BrandonH

The relationship is complicated. The absence of a diff on a kart drives all it's setup peculiarities relative to a car. A kart is designed to corner on three wheels; the inside rear Must lift at turn-in for it to handle at all. That's why karts have extreme front caster, and why caster is one of the most important settings on a kart: when you turn the wheel left, the more the left front tire turns, the more it lifts the left side of the kart. That, together with the centripedal force pulling the kart to the outside of the corner, lifts the inside rear wheel. All the setup nuances of a kart: axle thickness, hub sizes, tire pressures, wheel alloy choice(yes!), front/rear track all revolve around the challenge of getting that inside rear to lift just the right amount, for the right length of time.

Look at even beat-up rental karts at an indoor place which get little setup tuning, and you will see the front kingpins raked dramatically rear-ward: lots of caster is built in to the chassis at the factory. They are so heavy that it is tough to tell, but if you turn the wheel while the kart is stationary you will perceive a little jacking on the side you are turned toward.

A kart that doesn't lift the inside rear will push right off the track. I'm not smart enough to know how this translates to understeer or oversteer results from a locker on a car, but I suspect whatever differences exist result from the other major distinction betw a kart and a car: the suspension. (ie the absence thereof on a kart...)

TD in DC

I'm not smart enough either, but if the kart is setup even nearly close enough so that it works with its absence of suspension, then you still deal with understeer and oversteer "while driving the kart" the same way, no? That's how it has seemed to me in the few times I have been on a kart (and most recently on a wet track).

BrandonH

Absolutely, the driver inputs are the same. In fact my pet theory is that absence of the suspension, cornering on 3 wheels, and no front brakes combine to train the karter's brain with an accuracy/sensitivity that cars can't provide. No real evidence, just the notion that signal-to- noise ratio is improved with fewer variables interfering between your senses, the contact patch, and newton's laws...

JustinL

If you cant lift the inside rear on a kart, then you will have some serious understeer. In an oversteer situation, counter steering in addition to helping straighten the kart can drop the inside wheel back to the pavement. To me it seems kart tuning is almost backwards to tuning a car chassis. For example, on a kart if you put your ballast higher up you can get more inside lift and improve cornering.

Shifter karts are obviously the closest you can get to a car as there is easily enough power to require the driver to have good throttle control. 125cc Shifters also have 4 wheel disc brakes unlike the less powerful classes.

robinsonracing

F1 Boston is a great place to keep your skills if not better them. Being a track junky like myself and having been to F1 a few (hehe) times its great. Track one you can keep your gas pedal to the floor all the way around other than th 180 coming down hill if you drift properly and manage your tires. Recommend it totally if $$$ allows. You can blow $100 real fast. Make sure you buy a F1 lic. not a day pass to save $$ and also get free guest passes etc. Good luck.
Brian

Phokaioglaukos

It's not a Riesentöter event, but there will be around a dozen of us there on Saturday morning, the 16th and you are welcome to come race. (Note that this is a date change from Sunday, the 17th.) The thread is HERE. .

The track info is HERE.

The essential info is:

Saturday the 16th at 11 AM. This event will be for 3 heats plus membership (reduced rates for later events) at a cost of $55 per driver. Each heat is 8 minutes on track with about 2 minutes for staging on and off the track. Typically one runs one heat, takes two off, and runs the next one. The 20 minute intermission is useful to catch one's breath, talk smack, get a drink and the like. For three heats you would should allow at least 1¼ hours if we have 10 drivers. If we get more than 10 drivers the track should run our groups back to back.