[Patrick Roth]

My two cents… yes, it should have an effect; however, whether it is positive or negative is up to you and what you are experiencing with your driving style.  If it were me, I’d give it a shot and see what happens.

I do agree that you need to have the tuning in the ballpark in order to improve as a driver but I would speculate that most new drivers don’t have a clue what the ballpark is.  I’ve seen several people (including myself) start off karting and think that tuning changes needed to be made in order to go faster only to get to a point where the tuning is so far out there that there is no way the kart is handling properly in order to go fast.  Some of the best money I ever spent on karting was to buy a complete setup from a local racer who set fast laps in the precise kart I bought.  This forced me to learn how to drive and it also made me understand how the handling changes when tires fall off, the track changes, and the weather changes.  It also forced me to understand that I simply didn’t have the skill to feel changes due to small tweaks and the stopwatch is the ultimate measure.

 

[Rod Hawkins]

I just realized that I have a spare set of Douglas magnesium spoked wheels as well. I don’t see any offset or backsspacing info on the website.

Anyone know if they are spaced more for tony karts or more Birel?

[Tom Grisham]

Hi Rod, just make sure you have a neutral setup on the OTK and that should be a good starting point, something like 55″ rear, 15mm of spacers each side on the front wheels, flat bar, neutral caster and medium axle.  This is a very good start for most conditions.  From there you can try changing the bar or caster in small increments.

I have no experience with the Birel wheels or other offsets on an OTK.  However, the stock OTK wheels for that year (MXP) are better suited for low grip/rain situations whereas the stock wheels from 2015 and newer (MXJ) are a much better all around wheel.  There are also the MXC wheels that many racers prefer, but they are quite pricey.  If you do not have access to other OTK wheels to try, start with the neutral setup mentioned with your stock wheels, then try the Birel wheels, accounting for the different offsets by sliding the rear hubs in/out and see what you think.  Good luck!

[Rod Hawkins]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I usually run fairly neutral set up and adjust from there. I have someone that is a very good driver and mechanic and he helps a lot with my set ups and adjustments

I kind of like the tony more for me, as it seems that the neutral set up has a much broader performance curve, while the birel for me seems a little more sensitive and I don’t have access to someone that knows set ups for birel like I do with otk.

My brother just got a 2015 401 and I have the 2013 evrr and was hoping we could share data and set up info but it sounds like the chassis and wheels are slightly different. Hopefully not different enough to effect it much.

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