Karting - Bitumen

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Re: Karting - Bitumen

Post by Speed »

GT VIRUS wrote: I'll be at Phillip Island this weekend, grid of 15 Heavy's living up. Going to be mixed weather but should be exciting. The wind's might blow us around a bit though
I would love to do laps at Phillip Island. Good luck. :yes:
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Weekend Wrap-up from Monaro:

Sunday morning Field of 23 Drivers Sunny Morning keen to turn some laps of a track never been to before!

1 x 6min - Quallies DNF due to throttle cable getting stuck almost wide open (Fixed and sorted)
1 x Heat 1 10 laps Started 23 finished 20th best lap: 00:48.859
1 x Heat 2 10 laps Started 23 finished 17th best lap: 00:48.356
1 x Pre-Final 14 laps Started 17th Finished 17th best lap 00:47.921
( Got shunted early in race that took me to the grass but recovered was in 19th then fought back to 17th)
1 x Main Final 16 laps Start P13 due to 6 drivers pulled out - Lap one managed to creep into P8 as many top guns at the front got cleaned up and spun around, then settled into a rhythm and held my position for 5 laps until some of the guys that got spun started to catch me, by the last 6 laps to go i was running out of energy and fell to a respectable P11. For a Rookie season in a very competitive group it was a awesome day with no damage. Hows this Craig Dontas, 14 years away from karting, finished P2 from Starting P6 and fighting with Boorman and few others he did rather well. Good bloke can steer.

And yes GT the Rotax had the edge here this weekend.

Anyways here is my video onboard from Main Final, lets just say it was getting dark right near the end as the day had a few timing issues LOL

HEAT 2


MAIN FINAL
Last edited by MADCAP on Mon Aug 22, 2016 8:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

Post by GT VIRUS »

Looks like you are having fun. However, there is wayyy to much wheel work going on with you. With karting it is very very important to have only one movement of the wheel, the way you seem to be driving is very jerky. Practice holding a constant angle next time you go out and you'll find the kart will jack a heap nicer.

My weekend was terrible, with some unknown engine issue causing me to be way down on power. Very disappointed as the kart was handling great, but I just ran out of time and spares to throw at the engine.
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

Post by Speed »

Good stuff Madcap, especially for your 2nd meeting?
You'll be mixing it with the big kids very soon.
The learning curve is huge and there are so many little secrets that only time and experience will reveal. :)
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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GT VIRUS wrote:Looks like you are having fun. However, there is wayyy to much wheel work going on with you. With karting it is very very important to have only one movement of the wheel, the way you seem to be driving is very jerky. Practice holding a constant angle next time you go out and you'll find the kart will jack a heap nicer.

My weekend was terrible, with some unknown engine issue causing me to be way down on power. Very disappointed as the kart was handling great, but I just ran out of time and spares to throw at the engine.
Yeah still working on the race craft, i find i don't like the wheel position, going to try an angled steering wheel boss and hopefully that will improve the steering input, feels like the wheel is positioned like a bus LOL

Early days but good fun never the less.
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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GT VIRUS wrote:Looks like you are having fun. However, there is wayyy to much wheel work going on with you. With karting it is very very important to have only one movement of the wheel, the way you seem to be driving is very jerky. Practice holding a constant angle next time you go out and you'll find the kart will jack a heap nicer.

My weekend was terrible, with some unknown engine issue causing me to be way down on power. Very disappointed as the kart was handling great, but I just ran out of time and spares to throw at the engine.
Did you check the almighty fuel filter for hairline crack? that shit can let air in and cause assorts of drama - Unlucky GT, some days when it rains it pours

getem Nexttime
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Speed wrote:Good stuff Madcap, especially for your 2nd meeting?
You'll be mixing it with the big kids very soon.
The learning curve is huge and there are so many little secrets that only time and experience will reveal. :)
Cheers Speed, Yup went home satisfied and nothing broken, Kart had a few nice bum taps, and some nice little battles from the back but hey it was a day to finish and bring it home in one piece - However the start in the main at the pointy end was Hectic, GoPro cant show most of it, but sparks and shit and dirt, dust looked like it was heavy. Think everyone was ok, but I am sure a bit of pointing the fingers was present after the race.

Would have liked to see some footage of driver 6th place :nod:
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Was there qualifying MC or was it random/reverse?
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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MADCAP wrote:
GT VIRUS wrote:Looks like you are having fun. However, there is wayyy to much wheel work going on with you. With karting it is very very important to have only one movement of the wheel, the way you seem to be driving is very jerky. Practice holding a constant angle next time you go out and you'll find the kart will jack a heap nicer.

