Track Tac

Flipping left front hub...

Most karts need a spacer or two to keep the inside of the wheel from rubbing on the steering arm. What kart do you have and what spindles are on it?
Flipping the hub over would give you no way of centering the wheel. What you need is wheels with different offsets. Maybe just flipping the tire and wheel with what you have? It would be the same as flipping the hub.
 
Back when I started racing the LF hub was the other way around and was asking why they turned it the way it is now?
 
biggin94 said:
Back when I started racing the LF hub was the other way around and was asking why they turned it the way it is now?
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Does your hub have a wheel centering ring on the backside too? And again, is there a reason you cant just flip the tire and wheel? Air valve would be on the inside but does it fit that way?
 
I've been told the same thing for my 7yr. old's Rage Cruizer kart. And most of the kids in his class have their's that way. I have been reluctant to do it since I am spending his first few months letting him get acclimated to what he has. But it is definitely a thing. There are three or four kids all with the same chassis who have the left front wheel flipped inside out so it tucks in closer to the nose. I have been loathe to try it since my son has been fast thus far, but people at our tracks keep telling me I need to do it.
 
As long as the wheel doesn't hit any thing . You can put it on however you like . The valve stem on the inside gotta be sure it doesn't get ripped off .
Whether you should or not is a different story .
 
HoldensDad51 said:
I've been told the same thing for my 7yr. old's Rage Cruizer kart. And most of the kids in his class have their's that way. I have been reluctant to do it since I am spending his first few months letting him get acclimated to what he has. But it is definitely a thing. There are three or four kids all with the same chassis who have the left front wheel flipped inside out so it tucks in closer to the nose. I have been loathe to try it since my son has been fast thus far, but people at our tracks keep telling me I need to do it.
Click to expand...
Difference in wheel being flipped around and the hub itself.
You want the LF tire in as close as possible, most chassis today are made where the LF is right next to the spindle arm.
 
Jeff @ Rage has told his customers to run a "flip" wheel on the LF of his champ karts for years.
Personally, we went away from that when running his chassis on dirt and the cars felt better. On pavement it seemed alright, but on dirt we were always better with the standard LF wheel.
Like Earl said, you run the fronts all the way in against the steering arms either way. Moving the wheel center loads the tire differently, but the LF isn't exactly loading hard anyway. It does yield a bit more weight jacking effect due to your particular caster setting I suppose.
Now, as per the OP's question of the LF "hub" being flipped -- yes, some hubs were flipped in years past. We did it on our own Vector chassis for the simple fact of getting the wheel/tire closer to the spindle steering arm (thus narrowing the front tracking.) Your king pin to king pin width will somewhat determine if this is needed/helpful. You will also need a straight snout spindle on the LF to do this as a stepped spindle won't allow you to turn the hub around (different sized bearings for different diameter shafts.)


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