วีดีโอ

Aw, to be young, fearless and crazy again...

Well, let me qualify that. Remember, this video is for somebody who is absolutely new to driving a shifter kart, and so for them, I would not recommend trying to trail brake into a corner. I personally have found that for me and my somewhat shoddy driving technique that trail braking just induces more understeer on corner entry and is thus slower, but for a really top driver, I have no doubt that they are trail braking to some extent into certain corners whether they are doing it consciously or not. Great question-thanks for watching!

Hello Richard! I am betting that with your seat 10mm below the frame rails, you will be scraping the ground quite a bit, but nothing that a fiberglass repair kit can't handle! With you setting the seat so low, I am assuming that you are actually trying to "un-stick" the kart, correct? Will be interested to hear how you go once you get back out on track with that revised seating position!!!

@RKSiler ive tested it and it doesn't because ive the chassis on the highest setting because our tracks are bumpy so the kart was hitting the ground constantly my main problem has always been left hand corners we have an anti clockwise i use and its a nightmare to get around at 100% ive tryed nearly everything i can think of to get rid of this snappy oversteer issue ive got apart from the seat position ive now removed the seat stays to see if that helps but we need some warmer weather over here so il wait till march

Hello Steven, so great to hear from you! I am very pumped for the 2024 season! The weather here has been frustrating as the days that are nice enough to go do some practicing usually fall on week days when I am working (gotta pay the bills!) and then it rains or snows on the weekend...just part of this time of the year, soon, the weather will be a lot more consistent and I can get some laps in...definitely need the seat time (don't we all). Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year (if more than just a bit belated)!

Hello, you have to change the width of the rear axle?

You have MUCH better eyes than I do! There is definitely a lot of work still to do on the set up, the good thing for me at this point is that the front end actually works, although the driver still sucks...thanks for watching and I really appreciate your comments! Stay tuned, more to come...

Thank you so much for the very kind words and for taking the time to watch my videos! This has been a very fun project and I am delighted to hear that viewers are enjoying them!

Glad you enjoyed it! We have your spot reserved for 2024!

Hello and thanks for watching! You know, that is a great question! My gut tells me it is more of a fine tuning mechanism than something that will make a big change. That said, you make an excellent point and so there is only one way to find out, and that is by experimenting. Hmmmm....sounds like an idea of another video! Thanks so much, let me figure out how to make a story out that and we'll shoot it and then we will both know! Thanks again!

Hey, thanks for watching! The 3rd installment of this series is going to be shot over the weekend of November 18th, and of course it will take my editor at least a few days to edit the video to make it into a good story, so it will likely be around the end of November or first of December. I may wind up shooting a 4th installment, because I am fairly tall (I am 6'4") and I am pretty sure that if we wind up moving the seat forward as much as I suspect we will, my knees will be in the air like I am delivering a baby - that ain't good! So we may have to figure out how to stretch my legs out in front of me like they are supposed to be. So....stay tuned!

Hello and thanks for watching-great question! While we did not get real deep into lap times, I can tell you that Jack was about 1.2 to 1.5 seconds per lap quicker with the KZ on tires that were fairly comparable to what was on my kart. The KZ is just faster everywhere, which we expected, even though Jack's speed in terms of mph was roughly the same same at the apex of each corner...the difference could be attributed more to Jack not fitting all that well in my kart vs his kart since I am about 6 inches taller than he is...Jack was having to "reach" for the pedals and he was sort of flopping around in the seat since I am also wider than he is, so that probably slowed him down. Still and all, the KZ, on a very tight track with short straightaways, was still significantly quicker. On a modern, long track, the difference would have been pretty stark.

Thanks so much! I SO appreciate the support and encouragement from you and so many others, it has been both humbling and exciting to see!

Thanks for watching this video! What we were really trying to do was say, "We know the KZ is way faster than the Honda, but how much faster and is it so different from the Honda that a driver new to shifters would have a tough time dealing with the engine?" What I have learned since then is that the real thing about the KZ is not about how you drive it but how you tune it. I now have a Rok Shifter and I pretty much have come up with a jet for the carb that works in 75% of the conditions that I run in; only on a really cold or really hot day to I need to change the jetting on that engine...the KZ is a much different beast, from what I am being told, you need to constantly change needles and jets to keep the engine tuned correctly. This is just from what I have heard, this is not from personal experience. I take it that you race with a KZ?

