for a lap is a really really short circuit, unless its quite a quick kart, in which case it may just be quite a short circuit.
The circuit doesn't look that short, any iea what engine(s) they were?
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dmac
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:55 PM |
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I have to agree with Dangle-kt, if you are overweight (like me) you have to drive to minimise your speed loss on the corners but you can usually take
the fast corners faster than your lighter opponents so it does even out in terms of lap times. You can't avoid losing time at the start though
so you have to be able to overtake somewhere to win.
Duncan
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 30/5/09 at 10:55 PM |
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its an anticlokwise track btw about 500m. For a 24.8 lap makes my average speed approx 45 mph?!?!? Is that right? didn't think we were going
that fast or they're telling porkies about how long the track is.
apparently they were 13hp karts
i think the handling was different for me actually, if the back started to go, it went a lot slower than for the others and subsequently was easier to
correct.
I think i could have got another .3 or.4 if i'd have a clear half hour and sector times to study.
On the top half of the lap i was able to take at full throttle from mid corner on the right hair ish pin untill braking for the one on the left and
folk were still breezing past on the straights and braking zones
[Edited on 30/5/09 by liam.mccaffrey]
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TMC Motorsport
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| posted on 31/5/09 at 05:23 AM |
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In my limited experience, karting is all about momentum, and while the heftier chap is going to have more of this at any one point, it also subsides
quicker thanks to he greater rolling resistance the balast creates.
Therefore you have to compensate with driving style, which will mean taking slightly wider lines in the tight turns to allow you to carry more speed,
and keeping steering inputs to an absolute minimum.
The fly weights can get away with several sharp steering inputs to maximise the grip, but if you're a bigger chap you need to keep it much
smoother to avoid any slides, as this will instantly sap the momentum. The bonus here is the extra weight will aid the kart on turn in and naturally
give you the grip that the lighter chap is working so hard to find.
Unfortunately the lack of acceleration off the start is very difficult to overcome, but after you have built up the speed a smooth syle should see you
progress. It does mean you have to be super accurate at all times though, as one mistake will cost you a lot more when you need to get going again
than it will for a lighter driver.
A longer circuit, and more powerful, twin engined karts, would have seen less of a deficit IMO.
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Kartdad
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| posted on 31/5/09 at 06:54 AM |
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I race my son in a weight limited class and we aim (with fuel as the ballance) to be max 1KG over weight at the end of a race. As the kids grow up and
go over their weight the dissadvantage is massive basically they seldom win Driver + Kart 139Kg only takes a growth spurt to loose 5% to the rest of
the grid. In my opinion there is no advantage on any track by being heivier, what you may gain in inertia you lose in getting there. We have raced for
6 years wit limited success but enjoy every day out, which is the most important bit.
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will121
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| posted on 31/5/09 at 08:10 AM |
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its adictive, as all said mainly going to be acceleration out of slower corners, would be interesting if you had another go on a damp or wet track
when the extra bias may help. different tracks will have different fors and againsts
Also depends on kart, in my case early 90's racing 250E gearbox Karts, me on the right had to add a ton of lead
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Tiger Super Six
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| posted on 31/5/09 at 11:32 AM |
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I race karts at club level and should be in a 'heavies' grid but race with the normal seniors.
In honesty 1.5 seconds off of the top guys on a 23 second lap is a huge amount of time. It will be down to weight but as mentioned you will be quicker
through the corners given the extra weight you will have pushing the tyres into the track and giving more grip. You will then lose out on acceleration
out of the corners and top end speed.
Being a chunky driver probably will make you a better driver in the end as you have to be smooth and not lose any time sliding the kart around to keep
in touch with the lighter guys who can then accelerate if they make a mistake. That kind of driver will be at the back of their weight class and if
you're good you will be able to race them. If you then go with others in you weight class you will be at the front of the grid.
Trying to cut a 1.5 seconds off your laptime is not easy.
Mark
Tiger Avon
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 31/5/09 at 01:18 PM |
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I have the same problem, love karting but have a power-weight problem. Whenever I have been karting with people from work etc. I am always quite a
bit faster through corners and once I've reached Vmax it's fine, but off the line, or if I slide the kart and lose momentum I'm
stuffed.
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Bitten hero
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| posted on 31/5/09 at 04:20 PM |
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HI, had much same prob only way is to lose weight. sorry , ran a team in endurance karting and orgaisised the rye house prokart champs with my team
mate. and i ended up doing the slimfast way .limited power will never accept heavy weights. there is certain things you can do to help but basically
you have to slow the extra weight down so you brake earlier and then when you apply the power it takes longer to get going in the wet on slicks
there is a small advantage at certain times but really the only way to really get up the front is just over the min weight .gary
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