Low bit/high bite, etc... please explain

Hobby87

Member
I have been racing karts for 3 yrs now and still fail to fully understand the description of high bit, low bit, high grip, low grip, etc... and a general "rule of thumb" for these type of track conditions and how it effects the kart, so I can only imagine what some newcomers are thinking. Since the old Bob's info is gone, maybe we could create a "track conditions 101" thread?? Not looking for everyone to provide their secrets setups, just guidelines from the experts to help the masses that are not so well versed)

-Matt
 
I think bite and grip can and are used interchangeably.

Higher grip/bite situations are going to be able to accept more hp put to the track and more momentum maintained. Less grip will be the opposite.

Higher grip/bite situations will cause fighting for control of direction between any two or more tires, to be more of a problem. Less grip will be the opposite.

So far everything else I think of I can fit into one of the two above.

There's more things I'm sure.
 
I'm with Matt....its kinda Chinese to me...how do you tell if you need grip or bite...I kinda see if you got to much grip or bite it will lock you down or blister an feather tires but how do you know if you need grip or bite...will lower duro numbers give you grip or bite
 
The more grip the better, always. If you're blistering or feather tires due to available grip, your tire choice or setup are wrong. Until your kart is using all the available grip and still not binding the chassis, you're leaving speed on the table. Having said that, setup is a compromise and a setup that's theoretically slower but handles better on unconventional lines and passing situations may be better than outright speed on a very precise single line...

As far as reading the track, I wonder if anyone's mad a track durometer... Most use a screwdriver or pocketknife and educated guesswork formed over years of racing and experimenting. Good luck finding precise physics and theory data -- it exists for the asphalt world but I haven't found much on dirt. Mostly some chassis principles (not tire theory) and some voodoo tips. Test, record, test more...
 
The way i see it, its fairly simple....If your sliding around and having trouble holding your line thru the corners, you need more bite or grip, if you are glued to the track and the engine is bogging, dropping alot of rpm in the corners, or running very hot, along with the kart very twitchy and wants to dart when you turn the wheel, you have too much bite and are likely locked down. When you need more bite, you can get it with tires, prep, or by adjusting the chassis or air. The same can be said for less bite, you can add left side weight, raise the tire pressure, or adjust the chassis to make less bite. What i do is get my chassis setup to where it is fastest and adjust for track conditions using tires, air, and prep. Rarely will i ever make adjustments to my chassis setup unless im changing stagger, +/- cross, or moving the LR hub in or out to fix a problem on the track. I do know one thing for sure, i would rather not have enough bite than to have too much on any given night/day.
 
Why do you prefer too little to too much? I'll take all the grip I can get until I'm bicycling, then tune out the bicycling via chassis adjustment...
 
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