Track Tac

Toe theory thought's

flattop1

flattop1

Dawg 89
There are three general methods of setting toe.
Scribe the tires and or toe plates.
Square the right or left side .
The main advantage of squaring the left is to be sure you're wheelbase is legal.
With no real apparent advantage there, is it simply to be sure the wheel is straight ?
After all 1/8 inch toe out is still 1/8th even if the wheel is crooked.
 
Squaring the left side was for 1 kart, that 1 kart was illegal and caused WKA to change the wheelbase rule.
We always ran zero toe on tracks larger than 1/10 mile, the Ackerman built into the spindles handled the LS need to turn more.
Zero toe sitting still turns into toe out under power to cause the kart to track/steer better down the straights, and minimized scrub for speed
 
Setting the toe at zero .
What advantage is there in squaring the front with the rear .
Is it simply to center the wheel ?
Is there an actual advantage ?
 
To make sure the front and rear tires are tracking together again to get rid of as much scrub as possible, the front and rear tires don't run the same path because of yaw built into the kart, thus the term offset kart.
You don't square toe to the rear, they could end up fighting each other scrubbing off speed
 
I have never ever liked the use of a straight edge to set toe. For it to be truly accurate, you HAVE to have both sides at the same width exactly and the axle absolutely square with no lead at all. I always use toe plates. It doesnt matter if my front or rear is wider or narrower or if the rear is set to one side a smidge or if i have some axle lead. Very little difference in width or offset or whatever on one end will translate to quite a difference when "straight edged" to the front. JMO

I also prefer to set it at zero for larger tracks. a 1/32 or 1/16 for smaller. Never more than 1/8 and very rarely.
 
jsstump#70 said:
I have never ever liked the use of a straight edge to set toe. or it to be truly accurate, you HAVE to have both sides at the same width exactly and the axle absolutely square with no lead at all. I always use toe plates. It doesnt matter if my front or rear is wider or narrower or if the rear is set to one side a smidge or if i have some axle lead. Very little difference in width or offset or whatever on one end will translate to quite a difference when "straight edged" to the front. JMO

I also prefer to set it at zero for larger tracks. a 1/32 or 1/16 for smaller. Never more than 1/8 and very rarely.
Click to expand...

I machined my own square n toe, it slides tightly into the axle and has a 50" straight edge welded to it.My toe plates are the same diameter as the RF and LF and are bolted to the kart, so toe can be set with the driver in place, also have a set that goes on the spindle nut and are just 2"x10" flat strap, which is the ones we use most
lead or lag on the front has no effect on toe.
Moving the rear axle forward or back on either side only changes the offset in the kart, by making the rear tires track farther out or in from the fronts
 
FWIW, I still align my left sides, then toe the RF.

Here's my reasoning....
Our modern karts are running high cross (ie 65*+)
That means that the bulk of the weight in the kart is sitting on the left rear tire all the way down the straight-away when the car is traveling in primarily a straight line.
With the left rear carrying the load, the right rear is the one that "ratchets" or slips driving in a straight line.
It makes sense to me that we would align off the corner of the car that is carrying the greatest load and is pinned to the track surface. Just rolling the car on the shop floor (with the toe lock in place) shows this way of setting toe to roll more freely.
What's that worth on the track? Maybe nothing, but an advantage perceived is an advantage achieved.

Bottom line is that I doubt that anyone is any faster, or slower, because they choose to align one side over the other...Just be consistent and make sure you are getting your car to roll as free as possible.


-----
Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
30 years of service to the karting industry
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
And then didn't someone use to line up the wheels so well they could roll it across paper laid down without wrinkling the paper?

Wouldn't that mean toe was correct?
 
paulkish said:
And then didn't someone use to line up the wheels so well they could roll it across paper laid down without wrinkling the paper?

Wouldn't that mean toe was correct?
Click to expand...

Sounds good to me, Paul....at least for a sprint (road course) chassis with no rear stagger. :)
 
Back in the day I just looked down the chassis and made sure they were pointed forward.
as soon as we started series racing that all changed .
One setup guy told me too set it up so when you rolled it forward x-number of kart lengths it would move left 1 kart width.
 
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