I have several, :( Stock Honda, Mod Honda, 2 KZ. Great Video But I would not suggest an new driver to the sport jump in a shifter, I would point them towards a TAG. With the speeds a shifter, it's really dangerous having rookie shifter drivers on the track with you. @@beginagain8101

Hi Cadence, what tent will you be under? I will plan to come by and say hello!

@@RKSiler sounds great! I’ll be under the MPG Motorsports tent.

Thanks for watching and thanks for the very nice comment! I sure wish the driver (that would be me) was a whole lot faster!

@@beginagain8101 All you can do is your seat time and book learning! The pace will come 👍🏻

GOOD FOR YOU-CONGRATULATIONS! It feels great, doesn't it? What that will lead to is a desire for more, which is a very good thing. Congratulations again, I am very happy for you!

Thanks for watching Terry! Regardless of the tools used, I am probably just not ever going to enjoy changing tires!

Hey Mike, thanks for watching! I have always loved bikes but suck riding them more than I suck driving karts, so I am sticking with karts! LOL. Brenna wants to drive a kart eventually but that is not happening any time soon...Brenna and her husband are expecting a baby boy and there is no way that I am going to let her drive a kart in her current condition! One of these days...the goal is for both Brenna and our friend Kristin (she hosted our "Unsung Heroes" series) to give karts a whirl and we'll do a video on it but it may have to be done with two videos instead of one...I think it is going to be a while before Brenna's life slows down!

Hi Mike, thanks for watching this video! Normally, I would agree with you but when I was in my late 20's I actually raced Formula Ford and won a championship but it took pretty much every nickel I had to do it. I never made the next step up the ladder to IndyCar after that as I ran out of talent and money at pretty much the same time!

Hey thanks for watching and commenting! Yeah, I sort of wish my son raced but on the hand, I am not sure my ego could take the beating that I am likely to get as a result! LOL. Thing is, at this point in life, racing should be fun and if we can every now and then sneak up and grab a podium, all the better!

Hey there, sorry for the very slow response! Yes, I have tried the bathroom scales approach but I had a very tough time replicating the results, which says to me that I must have had a bad scale or two or I just never really got the four scales leveled up. Not sure which, but I have a buddy with some Longacre racing scales, and that will be my next step. That said, I must say that I am shocked that you moved only a kilogram of weight forward when you moved the seat forward by 20mm...that seems very low. I did a calculation on my kart and that same movement was about 12 pounds or roughly 5.4 kilograms...regardless, I know that I am not lifting my inside tire in the air at all, so any forward movement of weight has to help that. Time will tell. Stay tuned and thanks so much for watching!

@RKSiler hi Richard it seams when scaling the kart up some of the info i gave was incorrect when i moved the seat forward i used the seat struts at the rear to support my weight which gave us false readings now the seat is bolted in correctly ive now got 42% front 57% rear moving the seat 15mm after watching your last video i measured from the back of the seat and not the front !! So now we are about the same ish and im hoping to try it out as my problem has been driving the kart on anti clockwise tracks its fine on right hand corners but left hand fast corners its jacking sliding im not sure which so moving the seat is something ive never tryed il report back with my findings

Thanks for watching and thanks for your question-sorry for my slow response! I struggle with the starts on these karts, so I am not sure I am the best guy to answer your question. But, since you asked...I put the kart in neutral on the starting line, then I pull in the clutch lever and push the gear lever forward to engage first gear. Then, when the race is almost ready to start, I go to full throttle and then very slowly begin easing the clutch lever out until the clutch is almost "biting"...when the green flag comes out, I am, of course, feeding in the clutch while staying on the throttle...when you get it right, the acceleration is amazing! It's a real thrill when you get it right, but when you get it wrong, which is usually the case for me, it is very frustrating. Hope this helps you!

@@RKSiler thanks for you reply! Sounds like most likely we can shift into neutral with engine running.

@@shofarsogood7504 Yes, absolutely!

Its just a CR125 motocross bike engine. Same thing.

Hello and thanks again for watching this video! Yes, definitely will be trying axles next, that is a great topic for a new series of videos! I do feel that the seat position, as I have it now, is not optimal, and I want to get that right prior to changing the axle since my weight is the heaviest item on the kart itself...need to get that right before I try anything else or I may not be able to get the results I am hoping for. I am curious: how many centimeters is the center of your left kingpin from the top/center of your seatback? Mine is currently at 106.5 as a reference...very curious to hear where you have you seat located as it sounds like you don't have an issue lifting the inside wheel. Of course, with my lighter weight, it may be all for nothing, but it would be interesting to hear about it. Thanks again!

