[Craig Drabik]

I do rebuilds after about 10 hours on my MY09 Leopards.  They’re revved to the upper 16s regularly.

[Craig Drabik]

I can see how consolidating NJSS, LIKA, and F-Series makes sense if you’re located around NYC or in NJ.  This year with the F-Series the schedule got a little funny when  the St Lawrence round had to be moved to NJMP and half the series wound up being run in New Jersey.  For me, coming from Buffalo and competing in the F-Series, I’m not going to make that 8 hour haul and pay for hotels to just race E-Town and NJMP over and over.

Travel is expensive, so for me I wish there were more facilities at the level of GoPro and Pitt that could handle series the size of the nationals distributed around the country.  Then the regionals would stay regional and you might have a shot at a national series/national champion scheme.  The country is too big and transportation costs get too high for most anyone to compete.

I only ran the F-Series this year.  I didn’t do a single club race.  Yeah I can run old tires and whatnot, but running old tires means I have junk to practice on or have to buy an extra set of tires, plus time on the engines leading to more rebuilds.  The cost just adds up too quickly.

[Craig Drabik]

I’m in Buffalo NY

[Craig Drabik]

You’ve got a PM

[Craig Drabik]

Ambrose, just for grins on a practice day, I’d throw a softer axle in if you have one and see what happens.  If you’re over-gripped in the back you’ll overcompensate by turning in too much or too hard, causing the back to kick out when the fronts do eventually bite.  It’s hard to tell from your camera mounting position if that’s the case in the E-town video.  That place is bumpy as hell all the way around, and that can unsettle a stiff kart as well.  Try taking caster out and see what happens.  If you’re running Rotax on Mojos those are going to have a lot less grip than the yellows.  Either way, any tire with a half season of tag on them are going to be shot and not much good for figuring out your handling issues.

Dan – I’d recommend higher front ride height and lower rear.  Move spacers under the spindle in front, and raise the axle relative to the chassis in the back.  That’ll shift the weight balance rearward and let you test whether or not you have too much front weight.  The MGs can be a little sensitive to tire pressure but I stand by 10psi as a starting point for your weight.  They won’t suck at 10psi and should handle consistently enough for you to try to sort out your chassis.  Same advise as for Ambrose – if you’ve gone a long way towards adding rear grip with a hard axle and narrow rear track then you may be overgripped in back and overcompensating at the front, which will cause oversteer when the front tires bite.

On practice days don’t be afraid to throw big changes at the kart – just make them one at a time, check your fastest lap but also consistency of laps, and write down your feedback.

[Craig Drabik]

Gary’s going to be a good resource on getting the iKart to handle.  I’d take a day to just test, and lay out a program to follow – don’t just run laps and throw things at the kart.  Start by going back to the factory setup front and rear (or ask Gary if he has a go-to setup for that kart) – make sure you check and reset caster, camber, and toe.  If you’ve got a variety of axles and hubs, go with medium axle and medium length hubs.  I’d start with the front end almost all the way out – use only a 5mm spacer on each end and set the back end nearly all the way out – 54.5″.   Take the bolts out of the 3rd bearing.

If you can get on the scale, check to see if you’re in the ballpark front to rear.  You could adjust rear and front ride height to try to get closer.  My opinion is that if you need to change ride height to get good weight distribution you should ultimately move the seat so you can get back to stock settings on ride height, but it should work for testing purposes.

Try to feel out your entry and exit – if it pushes, does it push all the way through the corner or just entry or exit?  It’ll help to have someone watching or following you to see if you’re getting enough or too much inside-rear lift.  If you’re doing this at Avon, I’d have them watch the left-hander before the Monza and the right-hander after it.  If you’re getting too much lift, try bolting down the third bearing and putting in the longer hubs – if it gets better you might want a harder axle.  Reverse condition and you might want a softer axle.

