Track Tac

Weight

not an easy one to answer. On a track with hi grip the light guy is going to be quicker . If its slick sometimes the extra weight is an advantage.
not sure if you are on asphalt or dirt. we run asphalt and in the rain we will add weight to go faster
 
There are 'many' things that play into this equation!! My 'Rule-of-Thumb' starts at 0.1 (one-tenth) second per 10lbs. Based on approx. 18hp @ 360lbs range on asphalt. J M O !!
 
My opinon is that is doesn't make a difference once up to speed. With the engines and clutches we run it may take more for your driver to get up to speed but a top speed will still be achieved at either weight. One advantage is like stated if the track doesn't have alot of grip your kart will handle better, vs when it's hot sticky the lighter driver has the advantage. I know to some people a tenth of a second is huge deal. To me it's not, I've unloaded with drivers and been way off the pace to start the day. By just working the chassis setup we've picked up over 4 tenths or more on some days and took home the top prize. So it all depends on your attitude and work ethic to me. My daughter currently runs 11 pounds heavier with no added weight in her class. There's nothing I can do to control that, it's the way it is. The first race of the year she was a tenth and a half faster then the kid that was right at the minimum because of setup. This is also in a class where the engine is purely stock and rpm limited equally so the kids have an equal chance at running up front and winning the race. It's in the setup of your chassis and how you transfer the weight IMO.
 
racermom said:
How big of a disadvantage is someone that has kart and driver 15lbs heavier than another kart and driver?
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Its all dependent on your level of competition. The less competitive of the racing, the less the weight will hurt you.

When we ran the pavement nationals, 10 pounds of weight was worth a tenth of a second, every track we went to. The guys that come on here and say "weight doesnt hurt you, I won a race last weekend being 30 lbs overweight" probably arent running a high bite track or a track against alot of competition.
 
Last fall as we were working my Velocity to be legit at Daytona in Dec., after we added the first 20 lbs. it got .2 of a second quicker.
 
Keep in mind most racers are about 3 to 5 pounds over to be safe coming across the scale. Making up 10 pounds is not that bad. How you go about it depends if your on a oval or road course. A extra smooth driver will make a big differance, possibly a little more gear, possibly a different driver but same ratio, and the most important is having the setup perfect.

The other thing is to look at everything on the kart. Everything could be a couple of ounces lighter at minimum. Especially anything that rotates.

Ben Braun
 
This was on my sons kart, weighed in at 267 on a 245 class. Kart is already dialed in for 265, pulling weight would have hurt more than helped in his situation.
 
It really depends. If you're running at light or medium weight on a stocker then not much. Between medium and heavy it's also not likely to be much. From heavy to super heavy it seems to make a much larger difference. Of course, the amount of competition will make a difference as well.

Todd
www.dynamicsofspeed.com
 
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