----- Original Message -----
From: "Andre Boulay" <aboulay@sympatico.ca>
To: <Majordomo@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2000 9:40 AM
Subject: re: was lightweight wheels...karting
Hello all,
David wrote:
> actually, the reason you see the clutch kart racers do this,
(lean forward) <snip>
> is to
> lock up their clutches. clutch stall speed is set to peak torque
> of the engine, and you can make the clutch grab for a moment
> by jumping up and basically having the engine push the
>kart without the weight of your body for a moment... the trick is,
>not to slam backward into the seat and slow the kart back down to
>where the RPM's drop back below the clutch stall speed...
> yes, we look like idiots bouncing around... :-) but yes it's _very_
>effective.
I wasn't entirely convinced that this bouncing around worked.
We all know that for every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction so the lunge forward by the driver will be paired up by an
equal (in force) shift backwards by the kart. (At least that's how
the physics of it were explained to me)
Does the clutch lockup any faster, maybe but then it can bog again;
I never found that it made any huge difference in my lap times.
Who knows, (musing out loud) maybe I was doing it wrong.
It could also be a hp thing where the if the engine is strong enough,
it won't bog. (I ran both a 4cycle and 100cc Yamaha 2 stroke)
I finally decided that instead of bouncing around (it really is quite funny
when you see a stream of karts coming out of a corner with a series drivers
jumping up and down like frogs in their seats) that I would be best to
concentrate on being smooth and carrying the most speed through the
corner and leave the gyrations for the podium.
To add to this, it was my understanding that drivers will stay leaned
forward to promote better airflow over the kart. By doing so they fill the
void
between the fairing and them and thus creating a cleaner shape to cut
through the air. You will also sometimes see drives put their head down
(bad idea; hard to race when you can't see where you are going)
to further improve the aerodynamics.
This is what I determined was best for my driving style
as always YMMV.
Cheers
-andre-
-on Digest mode-
=============================
ex-kart racer and current auto-x-er
hoping to become a kart racer again
when the funds allow.
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