Track Tac

Does Aero Matter on Dirt?

I think if anyone actually enforced rules, a lot of the bodies out there would be illegal or at least the noses. I don't have a AKRA rulebook as I still need to get back up to Don's shop, but WKA (which most tracks still run around here for non-motor rules) a lot of those fancy noses don't meet the rules.

Anyways, my opinion on this is that the nose/body does more when you are 2nd on back and need to peek out to pass. Do you suddenly get tight or does it still rotate as you want? That is where I would concentrate my aero studies.

PS, all of the new sprint kart noses have wicker bills and it has been proven a gold cup (think dirt oval style) nose is faster than CIK bodywork.
 
I learned the hard way once about mounting a body to rigid. It didn't take long to figure out.
I seen over the last ten years body design's change from high side to swoops and now back to high side's.
I never really was a fan of the swoop side panels, they never felt good to me.
I know a while back a company called aerotech made some wicked slick looking one piece fiberglass bodies.
They even had a plastic windshield that mounted on the inside of the nose.

Im starting to look around for a new body for a triton. With so many claims and choices, I really dont know who to go with. Most of the tracks we go to are around 1/5 to 1/4 mile.
I like TRJ and ultramax bodies. I do want to stay with fiberglass.
Input is welcomed.
 
Absolutely, without question, aero matters! The question should be, how much does it matter. As I understand it, it's an experiential thing. The faster you go, the more it matters. So I think the question is, at the speed karts are going on a dirt track, how much difference would an improvement in arow make. Between "no body" and "any body" the difference would be at its greatest, maybe. Aerodynamics, as I understand it, can be tricky. Now the difference between "any body" and a "better body" I would think would be less, quite a bit less. Still, we're talking about hundredths of a second, which could be the difference between winning and 2nd place. I've been told that the wind resistance is a square function of the speed of the object moving through the air. In other words, the faster you go, the harder it is to go faster.
 
krtrcn said:
I learned the hard way once about mounting a body to rigid. It didn't take long to figure out.
I seen over the last ten years body design's change from high side to swoops and now back to high side's.
I never really was a fan of the swoop side panels, they never felt good to me.
I know a while back a company called aerotech made some wicked slick looking one piece fiberglass bodies.
They even had a plastic windshield that mounted on the inside of the nose.

Im starting to look around for a new body for a triton. With so many claims and choices, I really dont know who to go with. Most of the tracks we go to are around 1/5 to 1/4 mile.
I like TRJ and ultramax bodies. I do want to stay with fiberglass.
Input is welcomed.
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Im a bit of a body snob, and ive tried them all. While I love the fitment of PRC bodies, the styles are not to my liking.

Ive mounted 4 of the Charger Prodigy bodies this season and I'm very impressed. They have the "look" of a swoop, but still have that high side effect. They mount perfectly, all I have to do is trim my wheel openings (like any body usually).

I ordered right from Charger and had them in 2 days.
 
JPMKarting said:
Im a bit of a body snob, and ive tried them all. While I love the fitment of PRC bodies, the styles are not to my liking.

Ive mounted 4 of the Charger Prodigy bodies this season and I'm very impressed. They have the "look" of a swoop, but still have that high side effect. They mount perfectly, all I have to do is trim my wheel openings (like any body usually).

I ordered right from Charger and had them in 2 days.
Click to expand...
I'll look at them, they're 10 minutes from me.
 
I race opens and prefer wedge bodies but I still don’t 100% believe in the aero side of them. The components out there are so flimsy and have so much give that it doesn’t seem like they’d do much. But they do look better than the high side “bathtub” bodies. LOL
 
twostroketoowoke said:
I race opens and prefer wedge bodies but I still don’t 100% believe in the aero side of them. The components out there are so flimsy and have so much give that it doesn’t seem like they’d do much. But they do look better than the high side “bathtub” bodies. LOL
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take it completely off then race, get back to us of your findings.
Ive said it before ill say it again, anything that moves aero has an effect on it, you may find out that some wedge bodies are creating drag instead of the right amount of downforce
 
XXX#40 said:
take it completely off then race, get back to us of your findings.
Ive said it before ill say it again, anything that moves aero has an effect on it, you may find out that some wedge bodies are creating drag instead of the right amount of downforce
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I wholly agree.the focus spots that wedges currently offer are side resistance and rear downforce. I don’t know anywhere where opens are running 70+ and sideways. And the last thing I’d ever want is the nose getting light from Downforce getting put on the rear.
 
Rear wing is critical especially at the kingdom huge difference with out one. Don't bother to ask how I know. Also works fine on tracks like patriot. Later Chuck.
 
twostroketoowoke said:
I wholly agree.the focus spots that wedges currently offer are side resistance and rear downforce. I don’t know anywhere where opens are running 70+ and sideways. And the last thing I’d ever want is the nose getting light from Downforce getting put on the rear.
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Sudden change from your other post? they dont have to be sideways to take advantage of side aero
 
As most know anybody that's sideways isn't fast normally.The rear wing can do a couple of things for ya, like posted above try with and without the difference is definitely there. Later Chuck
 
Most UAS karts I've seen are using front splitters to get the nose force....if they're using the rear wing for more than decoration.
 
Ted Hamilton said:
Most UAS karts I've seen are using front splitters to get the nose force....if they're using the rear wing for more than decoration.
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a spliter tells me they have to much down force on the rear, same with a spoiler on a race car, too steep it takes away nose
 
^^^^^10-4 but with a realistic 50plus hp on most it's nice to have options a clone body won't get it done other wise Mr Wiggens would have use one of his stock body's on his later Chuck.
 
You keep adding downforce, and therefore traction, until your laptimes start getting slower. I'll take as much as I can get until then...
 
Aero effects lighter wieght and stiffer sprung vehicles most. Karts fit both these. The problem is to make a big enough changes to create some force and testing. Without at least software or wind tunnel we are just guessing. If you make a change the balance of the kart should change. If it doesn’t ,change needs to be bigger or the air isn’t flowing how you think.
 
I love these kinda' topic's. Aero matters a lot, getting it to assist/not hinder you is the huge challenge. I know this is an old thread, but I love this stuff!
 
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