Spinning like a top

PeteL

Member
So I had my first Race Day Saturday. I was slow, really slow. 4-6 seconds off the pace.
But the other issue I had was I spun out, frequently. Felt like the rear was lacking traction.
At all my practice sessions, I would spin maybe once, trying a new line, or entry. But at the races I was spinning often.
All of my practice time was in the morning as the heat built. But the race was in the early afternoon, into the evening, which probably affected grip.
The upside, is there is no where to go but up from here.
Just need to re-baseline set up etc.
This was at bushnell was running 17-61 gears and 12-13 psi all around.
Need to find some speed
 
Are you pulling yourself out of the seat when you go into the turn? that will increase the nose wt. and cause the kart to get loose and spin out...
 
How old are your tires?

Are you trying to brake while turning in?

These are the two biggest mistakes i see with new guys. They run tires longer than their useful life and they are braking way too late and locking up the rear, spinning out. Find a good used set of tires and focus on straight line braking until you get more comfortable.
 
The tires had maybe 40 laps of practice going into the weekend. We run Vega reds per the local rules. I don't think the age was an issue.
Pretty sure it was my driving, and perhaps not completely understanding kart setup. More embarrising than anythig else.
I did not feel like I was on the brakes while turning in, but cannot completely rule it out either. A few of the spins took place on corners I never had a problem on in practice. Lots of room for improvement for sure.
 
What chassis? is it setup per the manuf. suggested baseline? If it was loose (rear too free) and you're sure it wasn't pushing causing over-input on the wheel I'd start by lowering rear air pressure by 2psi and do so until it gets grip.
 
Make sure your rim nuts are tight....had some come loose during a race and the kart would do the exact same thing you're stating while in the turns. Felt like I was drifting almost. I'm lucky a tire didn't fall off and was able to finish the race. Also had to get a new rim after that since the holes were wallered out.
 
What chassis? is it setup per the manuf. suggested baseline? If it was loose (rear too free) and you're sure it wasn't pushing causing over-input on the wheel I'd start by lowering rear air pressure by 2psi and do so until it gets grip.
The chassis is a 2015 MGM. Not sure about the setup. To me it felt like the rear was too free, and the front had good traction. I tried adjusting tire pressuer, but track temp kept going lower as we went into the evening.
 
Lower track temp definitely needs lower tire pressure. You can also widen the front track width some to correct a loose/oversteer condition.
 
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