My weekend was terrible, with some unknown engine issue causing me to be way down on power. Very disappointed as the kart was handling great, but I just ran out of time and spares to throw at the engine.
Did you check the almighty fuel filter for hairline crack? that shit can let air in and cause assorts of drama - Unlucky GT, some days when it rains it pours

getem Nexttime

I had Ian Williams with me, and we checked damn near everything.
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Jiminee wrote:Was there qualifying MC or was it random/reverse?
Yeah there was only 1 x 6min Quallies, I went out on the outlap and had a stuck throttle - DOH that was interesting LOL
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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GT VIRUS wrote:
MADCAP wrote:
GT VIRUS wrote:Looks like you are having fun. However, there is wayyy to much wheel work going on with you. With karting it is very very important to have only one movement of the wheel, the way you seem to be driving is very jerky. Practice holding a constant angle next time you go out and you'll find the kart will jack a heap nicer.

My weekend was terrible, with some unknown engine issue causing me to be way down on power. Very disappointed as the kart was handling great, but I just ran out of time and spares to throw at the engine.
Did you check the almighty fuel filter for hairline crack? that shit can let air in and cause assorts of drama - Unlucky GT, some days when it rains it pours

getem Nexttime

I had Ian Williams with me, and we checked damn near everything.
Bloody hell did you end up finding the issue? Or still a Mystery?

Ian is a good bloke, bought my engine off him and a whole bunch of other goodies
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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MADCAP wrote:
Jiminee wrote:Was there qualifying MC or was it random/reverse?
Yeah there was only 1 x 6min Quallies, I went out on the outlap and had a stuck throttle - DOH that was interesting LOL
Have seen one young lad have a throttle jam open, was bloody scary to see.
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Jiminee wrote:
MADCAP wrote:
Jiminee wrote:Was there qualifying MC or was it random/reverse?
Yeah there was only 1 x 6min Quallies, I went out on the outlap and had a stuck throttle - DOH that was interesting LOL
Have seen one young lad have a throttle jam open, was bloody scary to see.
Lucky for me, i picked it up quick, took the return spring off, and coasted back to pits, yeah wasn't the best feeling when you come around a corner, down to the next corner and she is wide open LOL
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Funny story, I went through a phase where I developed a really bad technique one season, that took me ages to get out of, where I used to drive the whole race holding my foot flat on the accelerator and just applying the brake in the desired quantity. I came second in a state championship in what used to be Clubman Light, the most competitive class in an oversubscribed field of over 40 drivers using that technique. :yikes:

I started doing it on the advice of a good mate who used to go pretty well. It really was a bad technique though 'cause it binds the chassis up and loads it up terribly. You have one side of the chassis going full noise forwards and the other side trying to slow it down. My engine builder at the time used to go nuts.
Edit: Of course the Clubby only developed about 18HP compared to the 30HP of a 125cc.

Since starting dirt karts one of my best races was when the accelerator jammed fully open with a rock getting jammed in the cable. :)
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Speed wrote:Funny story, I went through a phase where I developed a really bad technique one season, that took me ages to get out of, where I used to drive the whole race holding my foot flat on the accelerator and just applying the brake in the desired quantity. I came second in a state championship in what used to be Clubman Light, the most competitive class in an oversubscribed field of over 40 drivers using that technique. :yikes:

I started doing it on the advice of a good mate who used to go pretty well. It really was a bad technique though 'cause it binds the chassis up and loads it up terribly. You have one side of the chassis going full noise forwards and the other side trying to slow it down. My engine builder at the time used to go nuts.
Edit: Of course the Clubby only developed about 18HP compared to the 30HP of a 125cc.

Since starting dirt karts one of my best races was when the accelerator jammed fully open with a rock getting jammed in the cable. :)
How did the Kart take the corners full gas and trailing brake?
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

Post by Speed »

MADCAP wrote:
How did the Kart take the corners full gas and trailing brake?
Pretty good really, I won plenty of race meetings using that driving style. I drove a whole year doing it, albeit with a KT so probably a bit kinder on the brakes and chassis.
Mind you, I don't recommend it, it's not the fastest way and it's hard on the gear.....and of course if your brakes fail you're screwed.
All I'm really trying to say is that I wouldn't stop racing myself for something as insignificant as a jammed throttle. :P
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Must have been a technique you stole from Kart Mania - something i used to do to get the little slow bastards around Richmond. As for the Pro karts, well thats a different story, not sure what is the best technique in Karting, but I do know that smooth and fast is the key - easy said than done
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

Post by Speed »

:)

Not sure whether you keep a log book yet but they are an invaluable learning tool from day 1.

