[Tim Koyen]

I don’t know if its legal or not in WKA SR-Y, but we put them in cans without any repercussions.  What’s the point anyway, the class is dead after the next event isn’t it?

[Tim Koyen]

Hi Bob,

I’ve been building stands like this since 1999 and I’ve never heard of that happening.  Is there something else at work here?  If you’re looking for some advice on your setup, feel free to email me some pics at tim@KartLift.com and I’ll if I see anything that might cause a breakage.

 

Thanks,

Tim

[Tim Koyen]

I can’t believe the carnage from Modesto.  Someone said 13 wrecked chassis by mid day Saturday.  Is that even possible?  I’ve seen several videos of flips and serious wrecks.  Yikes!

[Tim Koyen]

Welding it back on is the best fix.  You can use Tig or Mig to do it, either will work, as long as the welder knows what he’s doing.  I’ve Mig welded struts a number of times and had no ill affects.

[Tim Koyen]

Plus, that place sits idle for 6 mos of the year due to the weather.  Awesome track, terrible location.  Put that track near a major metropolitan area, in the southern half of the country, and its a winner.  As it sits now, it’ll probably get bulldozed eventually to make room for something profitable, like housing.

Years ago, we used to say, make that the property half the size and put it 100 miles south, and it would probably survive.  I think the cult actually considered tearing it down at one time and building a new one in the Fox Valley.  They had so many of their own problems though, that that idea never went anywhere.  When you’re whole business plan is based on free labor, “donations”, and leveraged out mortgages, you’re probably going to fail at whatever you’re attempting.

[Tim Koyen]

Didn’t watch the whole video, but any chance its something silly like the axle sliding over and dragging the brake in the lefts?

[Tim Koyen]

$3Mil..that’s nuts.  It was only $2Mil a few years back, and I thought that included some real estate in town.

[Tim Koyen]

Its my understanding that the OTK seat is made by Tillet.  I can’t recall which model it is equal to though.

[Tim Koyen]

My vote would be for the old steel rear bumpers.  Waaaaaay less wrecking.  I think the few radiators saved by the new plastic bumpers is far..far outweighed by the increased frequency of race-ending wrecks caused by unchecked aggression and a lack of real consequences.

Simply policing the racing more is an impossible task at any event of size.  The new in vogue thing to do is just turn right into the guy next to you on the straightaways.  Maybe all the bodywork should be breakaway?

Take the bumpers off the bumper cars, and they become just cars.  Cars that we can race.

[Tim Koyen]

Where are you racing Walt???  Sounds rough…

[Tim Koyen]

Most of these karts are offered by dealers, or by people who are getting discounted pricing for one reason or another.  Obviously they have less into the kart than the retail customer.  Additionally, they possibly rented the kart out, as described above, which gave them further equity in the kart.  By selling it now, while its value is still quite high, relative to a new, retail priced kart, they can come out ahead, or at least break even.

Back when the exchange rate was more favorable for US customers, there was a much larger dealer margin and they could give their team drivers a new kart at every race and still sell the one race old chassis at a profit.  That’s not as common anymore, but rentals help offset that.

Someone above said that the karts are trashed.  That is almost never true.  Although I’m sure there are cases when some clown wrecks the kart on the first weekend and decides to dump it, you would never see a reputable dealer do that.  Often times the one race old karts are better than new, since they are already setup, sometimes have trick optional parts on them, and frequently are proven winners.  These karts are often a great value.  Remember, after your first weekend, your new kart will be one-race-old too.

One more thing to consider is that most (sponsored) team drivers’ karts are always for sale.  If you know of a driver that is being provided karts and its the type of kart you want, go ask if its for sale.  Sometimes you can get a great deal that way.

Good luck and have fun!

[Tim Koyen]

To Dustin’s question; normally rubber build up on the outside of the front tires is due to understeer.   Too much rear grip, not enough front grip, or a combination of both.  Perhaps even overdriving the corner.  Camber plays a role in the complicated task of getting the kart to corner properly, but its only part of the equation.

[Tim Koyen]

I posted this on another thread as well….

 

For those that struggle with viewing multiple pages of new posts, there is an easy solution.