@RKSiler i will have a measure up i use an otk kart which apparently is a softer chassis kart as ive seen a comparison test on TH-cam so that might help myself

​@RKSiler hi Richard mine is 108cm

If possible can you scale your kart to see what your front and rear percentages are? That number will also help when you install the FAST adjusters and start to move the seat…

@@gregoryjones9754 Great point and thanks for that! I must confess that my lack of a good set of scales has been a real handicap, I tried the bathroom scale approach and that didn't work, I simply could not get repeatable results, so I ditched that idea. Having said all that, you're 100% correct, especially if you know at what position the seat has to be to get that magic 44/56 balance and then what a change of 10mm in seat position translates to in terms of the kart's weight distribution. Super good point, and this gives me an idea for an enhanced video...thank you!

Hey @steveboisvert, thanks for the very kind words, I am so glad you found this useful! I am currently working on a 3 part series around seat placement and there will definitely be a mention to Ackerman steering as it seems like there is some linkage between the two in that when you move the seat, you can significantly affect the handling and therefore, Ackerman may be called upon to really dial the handling in. With this video, we are starting to get more into the "art vs science" part of how to tune a kart, so I am probably opening myself up for a lot of comments, but that's OK, conversations like this are usually very helpful. Thanks for watching!

Yeah, I still am unconvinced that this driving style is the right one...Just not sure that I am getting enough lift on the inside rear wheel...for sure, the big crank on the steering wheel will make that happen but it does all sorts of not so nice things too as a by product of that...we'll see.

Hey Rod, thank for your thoughts on this subject, because honestly, I have always tried to go with the quiet hands approach and minimal steering input but with that technique, I can't (apparently!) get the inside wheel to lift...so I always have a push on corner entry and of course, at the exit, the kart goes loose on me as soon as the power is applied. The only thing that I can figure is that my seat is too far back, but according to the manufacturer's specs, the seat is/should be in the set-up window. This much I know: when I make a chassis change, it has virtually no effect on the handling of the kart. So, maybe the seat is out of the window just because of my body type. It's a mystery that I am definitely going to solve, that's for sure! Thanks again-I very much appreciate it!

@@RKSiler You're welcome! Food for thought, anytime I have made a chassis change and felt no difference in the handling of the kart, there was a crack in the frame. You may want to clean the chassis really well, and search for hair line cracks. Especially around the bearing cassettes and seat struts that connect to the frame.

@@RodClinard That is actually an outstanding point! I look for loose nuts and bolts, frayed wires and cables, clean everything on the kart, etc., as part of my usual prep for a race or practice session, but really taking a hard look at the welds for cracks is something that I know I should be doing but for whatever reason, I don't. I'm adding that to my checklist-thanks so much!

Hey Richard, as usual, thanks for the great encouragement and I am so glad you had a successful day on track (losing weight when you are a karter is almost always a very good thing)! Keep up the great work and I look forward to hearing more about your progress!

Hey Lewis, thanks again for watching and I very much appreciate the comments! Funny you should mention a harder rear axle, another friend of mine who is is a winning kart tuner suggested the same thing. I am currently running medium width rear axle hubs, so I am going to revert back to the old short hubs and see if that makes the kart better or worse; if it is worse, then probably going a bit stiffer on the axle might be the way to go. I thought that maybe the seat position is off but after checking it, the seat is pretty close to where the factory says to put it, so for now, I am not going to mess with the seat. And I agree, smooth is fast but I do think my technique needs a ton of work. Time to just pound out a ton of laps and see if I can improve that way. Thanks again for watching!

@@beginagain8101 please mention any changes you make and what difference it makes as you will gain in places and lose in others cheers lewis 👍

@@forcedinduction2918 Plan on it...I think that there is way more to this story, working on what the next one is going to look like.

I'm from Alabama and I want to get into the sport! The closest track to me is an hour and a half away. I'm 43 but glad to see all ages can go at it and your knee isn't stopping you from getting back into it!

Thanks so much for watching-still have a lot to learn but for sure, I'm having fun doing it! I have one track that is about 40 minutes from my house, which is the one you see in this video, and the other track is about 75-80 minutes away, so similar to what you are dealing with. And I think that while age is certainly something of a factor, it is not everything because your own motivation can make up for a lot of things. Hope you are having fun with your racing and thanks again for watching!