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Can anybody give a baseline for running Duros? Will be switching from MG reds. Don’t want to bolt them on and totally be in left field. Mainly track width settings and PSI. I get very little track time @ GJMS to figure things out. Anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated.
So…MG Reds will have A LOT more grip than a Duro. Because the tires are so much harder than the MG, the tire won’t build much heat very quickly or at all at MG tire pressures. As a result, most people run between 16 and 25 psi in Duro’s. The exact pressures you may like depends on all the usual factors: rubber on the track, track temp, your weight, kart setup, etc…
My recommendation (note: not coming from a master tuner like Greg Welch or another kart shop owner, just from a guy that does work on some karts with Duros) would be to keep the track widths the same initially. From what I’ve seen/heard, most people will initially struggle a lot for rear grip in their karts (or lack thereof) on Duros starting out, but as they become more experienced and learn to drive the karts with the hard tire, they will begin to feel the front tires give up in terms of grip. So, it’s tempting to go way down one rabbit hole chasing an issue, only for the opposite problem to happen. Even with limited track time, the best way for you to find out what your kart really needs is to drive it!
Sticky tires cover up a lot of sins. A hard tire like the Duros reward precise driving. There is more grip in them you may first think. Most guys over turn the kart when entering a corner and with Duros, that will kick the rear loose. Your steering inputs have to be gentler and more precise.
Tire pressure is the key. You can actually over stick the kart with very high pressures. Best way to learn the tire is to play with pressures (higher than MG reds) and quit sawing the wheel.
I spent so much time at the last SBR race trying different kart settings to fix my rear grip issue. Wish I had known then I just needed to learn how to operate the steering wheel; could’ve watched some racing and enjoyed some BBQ!
Good thread.Great info guys :clap: Will try with psi 1st and go from there. Will try and focus on smooth driving too. I ran Duros a few times when we started 3 years ago. Think I only got on track 3 times total with them before the track switched to MG. It was so much easier to get good laps with the MGs. I look forward to the challenge of driving with more precision. Have a feeling we will be changing the gearing a lot too. Think there was about 4 seconds difference in lap times from one tire to the other. But, we were clueless when we ran that 1st year.
I ran 23-25 cold temp, depending on how fast conditions were going to build heat and pressure in the tire and how long you were running. I’d run higher for qualifying since it is a shorter session and start lower for the main on a hot day. Coming off the track over 27 lbs meant you were in the losing traction zone.
For the record, the Duro is capable of producing 1.7 Gs of lateral grip as documented by my AIM GPS system.
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