I keep a record at the start of each race day of
Gearing and chain length.
Rear Hub length and rear track
Front track
Tyre pressures
Carby jet settings....although once you get them right you hardly have to touch them.
and then notations of any changes I've made from the previous meeting.

Once the race day has started I record how many people are in the field, start and finish positions for each race, revs and any changes I make between heats.

It's amazing what you can learn when you look back through your notes.

I also prefer, (personal preference I know), to have my GoPro mounted on my nassau panel because any passes or mistakes that you've made on the opposite side to the camera can't be seen.

Also a good idea to get the tools to remove your clutch and bendix yourself. Probably not as important on bitumen because it's much cleaner but I pull them off and clean everything after each meeting.
It would suck to have to rely on someone else to do it.
by the way the clutch nut is L.H. thread so you need a torque wrench than can do both directions and does 110 Nm. Teng Tools make a good one.
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Speed wrote::)

Not sure whether you keep a log book yet but they are an invaluable learning tool from day 1.

I keep a record at the start of each race day of
Gearing and chain length.
Rear Hub length and rear track
Front track
Tyre pressures
Carby jet settings....although once you get them right you hardly have to touch them.
and then notations of any changes I've made from the previous meeting.

Once the race day has started I record how many people are in the field, start and finish positions for each race, revs and any changes I make between heats.

It's amazing what you can learn when you look back through your notes.

I also prefer, (personal preference I know), to have my GoPro mounted on my nassau panel because any passes or mistakes that you've made on the opposite side to the camera can't be seen.

Also a good idea to get the tools to remove your clutch and bendix yourself. Probably not as important on bitumen because it's much cleaner but I pull them off and clean everything after each meeting.
It would suck to have to rely on someone else to do it.
by the way the clutch nut is L.H. thread so you need a torque wrench than can do both directions and does 110 Nm. Teng Tools make a good one.
I am a sucker for making sure the Kart is brand new again for next meet, last round at Whyalla she got a little dirty from a few off tracks, but when i got back to Adelaide and got ready for Monarto Round, pretty much pulled the entire rear end out, replaced with a standard rear Axle on the tony kart and washed the outside of the engine and chassis. There is something about a clean ready to go Kart or Car or Motorbike.... Pretty much anything i own is mint and looked after as its a habit i have learnt from a young age. Plus I enjoy tinkering in the garage with a few quiet beers and tunes.

As for keeping a blog, my Mychron 5 is always backed up on the data program they advice you to use and its really interesting to see your lines lap after lap.

As for any Chassis adjustment recordings or keepings, think this Monarto setup is the first one i have recorded and felt comfortable to drive it. Had some good support from Tony Kart Australia members over the weekend which gave me settings to use for the track.

As for my Gearing I found 76/10 was really nice, was just shy off 15,000rpm on the main straight and was hitting around 105kmph near the peak rpm.

Tyre pressures i ran 14psi cold, this allowed me to attack early with out dropping to far from the back, the only issue i noticed towards the last 6 laps was it was getting a bit loose if i over drove the kart, soon as i managed a bit more smoother line things settled.

Chassis setup has been recorded and we only made two adjustments during the day, we went wider in the rear and took the front torsion bar out which settled the rear a fair bit without loosing too much corner entry.

Overal i think the kart is easy to drive, just need to be a little smoother on the steering input and throttle to get better exit speed.

As for engine maintenance and components,think ill be comfortable doing the clutch and top end rebuild have rebuilt engines before which saved me a lot of money in the past. Just gotta but a few more tools for this engine.

The best way to learn is listen to others, and try for yourself, this way you know what has been done and when shit goes wrong you can pin point the issues quicker than taking to a shop and getting slug $$$$.

Karting experience so far has been great, early days but enjoying the racing. Hope to get another go pro one to shoot rear action and the other like you said mount on the front to capture some moves, as from Heat 2 video I got shunted offline and the camera did not pick who did the "Thank you very much" moment LOL
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

Post by GT VIRUS »

I wish I had your enthusiasm for cleaning, my kart is absolutely filthy.

