I need a second..LO 206 Help Please

V

Vernhardt

New member
Im racing the lo 206 heavy class. Im always in the top 2 or 3 . I need 1 second shaved off my lap time and I would be in front. We run a very small tight sprint track. I run a 16 front gear and a 73 rear gear.. Im 3 pounds within the legal weight limit for the class. I need more top end but still need to come out of the corners. Any suggestions.. very frustrating to say the least.:confused:
 
That doesn't sound right(?) One (1) second is Huge....anywhere! How many karts in ur class....just curious. 'One second' is hard too find. jst say'n
 
From what I'm gathering, you want to run whatever ratio has you hitting the rev limiter about 3/4 into the longest straight.
 
jamiespop said:
From what I'm gathering, you want to run whatever ratio has you hitting the rev limiter about 3/4 into the longest straight.
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Is this true? We're running our first Lo206 race this Sunday and I was wondering if I needed to stay off the limiter or run up against it. We are running a Yellow slide on asphalt.
 
I would think on a "short" roadcourse you'd want to hit the limiter as Jamiespop says. On a "small" oval, probably not so much.

So far no one's saying RC vs Oval
 
OK, dumb question. The LO206 has a real rev limiter set for 6K RPM. Installing an Animal coil raises it to 12K, basically unlimited. Are your competitors doing this?
 
We have the rev limiter, 6150. I just didn't know if hitting the limiter makes the motor stumble and take a few seconds to recover. If so, I would want to stay well below the max. If it just smoothly holds the rpm at the 6150 it may be a good thing to hit it just at peak rpm for the track.
 
When mine hits the limit it cuts out. Kinda feels like ur out of fuel. And when u hit it and other guys don't they will walk away fast. I gear mine for like 59 to an even 6. I just kept changing the rear gear til I hit it then I went back Down 2 teeth. Which gave me my ratio. If our oval gets real dry slick I'll hit the limiter entering the corner and it will cut out about perfect so I never have to use the brakes lol.
 
This comes from Jimbo @ Faster Motors:
"A LO 206 and the rev limiter on a sprint track is a whole different story.
It depends on the track what gives the fastest lap times.
Some times you want to hit the rev limiter on the straight so you have more gear for a tight infield.
Then again, in some sprint racing you don't ever want to hit the limiter.
If it's a big oval and you never lift, never hitting the limiter may be the fastest way around.
Its like tire compounds and chassis set up there is never a pat answer with the rev limiter"
 
dodgeram11 said:
When mine hits the limit it cuts out. Kinda feels like ur out of fuel. And when u hit it and other guys don't they will walk away fast.
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let me ask the question; when you hit the rev limiter does the kart slow down? And these guys that walk away, do they have the same gear as you? I'm guessing they don't because if they did they should hit the rev limiter at the same point you did. So it looks to me like you stop accelerating, (lower gear ratio) and they continue going faster because of the higher gear ratio, not because of the rev limiter. Thing is, I would think that extra gear would get you out of the corners faster.

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)
 
alvin l nunley said:
let me ask the question; when you hit the rev limiter does the kart slow down? And these guys that walk away, do they have the same gear as you? I'm guessing they don't because if they did they should hit the rev limiter at the same point you did. So it looks to me like you stop accelerating, (lower gear ratio) and they continue going faster because of the higher gear ratio, not because of the rev limiter. Thing is, I would think that extra gear would get you out of the corners faster.

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)
Click to expand...


It was one of the first races when I got it. I tan what I thought would be close and it worked well. But I wanted to pinpoint the biggest rear gear I could go with without hitting it. Well I hit it and they would walk away but I was hitting it between half and 3/4 down the straights. So that last little bit they would leave me. But in the corners and the little bit of straight I would catch back up. And as far as slowing down. It felt like it. But I didn't put a stop watch to it. And I hit it today at a different track. And it didn't seem to slo me down much at least I didn't notice it. But u could hear it.
 
alvin l nunley said:
let me ask the question; when you hit the rev limiter does the kart slow down? And these guys that walk away, do they have the same gear as you? I'm guessing they don't because if they did they should hit the rev limiter at the same point you did. So it looks to me like you stop accelerating, (lower gear ratio) and they continue going faster because of the higher gear ratio, not because of the rev limiter. Thing is, I would think that extra gear would get you out of the corners faster.

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)
Click to expand...

Even if every kart out there was geared exactly the same, with the same exact engine and HP on each one, you wouldnt see every kart accelerating at the same rate or reaching the same top speed, or even hit the limiter at the same time. The reason for this is because each kart is set up differently and each driver will have their own tire choice and air pressure, some may be tight or bound up and some may be loose, this accounts for the difference in who is faster and who is slower, it is a very big part in racing like you see with the LO206 or any true stock class racing, those things are what separates the leaders from the rest of the field. The leaders will have the right gear, right tires, right setup, right air pressure, and the skills to navigate their way thru the field the fastest way possible. Too many variables come into play other than gearing and engine, which you may be overlooking.
 
Jamiespop !!! I read all the posts..Thank everyone for their input, by the way. I went out Friday night. We had some children trophy races at our track. Then we had a fun session. No points just racing at the fair to entertain the fair goers.
I took what you had said about rev limiter gearing ext. The I also took Weddle Racing advice about tires and set up. My kart always drives like a dream. I added slip to the clutch, went from a 16 73 to a 16 71 gear..Threw some YJL on the some 8 inch rims..
I timed the laps. I picked up about 9 tenths average on each lap. Pulled the tires off put them on 7 inch rims and bingo. I went from 22.9 average laps to 21.07 21.03 21.09 .. On Saturday I won back to back double points races and on Sunday. I was lucky enough to win the 50 Lap endurance race.
I worked at it a lot Friday and Saturday morning , and cost a lot for tires., and it was frustrating at times. But now I know what it takes. Thank you guys. Everyone that replied gave me an idea. I just need to put it all together.
Thanks, VERN
 
Wow that's awesome. Wish I could do that. Now I'd go with a 13/58 or 14/62 to reduce the diameter of that sprocket in case your right rear goes off the track. With a 58t you would not have to think about it. Oh and just an FYI...Jim Donovan from Max Torque has my clutches coming in at around 3k. I'm sure there's guys here who would have other advice.
 
Weddle Racing said:
Even if every kart out there was geared exactly the same...reaching the same top speed...
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Everything about your post is spot on except for this one line. Everyone would hit the same top speed with the same gear ratio. They just would not hit it at the exact same point, nor would they have the same average speeds, but top speed would be exactly the same. Still very good advice in this post.
 
fatboy1dh said:
Everything about your post is spot on except for this one line. Everyone would hit the same top speed with the same gear ratio. They just would not hit it at the exact same point, nor would they have the same average speeds, but top speed would be exactly the same. Still very good advice in this post.
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Well, maybe...

But what if the tire circumferences are different? RPM's might be the same, gears are the same, but the kart with the "longer" tread on the rears would end up traveling at a higher top speed, would it not?
 
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