[Peter Zambos]

It is my understanding that they are being made by SKM in their new facility.  I once asked Italkart to confirm this, and they responded by stating a formal statement is coming.  That was a while ago.  I have no worries that this means there is an issue with production, just an issue with communication :)

I have been told enthusiastically by the folks at L.A.D. “that you should see the new Italkarts.”  I intend to, if Italkart updates their site.

[Peter Zambos]

I keep meaning to go to the Chicago Flutag, as it’s only minutes away, but I’ve got a charity softball game that requires my presence so that I can be adequately embarrassed.

[Peter Zambos]

Current knuckleheads are future well-informed customers, so never feel bad about asking questions.

[Peter Zambos]

I’ll have to do some price checking. I’ve been meaning to pick up some of the indoor/outdoor carpet that looks like astroturf, but that mat be a better solution.

[Peter Zambos]

No need. There is no music better than the sound of my engine turning over.

[Peter Zambos]

I agree that the Winter Kart Show which, I believe, is put on in conjunction with Mid-States Kart Club, is a good venue.  Their dates are okay, the only conflict could be FWT.  The atmosphere is nice, and I’d really like to see it grow.

I’ve never been to the PRI show, and now that it’s in Indianapolis, it’s a heck of a lot closer to me.  Since it’s not exclusively for karts, however, I’m sure that many karters are unsure if they should bother, as it’s a gamble regarding how much of the show is geared towards them.

Bob, if you put a show with the Supernats, you have a couple of issues.  You could put on the show in the days just prior or just after the races.  Then racers and businesses would have to swallow a bigger hotel and food bill, businesses would have to transport more gear, drivers would have to try to get more consecutive vacation time and would likely not spend much at the show, as they just dropped their wallet at the Nats.  You could hold it on the same days as the races, but people do need to sleep at some point.

[Peter Zambos]

Already posted this in the video section: the Sunday BFR TAG Sr. race in its entirety.

Enjoy!

Remember, you too can have this much fun.

[Peter Zambos]

Hey, don’t forget that we’re having our banquet during GingerMan, as well as the 5K walk/run. I was pleasantly surprised at how many participants there were for the 5k at BFR. Made me feel like a bit of a schlub. :)
Additionally, there will be some awesome kart racing taking place.

[Peter Zambos]

Why the CIK went with 5″ specifically, and not 6″, I don’t know, but I can imagine why having tested them back-to-back. The 5″ wheel, with the taller tire side wall, talks more to the driver and gives feedback before loosing lateral grip. The 6″ will let go without much warning. There are some classes in which the 6″ works well, such as laydowns as dirt ovals, but not with high HP classes, or those that have a very narrow and/or peaky power band.

[Peter Zambos]

While it’s often true that a very narrow kart will not be as stable, and, as an aside, a SUPER narrow kart will just bog the engine down, that doesn’t mean that it’s not drivable. Though it’s advisable when driving a new kart, to start the rear width near or at the max width, you ultimately need to put it where it’s going to go fast whether or not that’s at 55″ or 53″.

[Peter Zambos]

The rear width is effected by so many things, such as stiffness of the frame, the vertical and fore-to-aft location of the seat, and the size of the driver, so it’s almost a given that two drivers would find themselves tuning the rear track to different widths.
Why the concern? How is the kart performing against it’s competition? If you are competitive at that width, does it really matter?

[Peter Zambos]

I’ve been wondering if the Transit cargo area was wide enough for a kart! I now may have another thing to add to the lottery list.

[Peter Zambos]

Water cooled: has radiator
Air cooled: no radiator
80cc: smaller.
:)

[Peter Zambos]

Tillett.

Why? Well, I used one about 20 years ago. It is comfortable, but I found that I had a better feel for the kart with an unupholstered seat.

[Peter Zambos]

I got a lot of positive feedback from both newcomers and vets this past weekend.  Through mixed results and a harried moment, I still had an excellent time.  I’d like to thank all those who worked so hard to get us to and keep us at facilities like BFR, among those the staff at CES, the board of RVKC and our sponsors R.A. Adams, GPI, Briggs and Stratton and others.  Though I’m sure they don’t read this forum, I’d also like to thank Tom, the corner workers and the rest of the staff at BFR.  They keep BFR not just a place that I like to race, but a place that I NEED to race.

All gushing aside, I would like to mention that, though most of us were well-behaved, there were a number of pit spaces that could have been cleaned up a lot better, and I even had to dig a set of MGs out of the trash.  Remember folks, if the track finds the tires, CES gets fined and the cost gets passed along to the racers.  Let’s all work together to make sure that we continue to have many more weekends that were as fun as last weekend.

Cheers.

[Peter Zambos]

Ray, I think some people are exaggerating the point.  But T.J.’s got it square on the head.  You never want to look where you’re at, but where you want to go.  It’s the golden rule.

