Track Tac

Am I wasting my time?

Robbins Racing

Robbins Racing

Member
My Son has a big race coming up and I want to give him the best setup I can. DIY budget kart scales.
 

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when we first started I just went to the local lowes and bought flooring tiles in different thickness and used those under each pad to level them.
Then put tape down around each pad to make sure they went back in the same spot every time, made a note on each scale what was under it, and which tire it was under.
Remember to zero the scales to a known weight not zero on the scales
 
Bathroom scales, even of the same brand, can vary wildly. They can also vary depending on which part of the top plate you're standing on. You can rotate them and see if you get funny results.
 
I love to see stuff like this. People using their head & not always the wallet! It my not be perfect but I know of people around me that still use bath scales. Test each scale with the same weight to see if they read the same before u start.
 
i will bet my $6ea walmart online glass top digital scales and my math are as accurate as any $1000 set of scales yes you have to do the math... but all you guys who think your kart will ever race on dead level ground with stable static forces let me know... it's a tool to give you a baseline but in no way ever reflects the actual forces on each wheel in real world situations... scales are not a pull down rig...
 
In fact, you don't want the digital kind, they keep shutting off and you have to take all the weight off to get them to start up again.
Mechanical scales work best
 
I also made some top plates out of 12X12 1/2" granite for my bath scales. They dissipate the weight over the thin top of the scales which prevents the center, where the tire sets from bending down and disturbing the measurement.
 
I use the aforementioned linoleum tiles and $10 Wal*Mart scales. I took my kart to a shop and had them scale it. 1# difference, overall, same percentages. Good enough for me. Shoot, using the restroom before scaling will make the reading vary more than type of scale will, in a lot of cases...
 
Thanks for all the advise guys! I didn't think about a top plate but it makes a lot of sense. I have stood on each and there all within 3 lbs of each other. My goal here is to not send him out with a Kart that's way off the mark.
 
They look good. Most important part is make sure your son is having fun.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Allow him to learn at his pace.
Everything else will fall into place as you learn. Good luck
 
One Fast Kat said:
They look good. Most important part is make sure your son is having fun.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Allow him to learn at his pace.
Everything else will fall into place as you learn. Good luck
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Thanks, my son is 17 and raced every local season since he was 6. We've done a few National Races in that time span and will be running 2 this year. He has the talent but it's going to be my lack experience setting up karts to race at that level that will hold him back. Which is why I'm doing everything I can to put the best Kart in his hands.
 
One way to check the accuracy is to weigh the kart/driver and then rotate it 180 degrees and weigh it again. If the results are different you could average the two readings.
 
Just wanted to follow up and say these worked out amazing. They were extremely easy to level and the readings seemed to actually be fairly accurate.
 

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