[Troy V Smith]

Hi Mauricio – I don’t have any idea off the top of my head as to why the stops wouldn’t be lined up – maybe you can attach a photo of what you’ve got? Depending on your sons height, you may look into a Noonan foot box. I have used the footbox to bring the pedals back on an Arrow and it made the process quite easy. It also raises smaller feet to help get leverage back on the ball of the foot tather than using toes.

http://www.nkrpedals.com/

[Troy V Smith]

Roger – not sure if you’re an eBay shopper, but try doing a search in eBay for CREE flood light – there are many. You migth be able to find online retailers from there. Allot of these are being used by the offroad guys – you can get light bars that are literally 6′ long. I purchased a set of 7″ lights which turned out to be more than enough.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-7INCH-36W-CREE-LED-Work-light-Flood-Beam-Car-Jeep-Garden-Backyard-SUV-Boat-/271232386182?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f26b5c486&vxp=mtr

[Troy V Smith]

Roger – I just installed some exterior LED lighting on my trailer – I do not know how they compare to a 500W work light, but the leds I installed were CREE 2200LU/6W in a flood pattern – the light they provide is incredible – almost too bright!

[Troy V Smith]

Hey Dennis – I was looking for those and were told they were available for purchase and provided by SKUSA at some sanctioned events. Other than that, the search has been a complete mystery from my end.

[Troy V Smith]

Alex – not sure if this is specific to your chassis – but should help a bit.

http://www.crg-america.com/pdfs/CRG_Kart_Tuning_Manual.pdf

If this is your first shifter, I’d just suggest to get out there and get a few practice sessions in before worrying too much about tuning the chassis. If it is a new chassis – it is most likely setup on a proper baseline anyway. Have fun with it, get comfortable with it, then worry about working into its finer tuning capabilities. Tuning a chassis can be very difficult until you yourself become consistant.

[Troy V Smith]

Aaron – I think you’ll find that allot of folks have had the rib issues and have worked through them differently. As each of or physical traits are completely different – each individual will find different variations of a ribvest/seat that suit them best. I fought and fought with rib pains for nearly an entire year, changing out seat after seat, trying this vest and that vest, and any combination of the two. I finally bought the ribtech seat and used with the ribtech vest only to find that the combination helped the rib issue, but created “pinch” and pressure issues. It was finally suggested to just “trust the seat” and try it without use the vest – which I did – and that was my personal comfort miracle! A proper fitting Ribtech seat and no vest – no pains for me anymore.

[Troy V Smith]

Gee Mike, bet that is not the response you were looking for. Everyone has an opinion, but I wouldn’t consider it a terrible idea. You will most likely have to deal with consistant scratches depending on vibrations and such though. I have not attempted to paint my RLV shifter pipe but have in fact painted several TAG pipes and headers with VHT Ceramic and it works very well. I believe it is good up to 2000F.

I seem to remember some issue in that painting of a pipe may cause tech issues though – might check on that before you paint it up. I will say, for the shifter I do as Paul suggests with a good coat of MMO after a days event and it still looks good.

[Troy V Smith]

Best location to mount to? That is a relative question – that would most likely depend on what the purpose of the video is. If you’re looking to review driver performance and gauges, then yea, a helmet mount would do well. If however, you want to review to see where the competition is catching you, the rear bumper is a good location. There are some really cool videos from cameras mounted in “not so common” places. Move it around – videos get repetitive and boring with the “same view” as every other guy. I’ve use the GoPro on the rear bumper, driver panel facing the driver, front bumper facing the front wheel – you can get some cool footage from odd places! But wherever you mount it – make sure it’s secure!

[Troy V Smith]

Chris – that looks like fun! Bet “fun” wasn’t the first thing that came to mind in the seat though!

[Troy V Smith]

Bill, there are a couple variations of cable assemblies, but in general, they all serve the same purpose. Yes, on each of our karts, we have a bare steel braided cable which is housed inside a sheath/sleeve (could be vinyl, plastic, teflon tubing – whatever). If the cable you use is coated in vinyl, I wouldn’t fret over using a bare steel cable. As Bo said, you might look at getting a whole assembly (cable and sleeve) – you will need to make sure that the anchor on the cable is what will fit your carb slide though.

[Troy V Smith]

I have had both – originally I had the Contour. I really liked the various mounts available for the contour. But the problem I had with the Contour was the aweful distortion in the video caused by the engine/interferance noise. The still video was exceptional, but once the motor started, the waves were too distracting. Higher the rpm, the more significant the wave distortion. I tried moutning it in several areas, but the results were the same. The GoPro does not have that issue and also puts out an exceptional video. I can go back on older video and know immediately which camera was used just by the distortions.

[Troy V Smith]

Yes, a good meaurement will usually give up a bent chassis, but depends on the bend and it’s severity. Try a measurement from forward axle face to king pin too. Best thing to do would be drop the thing on scales, but not always an option. You can check for a twist pretty easily with a good level. Get a base line level indication across the axle, and compare your results to a level across the top of the king pin bolts – should be the same – if not,….

Don’t forget the simple things too – check for flaked off paint, cracked welds and areas of touch-up paint. Look for signs of wear in odd places. Bent chassis can be straightened – just need the resources. You mention having a kart shop nearby – swing it over to them and let tham have a look for you – but build a relationship with them – don’t be the “something for nothing” guy.

