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Can a non-sealed engine be brought in for inspection (not re-sealing, obviously) under this program? Or is the program solely intended to ensure an engine that’s already sealed wouldn’t be subject to DQ due to a manufacturing variance?
I have that trailer with 12-inch wheels. The tires are marked 55 mph max, and I stick to that to reduce wear and tear on the Mazda6. It means I get to TTAC in 20 minutes instead of 15. It’s funny watching traffic on I-25 slow down to eyeball the kart. The bigger tires are preferred from a load-capacity standpoint (not that a kart will tax that trailer at all), plus they spin at lower RPM at a given road speed. I’m operating nowhere near the limit of performance of the Mazda or the trailer… I’ll leave the envelope-pushing for the track.
Note that the fenders on the 12-inch model stick up above the trailer floor, so you’ll either need to dispose of the fenders or build up rails for the kart to sit on. Raising the kart is better from a load-securement standpoint anyway, since your hold-down straps wouldn’t be as parallel to the trailer floor. [EDIT: Now I see the replies just above mine. My side pods run into the trailer’s fenders, but then again my ‘pods are ancient “bread boxes,” and I’m not carrying additional cargo on the front of the trailer, so I need to move the kart further forward to get the weight balance right. YMMV.]
As for the hitch, there’s a wide range of bars with different drops available. Just get the one that puts the trailer floor at the desired angle. If I remember, I’ll measure the hitch height on my trailer tonight. Then you just need to measure the height of your hitch receiver (the square hole that the bar slides into), then account for the height of the ball and there you go.
In the end, since I carry nothing but the kart on the trailer (everything else rides in the station wagon), I probably could’ve gotten away with the smaller Harbor Freight trailer. However, my wife (the woodworker) can haul full sheets of plywood more easily with the bigger one. Maybe someday I’ll build a locking box for the kart to sit on that would carry some gear.
Just my $0.02,
@rustyoneal wrote:
Brad and Jim will the club races require the same coloring?
Same question here. Or is background color “open” for the club races?
I feel your pain… The downside of the simplicity of the kart is that everything’s hanging out there vulnerable to damage when you drop a wheel (or 4). After multiple offs my first few times out, I’ve taken pretty conservative lines to stay off the curbs and give myself a little cushion on corner exit. I can still pull 58.5 at TTAC, which is enough to keep me entertained. :turtle
I think you’re on the money with the clutch. Go over everything with a fine-toothed comb while you have the clutch drum off, and replace things “in threes” as applicable (i.e., replace all three springs as you’ve already mentioned).
Also, I assume your clutch has the Clutch Support Plate (“rounded-off triangle” plate cir-clipped onto the ends of the posts the shoes pivot on). Take a good, close look to check for cracks and missing clips. First time I had my clutch open, mine was broken and there was actually a bit of shrapnel that had just started scoring the drum. If you don’t have such a plate, get one!
Finally, my $0.02 on the chain slack question… Assuming your engine isn’t moving (and I torque my engine-mount bolts pretty generously to prevent that), as the sprockets wear and the chain stretches, you can guess the result. Once the chain is stretched, the wear process accelerates exponentially and you can eat through sprockets in short order. Poor chain alignment speeds things up, too. I’ve been lubing the snot out of my chain (Maxima Chain Guard) immediately after each session AND at the start of each testing day after 2-3 warmup laps to heat up the chain. I’m up to 70-80 hard laps without having to make any adjustments.
Hope that helps… Still coming down from the high after finally getting my jetting more-or-less right at TTAC yesterday! :dance: :clap:
@Greg Welch wrote:
Anyone else have this problem?
Not me… Sounds like operator error! 😛
[EDIT: All joking aside, I use Firefox 2.0.0.12 and only have to log back in every month or so, possibly after the board underwent maintenance.]
Anyone want a great deal on a Panoz used only 1 season? 😐
I suppose somebody had to “win” the open-wheel wars, but it’ll be interesting to see if the winner has the strength left to survive. Long Beach, Edmonton, and Surfer’s Paradise may have strong local followings for their races, but does the world at large care anymore? I cared enough to sit in the SW Vista at Indy from ’87-’93, but a lot has changed since then.
Good luck, Tony… Long live Disney Racing League.
Ditto the other replies suggesting water as the culprit. White smoke out the exhaust is quite different from our beloved 2-stroke oil smoke and is a pretty strong telltale of water getting into the combustion chamber. If you’re running something air-cooled, though… 😯 !
For any Rotax n00bs… Since the water pump is internal to the engine, turning the rear axle won’t do the trick on the old FR125. I just fill my rad up very slowly, making sure the stream of water gets down into the guts of the radiator without splashing. The idea is to let the water level rise slowly and displace the air so there’s little if any to burp. You can run the engine briefly on the stand (or long enough to get warm if you have a thermostat), then pop the cap off to see if it’s burped, but I’ve still never had to top it off after the initial fill.
Goes without saying to drain the water out following the session… Many more sub-freezing nights ahead. 😥
@Freezeman wrote:
Garrick,
Are you going to race the Rotax 6 race series?Lolz… I was answering as a semi-educated observer. My carb needle is too old to pass tech for Rotax, and I’ve never touched a Mojo. I’ll be doing well to make a single club race on Sunday, but the idea of club racing sounds better all the time… I better find a decent scale so I can figure out if I actually need ballast.
@Freezeman wrote:
I understand it is a separate series of races squeezed into Saturday mornings, yet I still am wondering what is the series for?
Sure sounds like our regional Rotax series to qualify for Grand Nationals in Wisconsin. :idn: Same las last year except splitting the Rotax-only races to a separate day and, of course, not having Nats in our back yard.
@Rick Schmidt wrote:
Garrick,
Just stand the head in your avatar up with photo shop. 😉
Ya know, I actually considered that as a stopgap measure ’til I can get back out on the track. That was the only decent shot my wife got (the sun was going down fast). [EDIT: Done!]
Maybe I’ll just start wearing two neck braces stacked on one another. :joker
For what it’s worth… CSC rules say thusly:
2.2.1 Helmets: Must be a full face helmet designed for kart or open wheel auto racing. Must meet Snell K-98, M95, or SA 95 standards or better. Note: the chin bar must be an integral part of the helmet structure. Motocross style bolt on chin and face protectors do not meet these Snell standards.
As for brand/model, try some on and see what fits best within your wallet’s capacity. I’m running an HJC CL-SP and have been happy with it, although (knock on wood) I haven’t really tested its capabilities… 😯