This also applies to when you have a kart in front of you.  Though, yes, you want to make sure you don’t drive over the poor soul, you still want to look for where you want to go, and not just mimic the line of the driver in front of you.  This comes in handy for a multitude of reasons.  Again, if you’re looking where you’re going to go, if you only focus on that kart’s rear, that’s exactly where you are going to finish – behind that kart. Also, while being fixated on that kart, if that driver gets behind on his/her steering and makes an ill-advised departure from the track, you’re going to follow where that kart is going and look like a double bonehead.  Also, you won’t be able to capitalize on traffic up-track if you’re not even looking for it.

As for how you look past that kart in front of you, well, you just do it.  There is no secret, but practice does make perfect.  Make sure that you establish looking ahead of yourself and the kart in front of you a goal each time you leave the pits.  I know it sounds corny, but if you mentally say to yourself (you can say it outloud, but others might look at you weird), “I’m going to look ahead up the track during this session,” you will eventually do it, then do it consistently, and then you’ll be the next speed racer.

[Peter Zambos]

You’ll want to purchase a hub/rotor combo that has a rotor the same approximate thickness as what the old one was, or, at least, how thick it was when it was new.  Rotor thickness varies quite a bit and, if I remember correctly, I don’t think that caliper can be shimmed out.

[Peter Zambos]

Temps aside, how was the kart actually rotating?  Were you understeering?  Not to sound like a smart ass, but hough tire temps are nice to have, you typically only have to drive the kart to find the answer to that question.

[Peter Zambos]

Donnie,

Yes and yes.  Now get out here and have some fun.

[Peter Zambos]

Andrew, that device would be poorly suited for the same reasons that I stated why a HANS device wouldn’t work for a karter.  That Simpson product is essentially a HANS device but doesn’t require seat belts to secure it in place.  It primarily protects against hyperflexion and subluxation, and nothing else, leaving a lot to be desired.

Greg, most people can easily touch their chin to their chest.  If you can do that, you can very easily break a collar  bone with the bottom of your helmet.  Collar bones are fragile as bones go, it doesn’t take much, and you don’t have to have a neck injury to do so.

[Peter Zambos]

A regular foam collar will provide nearly no protection against a compression injury. Neither will it help with hyperextension, hyperflexion or subluxation of the cervical spine. It compresses under force, allowing impact force and momentum to do their damage nearly unhindered.

I don’t know what you mean by “free” fit. Do you mean greater range of motion?

Yes there were some product testimonials to the Leatt on the old site. You can still look those up if you look for the link at the bottom of the new EKN home page.

You don’t need the collar to be fixed to the helmet, but if you’re worried about the collar not being fixed to the body, most of the collars you mentioned do come with optional tethers that fasten around the ribcage. They are not required, however, for these collars to do their job. Instead of the helmet being restrained from the back by tethers, the motion of the helmet is restricted by the shape of the collar, and then is transferred to the body and made less traumatic by spreading out the force of the impact or abrupt change of direction over the greater surface area of the base of the collar. In the event that the head is thrown towards the rear of the body, tethers at the back will do you no good. A HANS device doesn’t have to be concerned about that, as cars have headrests to prevent hyperextension.

As for concrete evidence, the one way that anyone can be sure is if you do an A vs. B (new collar vs foam) to the same person and under the same circumstances. I, for one, am not volunteering. The other would be for an independent body, such as Snell, to do testing. No organization has yet stepped forward to do so. So you’re going to have to go on what anecdotes you find, and the data of the manufacturers, that is, if they’ve actually tested their product.

I use a Leatt. I do so partly because they actually have done impressive testing on their collar. To my knowledge, the look-a-likes (if you go to motorcycle websites, you’ll see a lot of braces that look like Leatts, but aren’t) have not, and neither have EVS or Alpinestars done so on their models. Also, having held and examined Leatt, the new EVS and the Alpinestars collars, the Leatt is more substantial. There is a lot more plastic and flex in those, and so I have a difficult time believing in their ability to be effective. Also, the EVS and Astars collars clasp at the front, which can be the major loading point for force. That seems like a pretty bad idea. The Leatt is definitely more expensive, but I believe it to be the better product.

Am a trauma expert? No, but I am a nurse, and I would like to think that my knowledge and experience counts for something.

As for the efficacy of the foam collars: though I haven’t read the report and so don’t know the methods of their study, the FIA CIK deemed that foam collars created no discernible protection, and may actually be more of a danger to due lack of range of motion causing a lack of visibility. They recommend to not use the foam collar. They have not yet done any testing on the collars coming from the motoX world.

Ultimately, you have to make your own decision. It’s literally your neck after all.

[Peter Zambos]

If you mean the retractable internal visor that act rather like a pair of sunglasses such as pictured here:

…that depends. Those helmets were designed for motorcycles on the street. As a result, none of them are Snell rated. They are, however, DOT rated, so it depends on the rules regarding helmets in the event/series/club that you’re running. If DOT is acceptable and Snell is not required, you should be good.

[Peter Zambos]

But isn’t the point of RWYB that, well, you run what you brung, and that there aren’t rules, besides safety tech?

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