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Not to hijack Graeme’s thread but I was wondering if there was a holy grail of karting books. I came over from SCCA about two weeks behind Graeme and was looking for a good book(s) on kart driving techniques and kart setup.
Craig
I don’t know if I would call it the holy grail karting book, but the Bob Bondurant on Race Kart Driving book really impressed me. It’s a great book and I learned a ton from it.
-SavannahI like the Speed Secrets series of books by Ross Bentley. They’re not specifically about kart driving, but offer a very pragmatic approach to race driving. There’s some technique described but I think his approach to the mental aspects of driving is unique and very helpful.
Charles
Thanks for the response. I hope I don’t screw up my driving on the track by reading a book, like I did my golf game 😀
My experience in car racing will probably help with respect to understanding cornering concepts like apex and exit speed and traction circle but the kart just seems to be so much more twitchy and the G-forces are probably double what I am used to. Of course the hard seat and suspension really transmit a lot of feedback from the chassis to the driver. Right now the corners are pretty much a blurr and hang on and try to keep a good line. This may be my visor fogging up because I am so out of breath 😳
I raced a very low horsepower Spec Miata which required maintaining momentum and as little steering input as possible. The smoothest driver was usually the best.
Looking forward to mixing it up. I will probably have a few more really dumb questions but will leave Graeme’s thread alone.
CRaig
raced a very low horsepower Spec Miata which required maintaining momentum and as little steering input as possible. The smoothest driver was usually the best.
I used to race Showroom Stock (Neons) and if you’re not smooth, you’re not up front.
Your comment above is pretty much the holy grail of Tag racing Craig. You’ll be fine, just get laps and as you do, things will slow down. Stay relaxed on the wheel and go out for sessions and make it your point to execute laps without moving the steering wheel.
We have some onboard video of Roman on Dvd that might help flatten your learning curve a little, if you’re interested. You’ll be amazed at how little the steering inputs are and where you’re hands are in the corners.
I used to watch the Welch boys who both have very distintive but different driving styles and the biggest difference I could see watching them was turn in and brake inputs between the two were different. Mid corner and exit markers and control inputs looked about the same to me. So very small movements and the timing of the wheel movements make a huge difference.
No books can replace laps. The books mentioned above are good but following someone who pulls you 2-3 kart lengths in a particular corner will teach you more than any book can. This is the first winter I can remember where you couldn’t get quite a bit of seat time but it will clear soon.
Rick
@Rick Schmidt wrote:
You’ll be amazed at how little the steering inputs are and where you’re hands are in the corners.
RickThat’s good to hear… Just sitting in the kart, waiting to actually drive it for the first time, I keep wondering how I’ll avoid shearing off the carb with my right elbow. 🙂
Thanks Rick.
I have so busy at work but will make time as soon as the local tracks clear.
I need to get a neck support and suit. Unfortunately I shelled out over $1000 on an fire suit and HANS two years ago. I’ll probably be able to sell the HANS and get some pretty good kit.About kart stands…This may be the dumbest question yet but i see quite a bit of hype about the one-man stands. The stands don’t seem to fold completely flat. Does one man have to man handle the kart to get it onto the stand in the lower position?
Also, I figured i will have my shop build me a stand. I found a simple fold up design on the web with large wheels on one end and castors on the other. Another option was to have a removable dolly instead of castors which I assume means that you also use the dolly to move the kart around the paddock. Any thoughts?Craig
The Kart Lift seems like a good piece if you go out alone. It has 2 loops, the rear loop cradles the rear bumper (when folded down) and as you pull back and up, the 2 loops lift the kart and you shove the base under with your foot. When you reverse the process, shocks contol the lowering rate. If you’ll be going out in the back of a pick up, the stands that are rectangular with 2 flip up arms are a little easier to pack & some have the ability to attach to your trailer hitch reciever when folded leaving the bed open for the kart and other gear. We use the scissor stands because there have allways been 2 people to lift the kart and we like the stability and work height. We hang these on the wall of the trailer. Those are the biggest differences I can think of.
Be carefull, I scratch built my 1st stand and constucted it to be able to roll the Kart out of the back of my pick up (4×4) onto the stand. Well that worked slick but it was about 4″ higher than was comfortable to lift the kart. Damn near had to “clean and snatch” to lift the kart high enough. Also, decent wheels and castors are fairly expensive not to mention steel prices are fairly steep right now. You may be better off just buying a stand.
Get one you like because you’ll spend a lot of time on it, if it’s not on the track it will probably be on the stand if not being transported. On race days the pits become a “hot pit” which means you push your machine to the pregrid unload then reload after clearing scales, you can’t return to your pit spot under power like practice days.
There aren’t any dumb questions really.
Rick
Rick,
Mmmm, Good that I asked because I thought it would be pretty smart to make a stand the same height as my truck bed……
When rolling the kart around, does anyone use a dolly or does one actually need the entire kart in the air, on a stand?
Craig
You’ll probably want a stand at some point during the day between sessions anyway, you need the machine at a good working height. Might as well just lift once.
Not really sure what you mean by dolly. I picture a platform 6″ – 10″ off the ground with castors. This would not work well for long.
I saw a regular fold up stand with a large wheels at one end and none at the other. To move the stand around, one used a “dolly” which consisted of a handle, two wheels about two inches apart and a hooking device. One slipped the “dolly” under the front of the frame, and in so doing, lifted it off the ground. It could then be pulled.
That same “dolly” could be slipped under the rear torsion bar of the kart to raise the rear wheels in the air and it could then be pushed around.
Hope that makes sense.
Craig
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