MHSWildcat I know you can relate to when you see a car time trial and just looking slow over all, when the announcer shouts through the microphone "QUICK TIME".
I totally agree. When the driver is relaxed and the car/kart is rolling the corner smoothly it can look like slow motion compared to someone
who is all arms and elbows forcing the car/kart through the corner.
95 Shaw - I agree that the LF begins the entry, but it also depends on how much caster is in the setup for it to do any weight transfer.
Positive caster works when the spindle stub moves forward ( towards the nose) or backwards ( towards the read axle). In trying to make this
simple, moving the stub forward raises the wheel in relation to the chassis effectively removing weight from that location. Moving the stub
back will lower the wheel in relation to the chassis, effectively adding weight to that location. That said, arcing into or turning into the corner
the caster will make the chassis transfer weight by adding weight to the LF and removing weight from the RF. The amount would be variable
depending on caster amount, wheel offset, front stagger, degree of steering input (how much you need to turn the wheel) etc. The whole
effect causes the chassis to "De-wedge" or remove cross however you see it on turn in.
Ideally, if we could, depending on the track, set the caster split so the driver would not have to turn the steering wheel to roll the center of the
corner. He/She should only have to turn the wheel to exit the corner. The caster split should do the entry and center without steering input.
I would take lots of research to find this ideal, but it is possible. Pavement guys do it all the time because their tracks don't change like the
dirt does. Once again I recommend setting up your kart with your regular deal and putting it on the scales and turning the steering 10 or 15
degrees and checking the weight, turn it the same the other way and check the weights. Then you will know how your chassis transfers weight.
This will vary greatly depending on many factors (total weight, age, chassis flex, caster settings, seat position, etc.) this is why your numbers
will vary (sometimes a lot) from somebody who may have the same stuff. Ever wonder why some people with virtually the same setup really
haul and you can't seem to find it, this is why.
Richard Childress said it best - "Success is where opportunity meets preparation"
Do your homework - Go Fast.