 

When you search for new or recent posts since your last visit, it often times shows there are multiple pages, but once you finish with the first one and click page 2, they are all gone.

The work-around that I use is to open all the pages right away in new windows or tabs.  In other  words, if it says there are 75 new posts (at 25 per page),  open page 1, 2, and 3 all in separate windows or tabs, then they will be there until you close the windows.  Otherwise the system reruns the search to bring you page two, and since you’ve been at the site awhile already, it thinks there are no more new posts.

[Tim Koyen]

For those that struggle with viewing multiple pages of new posts, there is an easy solution.

When you search for new or recent posts since your last visit, it often times shows there are multiple pages, but once you finish with the first one and click page 2, they are all gone.

The work-around that I use is to open all the pages right away in new windows or tabs.  In other  words, if it says there are 75 new posts (at 25 per page),  open page 1, 2, and 3 all in separate windows or tabs, then they will be there until you close the windows.  Otherwise the system reruns the search to bring you page two, and since you’ve been at the site awhile already, it thinks there are no more new posts.

[Tim Koyen]

Kartsport has a really nice one that I used for awhile.

[Tim Koyen]

I definitely agree with Gary on the chuck end for the Prisma gauge.  Its sucks.  The 45 deg end on the Intercomp is much nicer.  When I was looking at making my own tire gauge last year, I was all over the 45 deg chuck, but with a design more similar to the Prisma.

[Tim Koyen]

I use the Prisma or HiPreMa digital gauge that KartSport imports.  I see tons of them at the track.  The Intercomp digital is very good, but its also very expensive.  I’ve also had Longacre gauges that weren’t very accurate over the long haul.  When you’re running tire pressures around 8 lbs, resolution to .1 is important.

[Tim Koyen]

Tracks can only lose money on an event so long.  Tracks are starting to look at this more closely and have realized they can’t afford a loss just to be part of the program.  Don’t be surprised if we see more of this.

[Tim Koyen]

You are right.  He should give you a refund and you should return his parts.

[Tim Koyen]

I agree with Pat.  Also keep in mind that all Tag engines are expensive to maintain.  The 2 most common are Rotax and Leopard.  Rotax has programs all over the country and the world, but the costs can be very high to participate in some of those events, and the rules are quite stringent.  As a Tag engine, it is a fine engine, but it does take a little more to learn the finer points of tuning the carb, as you need to change jets vs. simply tweaking a needle setting.  The Leopard is also a good engine for Tag, and is quite popular and fairly easy to tune.  There is plenty of maintenance to be done to that engine as well though, particularly with the clutch.

Those are the 2 most popular packages around the country right now.  There are others with regional popularity that could be candidates for you as well.  Like Pat mentioned, figure out where you want to race first, then pick the engine package.

Best of luck!

[Tim Koyen]

Franklinkart.com is another good source.

I prefer Burris Castor when I have a choice.  I like a natural oil for Tag.  If you want longevity out of the engine, mix it a little heavy.  Nothing wrong with 10oz/gal if the rules allow it. Getting the engine lean and mean is certainly the fastest, but there is a fine line and you’ll know when you’ve crossed it.

[Tim Koyen]

Its a super cool project, but I would never want it to be legalized for racing.  We need simpler, less expensive karting.  If it ever gets to the point that we need pit engineers to turn the carb needles, we went wrong somewhere.

Again, its a super cool project though.

[Tim Koyen]

I’ve never run an inline filter with the Leopard..  I agree with Greg, with screen in the Tillotson carb, you don’t need one.

[Tim Koyen]

I had a Longacre digital one for awhile, until I realized it was 2 lbs off, then it hit the junk pile.  One of the nicest I’ve ever used is the Intercomp digital, but it was pretty pricey at nearly $300.  The one I use now, and that is quickly becoming the standard with tuners, is the Hi Prema, made by Prisma.  KartSport distributes them and they are generally around $200.  It has a 76lb max, with .1 lb resolution and a 4 tire memory.

[Tim Koyen]

I would just stock up on the free (or next to free) used tires that the rich guys are tossing away.  If you buy new ones, they’ll be the same within a day anyway.

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