Gearing light vs heavy box stock

[jaymancds]

Remember more grip is not always a good thing.

I see your point, but can not agree.

More grip is always good. It opens up the playbook on what you can do to a kart. If you have more grip, then run either a harder tire, or higher air pressure. If the grip makes you tight then you can loosen the kart even further, and the looser it is the faster it is (generally speaking).

 

[paulkish]

If your running at the limit of grip using all four tires in the most efficient way per your available hp, please cite me one play from the playbook where additional grip will "always" make you faster?

Or to make it easier cite me two plays from the book which can make you faster.
You spoke to an increase in grip but gave answers which reduce grip.

IMHO if everything else is perfect there's only two places on the track where more grip will get you faster and with limited hp even those places are limited in their ability to "always" make you faster.
And if I'm thinking correctly both are about slowing down not going faster. ...

A few years back now Paul Kistler asked me if I could find a fix for the biggest problem he has with racing engines.
ya know what it is?

It's when the track and tires have so much grip it makes even the best engines have a problem recovering from when the "Hot Shoe" keeps his foot to the floor and grip in the corner is forcing the engine to loose rpm.

I told the story to my son and my son's instant racer answer was, "then maybe he needs to better engines". ...


... and i'm retired and really don't have a good answer to answer your answer because all I got is BS bout stuff which is usually wrong. ...

 

[racing promotor]

I see your point, but can not agree.

More grip is always good. It opens up the playbook on what you can do to a kart. If you have more grip, then run either a harder tire, or higher air pressure. If the grip makes you tight then you can loosen the kart even further, and the looser it is the faster it is (generally speaking).

Read what you just wrote and think about it real hard, SO your saying just throw all the grip to it you can and just throw harder tires on with more air and all is good ?????????? I'd say that line of thinking has you where your at now chasing gearing, It's not that easy !!

 

[jaymancds]

Read what you just wrote and think about it real hard, SO your saying just throw all the grip to it you can and just throw harder tires on with more air and all is good ?????????? I'd say that line of thinking has you where your at now chasing gearing, It's not that easy !!

I'm not saying it is that easy, but from a mechanical grip scenario, the more surface grip there is, the less grip you need in the tires. The less grip you need in the tire, the lower the static and kinetic friction has to be on the kart side of the relationship. If the kart needs less kinetic grip, then the kart can roll freer across the surface to maintain the same grip level.

The harder tire, either by air or by duro, reduces rolling resistance. The less rolling resistance the higher the percentage of horsepower to the track. As free horsepower becomes available, you go faster. This continues up to where you start to lose said grip, then the free horsepower is translated into wheel spin, which we all know means less speed.

These things free up the speed in the kart.



NOW WITH THAT SAID, if its on the kart side where grip increases, like by putting my 240lbs in the seat, then yes, it may only hurt the cause.

 

[racing promotor]

I'm not saying it is that easy, but from a mechanical grip scenario, the more surface grip there is, the less grip you need in the tires. The less grip you need in the tire, the lower the static and kinetic friction has to be on the kart side of the relationship. If the kart needs less kinetic grip, then the kart can roll freer across the surface to maintain the same grip level.

The harder tire, either by air or by duro, reduces rolling resistance. The less rolling resistance the higher the percentage of horsepower to the track. As free horsepower becomes available, you go faster. This continues up to where you start to lose said grip, then the free horsepower is translated into wheel spin, which we all know means less speed.

These things free up the speed in the kart.



NOW WITH THAT SAID, if its on the kart side where grip increases, like by putting my 240lbs in the seat, then yes, it may only hurt the cause.

Good luck making that thinking all work out for you, your overthinking it and taking the wrong approach it's not engineering class, put a proven set up for your chassis in it, put proven tires on it, get it on the right gearing with a good engine and clutch, and adjust by the seat of your pants will get you where you want to be quicker.

 

[jaymancds]

Good luck making that thinking all work out for you, your overthinking it and taking the wrong approach it's not engineering class, put a proven set up for your chassis in it, put proven tires on it, get it on the right gearing with a good engine and clutch, and adjust by the seat of your pants will get you where you want to be quicker.

Oh I agree completely. We dont race math equations the same way that we dont race HP numbers or scales. I learned years ago, adjust for feel, not for measurements.

And just to clarify, I'm not "Chasing" gearing, just trying to find a start point for a place I've never been to.

 

[jsf74]

Looking for advantage, look no further than tires.

Truth!!!!!

 

[racing promotor]

Oh I agree completely. We dont race math equations the same way that we dont race HP numbers or scales. I learned years ago, adjust for feel, not for measurements.

And just to clarify, I'm not "Chasing" gearing, just trying to find a start point for a place I've never been to.

That reference is for the 1/8th mile your running now with the 15/63 to 65.

 

[alvin l nunley]

More weight = more traction? What about; more weight = more lateral forces? More weight "means" you need more traction, where the trade-off is I don't know. When it comes to acceleration; Power to Weight ratio is king!! All else being equal, let me say that again "all else being equal", "less weight" = "faster acceleration"!! No "if's", "and's" or "how about's"!! There are no proposals you can make that will contramand that statement.