the effect of weight on karting lap times.
Discussion
need some help to recover my bruised ego! a freind and i had a go at the twin engined karts at daytona down at sandown park at the weekend. he is probably a stone lighter than me and our respective fastest laps where 52.990 for him and 53.128 for myself. and i am smarting. please help me regain my self respect! i'd contend that our weight differential would probably account for 0.5 seconds over this kind of distance with this type of kart....
hope this is in the right forum.
oh, and he's going to be looking in on this thread..
hope this is in the right forum.
oh, and he's going to be looking in on this thread..
For a mates 17th birthday party we went karting. I was by far the most experienced their, and everyone (myself included) was expecting me to be quickest, as i had been karting with most of them before a couple of years ago and been fastest. The guy who was quickest was a whole 5 st lighter than me!!!! 
if he is a stone lighter and you were only 2/10ths behind, thats not bad at all but its all relative because the twin engined pro karts at sandown vary in power and set up a lot. they are all of reasonable power but some are just better than others.
last time i was there, first session i had an absolute flyer and tried ot keep hold of it but somone else had it for the second session and i got a dog which had no power at all in comparison and people flew past me on the straights...also you never know if chassis are bent either which could have an effect on the corners or if the tyres are the same pressure etc etc... in essence you just jump in a kart and hope they are all equal...
last time i was there, first session i had an absolute flyer and tried ot keep hold of it but somone else had it for the second session and i got a dog which had no power at all in comparison and people flew past me on the straights...also you never know if chassis are bent either which could have an effect on the corners or if the tyres are the same pressure etc etc... in essence you just jump in a kart and hope they are all equal...
If you worked out your relative bhp/ton that would give you an idea.
For example, if the kart is 13bhp and weighs 200kg (just a figure plucked from the air, I have no idea) that means:
75kg driver = 4.72 bhp/ton
100kg driver = 4.33 bhp/ton
So, 10% less in that example. providing my maths works!
Depending how hilly the circuit is, this will have a larger or smaller effect.
For example, if the kart is 13bhp and weighs 200kg (just a figure plucked from the air, I have no idea) that means:
75kg driver = 4.72 bhp/ton
100kg driver = 4.33 bhp/ton
So, 10% less in that example. providing my maths works!
Depending how hilly the circuit is, this will have a larger or smaller effect.
pneumothorax said:
need some help to recover my bruised ego! a freind and i had a go at the twin engined karts at daytona down at sandown park at the weekend. he is probably a stone lighter than me and our respective fastest laps where 52.990 for him and 53.128 for myself. and i am smarting. please help me regain my self respect! i'd contend that our weight differential would probably account for 0.5 seconds over this kind of distance with this type of kart....
hope this is in the right forum.
oh, and he's going to be looking in on this thread..
What he gains on the straight being lighter you gain in the corners being heavier in those type of karts weight will give you more grip in the corners, so brake later turn in later. If there was 2 stone dif maybe you have an excuse if not better luck next time hope this is in the right forum.
oh, and he's going to be looking in on this thread..
sundance02 said:
pneumothorax said:
need some help to recover my bruised ego! a freind and i had a go at the twin engined karts at daytona down at sandown park at the weekend. he is probably a stone lighter than me and our respective fastest laps where 52.990 for him and 53.128 for myself. and i am smarting. please help me regain my self respect! i'd contend that our weight differential would probably account for 0.5 seconds over this kind of distance with this type of kart....
hope this is in the right forum.
oh, and he's going to be looking in on this thread..
What he gains on the straight being lighter you gain in the corners being heavier in those type of karts weight will give you more grip in the corners, so brake later turn in later. If there was 2 stone dif maybe you have an excuse if not better luck next time hope this is in the right forum.
oh, and he's going to be looking in on this thread..
pneumothorax said:
Our respective fastest laps where 52.990 for him and 53.128 for myself. and i am smarting. please help me regain my self respect! i'd contend that our weight differential would probably account for 0.5 seconds over this kind of distance with this type of kart.
Even if the weight accounted for the difference, you're still both about 2 seconds a lap off a decent time; I seem to remember all the people that had brought their special racing slippers were in the 0:50s. That's probably not great news for your self respect, but at least it's not good for his either.The only positive outcome would be if your mate is really fat, and you're really fat and a bit:
jarnold88 said:
I was told about 2tenths per stone heaver per lap on a 30-40 second lap.
If you're over 20 stone it looks like you might have done really well.pablo said:
last time i was there, first session i had an absolute flyer and tried ot keep hold of it but somone else had it for the second session and i got a dog which had no power at all in comparison and people flew past me on the straights...
That happened to me the second time I went there, I put up with it for one lap before pulling in to moan. Upon telling the pit lord that it was unnacceptably sluggish he kindly leant over and started the second engine.Chunky La Funga said:
sundance02 said:
pneumothorax said:
need some help to recover my bruised ego! a freind and i had a go at the twin engined karts at daytona down at sandown park at the weekend. he is probably a stone lighter than me and our respective fastest laps where 52.990 for him and 53.128 for myself. and i am smarting. please help me regain my self respect! i'd contend that our weight differential would probably account for 0.5 seconds over this kind of distance with this type of kart....
hope this is in the right forum.
oh, and he's going to be looking in on this thread..
What he gains on the straight being lighter you gain in the corners being heavier in those type of karts weight will give you more grip in the corners, so brake later turn in later. If there was 2 stone dif maybe you have an excuse if not better luck next time hope this is in the right forum.
oh, and he's going to be looking in on this thread..
So he who lighter drifts wider he who heavier stays inside.
As i said providing you only give a stone away and you can drive a kart;)
In a national kart of course that would not apply but didnt think i needed to exsplain that.
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