Once you think you’re in the neighborhood, then go to the front end.  Heavy steering sounds to me like caster or Ackerman, but I’d go more by front end feel than heavy steering.  Get it to handle decently then you can try lightening up the steering.  Remember that pretty much anything you change in front is going to affect the back, so keep watching to make sure that you don’t re-introduce problems at the back (not enough or too much lift).  When you’re happy with front end feel, go back to the rear axle and fine tune with track width and/or hubs and 3rd bearing.

Unless your tires are dead, you should be able to get through turn 1 at Avon flat with a good exit from the hairpin.

For your size on the MG Yellows (guessing you come in around 415 on the scales?) I think 8.5 is too low for tire pressures.  If you’re doing 5-6 lap test runs at Avon I’d try 10-12 psi.  Check your times to see if you continue to get faster to the end of the run (pressure too low) or drop off before the end (too high).  We run these tires in the Gearup series and I usually practice on the tires I raced at the previous round.  They’ll have four sessions (about 35 laps) on them when I start practice.  They get to be pretty dead by the end of practice, and I’ll put 6-8 more sessions on them (30-60 laps).  You should get 3 club weekends out of them – but not much more.

 

Good luck!

[Craig Drabik]

I can bring a puck to Boston for you.  Bill’s usually got a bunch of lead in the trailer too.

[Craig Drabik]

Spindle or hub mount fronts?

[Craig Drabik]

I’ve had freshly built Leopards that throw off enough heat at high revs late in a session to feel it through the seat, so I wouldn’t say that lone is an indication that there’s a problem.

If you can rock the crank then you should do a bottom end.

[Craig Drabik]

I bought one of these cheapies probably three seasons ago, and it’s still going strong.  It probably doesn’t last as long on a charge, but I usually get a day at the track out of it.

http://www.batterysharks.com/Power-Patrol-SLA1075-p/sla1075_b12-7.htm

[Craig Drabik]

I also have two CHT sensors for world formula, $10 each or choose one with the Mychron if you want it instead of the water temp sensor.

Additionally, I have a new 10mm water temp sensor for Leopard, $25.

[Craig Drabik]

The mychron 3 has been sold.  The wheel for the Mychron 3 is still available, asking $50 for it.

[Craig Drabik]

To clarify, the 10mm cylinder head sensor is the sensor that goes between the plug and the head for a world formula engine.  The Leopard water temp sensor screws into the head, and I believe is also 10mm.

 

Sorry for any confusion.

[Craig Drabik]

The Bs have one day on them.  PM me your email address and I can send you pics.

[Craig Drabik]

Do yourself a massive favor and don’t start in the deep end of the pool.  These engines cost a lot more to run, eat up consumables at a faster pace, and you will learn way more about how to go quick and have more fun starting with something less powerful.  Get a servicable used Yamaha package and go have some fun for a couple seasons.  Learn how the carb works and how to fix everything when it breaks.

Then decide if you want to spend the big bucks to go faster.

[Craig Drabik]

Located in Buffalo NY.  Prices are in the post ($225 including the wheel).

[Craig Drabik]

The 4’s have been sold.  I still have the 3.

[Craig Drabik]

New prices

[Craig Drabik]

New prices

[Craig Drabik]

New prices

[Craig Drabik]

New prices

[Craig Drabik]

WF is supposed to be a spec clutch, the Premier Titan that comes with the engine.  Having said that, the clutch is a little temperamental.  I’ve collected a good half-dozen of them over the years.  Can’t really help you out past that, our club stipulates the stock clutch.

[Craig Drabik]

This is club racing, right?  Why not just allow the old engines, and adjust weights if you have to?  I’ve been a little perplexed with the conversations around Rotax and Leopard/X30.  I get it for the national guys, but for the clubs?  Does anyone really see the clubs saying “Sorry, you can’t race that Leopard or Rotax you’ve been running for the last five years anymore.”?

[Craig Drabik]

If you’re looking in the $300 range, I like my Impact.

[Craig Drabik]

It’s impossible to tell for sure without seeing you in the seat but at 145 lbs I’m gonna go out on a limb and say a large seat is way to big for you.  I’m 5’9″ 175 and the Tillet Medium-Large I have now is a little too big for me.

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