One thing with RPM, it's never about peak revs but having it in the power band out of the corners. At southern you need the full rev's at the end of the straight with the speed difference of the track, but monarto has a much smaller rev range, so you you prob aren't needing the max rpm. Try going down a tooth or 2 next time and see if it helps, I think it might just put you into the power band better next time
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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MADCAP wrote: I am a sucker for making sure the Kart is brand new again for next meet, last round at Whyalla she got a little dirty from a few off tracks, but when i got back to Adelaide and got ready for Monarto Round, pretty much pulled the entire rear end out, replaced with a standard rear Axle on the tony kart and washed the outside of the engine and chassis. There is something about a clean ready to go Kart or Car or Motorbike.... Pretty much anything i own is mint and looked after as its a habit i have learnt from a young age. Plus I enjoy tinkering in the garage with a few quiet beers and tunes.
Haha, yep...nothing I enjoy more than a scotch and playing in the garage. I reckon that if I can pick up a tenth in the garage by maintaining my kart well or a little tweaking that's what I'll do.
I have a pretty cool workshop, heated and well lit and because my missus races, (and goes hard), I get to buy any tools or anything else I might "need", or that will make my job easier or more enjoyable. :)

Good plan on the standard Tony Kart axle. Axles aren't axles...I learnt that the hard way.
I had an axle once that had 2 tiny bends in it so I couldn't straighten it properly. I replaced said axe with another of the same size and wall thickness, different brand and although I could still be at the pointy end I was always driving 11/10s.
I struggled for a couple of months until I twigged. When I put the bent one back in I won the next meeting easily and the kart felt like an armchair ride.
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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GT VIRUS wrote:I wish I had your enthusiasm for cleaning, my kart is absolutely filthy.

One thing with RPM, it's never about peak revs but having it in the power band out of the corners. At southern you need the full rev's at the end of the straight with the speed difference of the track, but monarto has a much smaller rev range, so you you prob aren't needing the max rpm. Try going down a tooth or 2 next time and see if it helps, I think it might just put you into the power band better next time
Hey cheers GT, thought about dropping a tooth for the main but felt everything was good since the day went well. I'd like to do some practise at Monarto so I can play around with Gearing and few other adjustments, but TBH it was the first time with brand new slicks and this made me notice two things, grip was up and handling felt better.

Can't see myself running old tyres too many times, maybe for prac etc. But I think I can scrape a new set out of two meetings to keep the budget down.
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

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Speed wrote:
MADCAP wrote: I am a sucker for making sure the Kart is brand new again for next meet, last round at Whyalla she got a little dirty from a few off tracks, but when i got back to Adelaide and got ready for Monarto Round, pretty much pulled the entire rear end out, replaced with a standard rear Axle on the tony kart and washed the outside of the engine and chassis. There is something about a clean ready to go Kart or Car or Motorbike.... Pretty much anything i own is mint and looked after as its a habit i have learnt from a young age. Plus I enjoy tinkering in the garage with a few quiet beers and tunes.
Haha, yep...nothing I enjoy more than a scotch and playing in the garage. I reckon that if I can pick up a tenth in the garage by maintaining my kart well or a little tweaking that's what I'll do.
I have a pretty cool workshop, heated and well lit and because my missus races, (and goes hard), I get to buy any tools or anything else I might "need", or that will make my job easier or more enjoyable. :)

Good plan on the standard Tony Kart axle. Axles aren't axles...I learnt that the hard way.
I had an axle once that had 2 tiny bends in it so I couldn't straighten it properly. I replaced said axe with another of the same size and wall thickness, different brand and although I could still be at the pointy end I was always driving 11/10s.
I struggled for a couple of months until I twigged. When I put the bent one back in I won the next meeting easily and the kart felt like an armchair ride.
e wheels

Since I live in a townhouse, the man cave isn't the biggest to a proper garage but it's pretty good considering the size I can work in. Good lighting is available as for heating, now that's something to add - they do say tools stay with you forever, best tool I bought was a cordless Dewalt Impact Drive for the wheels, was only $130 off the shelf at Bunnings as it was the last one "cheering"
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

Post by Speed »

MADCAP wrote: - they do say tools stay with you forever, best tool I bought was a cordless Dewalt Impact Drive for the wheels, was only $130 off the shelf at Bunnings as it was the last one "cheering"
Haha, my favourite tool is my cordless rattle gun, I don't know how I ever lived without it. :nod:
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Re: Karting - Bitumen

Post by TIMMY30 »

Wow. This looks fun indeed. What are the ongoing costs associated with this roughly?.

Also im about 92kg. Am i too heavy to even have a hope of being competetive? I usually get smoked on the hire karts :melt:
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