caster settings on a 2015 triton
- Thread starter strong08
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alvin l nunley
Site Supporter
I can remember, years ago, thinking how easy it would be to set up the kart for LTO. Apparently I was wrong. You see, in a sprint kart, in order for the kart to turn, you had to get the weight off the inside rear wheel. You could very easily do that with caster. Some karts needed more, some needed less.
My thinking was, with the LTO kart, you wouldn't need to get that inside rear tire off the ground, in fact, if it stayed on the ground, it would be better in the turns. Two tires on the ground has got to be better for side bite than one. More traction. And the fact that you have stagger means leaving it on the ground wouldn't hurt your ability to turn left. Seems so simple to me, but like I said, apparently I'm wrong. One thing's for sure, it would be fun testing my ideas.
From the desk of Al Nunley
Comments compliments criticisms and questions always welcome.
If the data does not support the theory, get a new theory. (Al Nunley)
My thinking was, with the LTO kart, you wouldn't need to get that inside rear tire off the ground, in fact, if it stayed on the ground, it would be better in the turns. Two tires on the ground has got to be better for side bite than one. More traction. And the fact that you have stagger means leaving it on the ground wouldn't hurt your ability to turn left. Seems so simple to me, but like I said, apparently I'm wrong. One thing's for sure, it would be fun testing my ideas.
From the desk of Al Nunley
Comments compliments criticisms and questions always welcome.
If the data does not support the theory, get a new theory. (Al Nunley)
rebsfan4
Member
Higher casters will make the steering feel "heavier". You will need to put strength into turning the wheel because the higher caster will want to make the wheel come back to center. Lower caster will make the steering feel "easier". You won't have to put as much effort into the steering wheel. Some set and forget it on their preferred setting. I always felt as though high or low each had its certain time and place. This is because of the increase or decrease in the mechanical jacking that each setting will have in the kart. Then some say caster really doesn't do much at all. Best thing is to test different settings and different splits to see IF in fact they seem to make a difference in feel and/or performance with you.
hotelcalifornia
Member
Rebsfan4 is right...caster does make a difference in handling. That small feel change for me makes the kart feel completely different
hjsmith00843
New member
Will caster make a kart feel a little darty?
rebsfan4
Member
Yes. The higher caster settings will often times give a kart that feel.
I did change it from 7 and 10 to 10 and 13 this past weekend. I really couldn't tell a difference in speed, I really never got to run a whole lot green flag laps to be able to tell about handling. I was thing about setting it at 9 and 12 since that is about the middle of the road.
alvin l nunley
Site Supporter
Going from 7 to 10 is a 42.9% increase in LF caster! I can't imagine why you didn't see, or feel, any difference?
From the desk of Al Nunley
Comments compliments criticisms and questions always welcome.
If the data does not support the theory, get a new theory. (Al Nunley)
That tells me your tires are now junk and nothing you do or will do will makes a difference . OMO
rebsfan4
Member
When you made this change at the track, did you adjust your camber to compensate for the change in Camber gains between the settings?
No I didn't change any Camber. The wheel did get heavier like it should. I only ran it with the change in the pro clone 375 at the Burris nationals this past week and there a lot of cautions and I really wasn't able to stretch the kart out for any length of time to tell what was going on.
rebsfan4
Member
Different caster settings will net different camber gains with steer input. The lower setting wills not see as much camber gain with the same steer input as the higher settings and vise versa. We measure "static" camber when on the scales with the wheels straight and the steering lock in, but the important part of camber is the result (camber gain) with steer input. For this reason, when you make a caster adjustment, it is usually a good idea to reset the camber as needed based on the direction of change to caster. A general rule of thumb is....As caster increases, camber decreases and as Caster decreases, camber increases. There are times when that rule of thumb doesn't always apply to the LF.
It basically comes down to you feeling comfortable with a particular Caster setting and what seems to give the most balanced feel to you.
On higher biting tracks some will run the lower caster settings.
On lower biting tracks some will run the higher caster settings.
Closing the caster split will help speed up lateral weight transfer and tighten the kart up with more overall bite to the right side tires.
Opening the caster split will lessen the lateral weight transfer and thus aid in freeing the kart up a little.
That's just all generally speaking.
I recommend you pick which of those castor settings based on what works best with the rest of your setup. Generally, 7 and 10 will make more turning power than 10 and 13. 10 and 13 will tend to help the driver be more smooth. While castor can change the feel of the kart and can affect its balance, there isn't a "best" setting for all conditions or racers.
Todd
www.dynamicsofspeed.com
Todd
www.dynamicsofspeed.com
What do u think about putting the left front in the fwd position and right front in the rear position at lf8 and rf12?
I'm on el 375 and I'm on both back settings at 10 and 13 rite now but when the track gets hard and dry I develop a push and I was hoping that may solve it! Any ideas?
Lf+.5 rf -2.75 I run a little harder tire on dry hard track