[Troy V Smith]

Hey Bill, just because it looks a bit different doesn’t mean it won’t work just fine. I think the biggest issue with a throttle cable is going to be the type of anchor you need for your carb slide. May be round, or barrel? Browse, or check with Fastec, SharkShifter, Extreme to see if they have something that matches. But if you’re using a cable from the mid 90’s, I bet things have probably changed.

[Troy V Smith]

I think anyone that has been in karting long enough will eventually deal with those same issues. I have bent all of the above mentioned items, and still have a perfectly working, trouble free kart. That does not say however that bending such items will never cause further issue.

Whether a kart has been damaged or not, it is a risk you take anytime you buy a used piece of racing equipment. You’re pretty much as the sellers mercy and it all comes down to how honest or “up front” the guy is going to be. There are a few checks you can make to the chassis to see if it’s in the ball park or “normal”. But in general, I don’t think a previouisly “bent” part immediately indicates a tweaked chassis (it could, but not always 50/50).

As far as “not handling right” – that’s funny, I hear the same thing from alot of guys driving “show room fresh” karts. That’s a vauge statement. In your case with the “load of spares”, you might just have to consider worst case scenarios. Worst case being needing a new chassis. It is a buyers market!!

I know – you read all that and you’re still left with the same questions!!??

[Troy V Smith]

Wow – That is news to me. Guess I’m glad I never had or read instructions for it’s use! I have always just clipped them onto the plug wire, never wrapped, tucked or twisted anything. Seems odd you’d have to go through such a configuration when the same simple “Loop” is sufficient right on the mychron end? But anyway, I’ve used the clip alone on the CR125 as well as the Leopard and seems to be accurate. I will compare data from the clip versus a proper “wrap” at my next outting though!

[Troy V Smith]

Hey Guys – am I missing something, or maybe I’m not on the right track, but you are aware of the simple AIM rpm clip? You just loop your rpm pickup wire through and clip it to the plug wire? You can clip and unclip it freely – no need to wrap the wire anymore.

[Troy V Smith]

Yep, pictures are worth a lot.  Guess I’d do exactly what Benn is thinking.  Seems odd that the uprights would require a tweak, but the column may have been in an “unknown” bind before you pulled it out – This leads me to wonder why you had to change the uni-ball and bushing in the first place – were they worn?

[Troy V Smith]

Typically, I would install the uni-ball end first, then set and tighten up the nylon bushing.   If your column is tight in the uni-ball, you should have plenty of “free motion”, in the shaft to line it up with the bushings up top (as Stephen says – as long as the uni-ball isn’t junk).  I would think you’d see a bend in the steering shaft if it were bent, but sounds like your best bet is to loosen up everything, and set it all in place without tightening things up.  Get everything lined up and free – then try tightening it up from there.  See how that goes for you…

[Troy V Smith]

The first thing that comes to my mind Dimitri – is “Don’t do it”.  I only say that due to the fact I have one in my own helmet and it is rare, very rare, that it has ever helped me in any way.  Rarely does it even get used anymore.  Yes, it has come in handy a time or two, but in most cases, last thing I want when focused on driving (which your boys should be) is someone talking in my ear.

Not sure how old your boys are, but communications in a helmet definitely have a tendency to distract a driver, particularly the younger ones.  I would think a one on one “pit talk” after on track sessions would be of much better benefit to you and your boys than a radio will ever be.

Just my two cents…

But hey, if you want to give it a try – go cheap!  You can get a system which uses the simple two way handheld radios, much like the ones they use on motocycles.  Look at “Rugged Radios” dot com.

 

[Troy V Smith]

Fines are the last thing this sport needs.  It costs most people enough just to get out there and compete.  If rules are not being followed accordingly, there are other approaches which can be made without costing more hard earned dollars.  Mechanical failures are going to happen, mistakes are going to be made – charging people $$ for them will only be a detriment to the sport.

 This past weekend, they were handing out $10 fines for failing to signal when entering or exiting the track at our club race – people in every class were getting them, from young to old. That price point seemed pretty appropriate for club racing. It shouldn’t stop anyone from racing, but it’s a signal to smarten up.

That seems a bit ridiculous to me.  If it is such a problem and folks can’t abide by the rules set fourth, it seems pretty obvious that the solution is to pull them from the track and prevent them getting back on.  Shouldn’t have anything to do with $$.  The fines imposed are going to do nothing for the innocent guy that is going to take the hit from there lack of attention anyway.

And at what point does will an “intermittent” mistake get separated from a “cause for a fine”?

If safety isn’t being taken seriously, then maybe it’s not just a problem with guys on track, but  the officials need to take a look into there own policies and learn how to enforce them.

[Troy V Smith]

Hey Mike – you are not pushing the pin completely out of the link are you? If you’re having trouble with chain breaking, and trouble with pin pushing – I think you’re on the right track – might want to check into a different chain breaker and see if you get better results. The one I use, is in fact an RLV, but I have never broken a chain, or the pin on the tool. Maybe the breaker you’re using is damaging, or bending the link and putting just enough stress on the chain to break it under a heavy load?

Is this the only place you break a chain? I wouldn’t think braking alone would have anything to do with it, but I would imagine heavy braking combined with a downshift could cause a pretty heavy load on the chain?

[Troy V Smith]

Not much of a TAG guy these days, but you might want to check your clutch condition/settings . Are you running the EXPD or shoe type clutch? We had a similar problem at the Robopong (Roberto!) and it turned out that one of the shoes had broken – at speed you’d never notice the problem but really, really hard to get going, if at all.

[Troy V Smith]

Thanks Ken, but what good is a drilled nut if it isn’t orientated the same way your stud is drilled?

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