my Kart, the new and the aged

26 June

Let me begin by saying that 'The King of Pop' is dead today
Michael Jackson was 50.
His passing is rather very sudden and shocked the world throughout.
It reminded me of the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

Talking about "death" or an end, my Hasse with Rok engine will
be up for sales. I know it will not generate massive interest but
it will be a perfect tool for anyone who wants have more fun than a,
well, Fun kart.

The price I'm letting the kart go is what my friends deem as a
massive loss on my end. So, do drop me an email if interested.


Anyway, looking some data again and the even tyre wear after the
previous race I will have to say the chassis is actually fine.

I may have to relook my settings. Especially my weight distribution
which means seats, ballast positions, then to front & rear track width.

The teething issue now is as of what I had described earlier, i.e. high
speed instability at the rear. Generally it can be rectified by a wider
rear track, so that the rear tyres will be stay more planted to the track.
Then moving the seat slightly, 5mm, lower should also helps as it will
have a bit more weight on the rear and thus pushing the kart
downwards.

And that should really do it. But I need to test all these 'theory' apart on
race day itself . The problem this month in June I had was that every
time I finished setting up the kart after 'identifying' the issues, it rained!
Can you believe it... every day is hot and it just rained when I'm
about to go on to the track to test new setup!
Wet setting is very different from dry when I can push it to its limit,
whereas in the rain it more about feeling your way around with the kart.
Smooth throttling, and even smoother braking is the way to go for wet
driving. More often than not in the event of rain, I will just seized the
day's work and go home.

Anyway, I should have some fun when I hit the track again on the
Hasse/Rok combi. I will ensure that whoever get this kart will have fun
in a relatively fast kart, although it will not be much too competitive in
the races we had going now as it is getting more and more pacy from
everyone involved.
But as I mentioned it will be a good 'starter's kit' of sorts.
In fact, a lot of those who kart with me mentioned that I should just put
on the used Max engine I got from Gary and I will be right up there.
But.... I need, or should I say, Want new Toys!

Now, that would bring me to the new.
After some considerations and some advice, I will very likely go with
a GP-10 chassis with a P7 Rotax Max engine (from Gary).
We all know how to Max engine can and will perform so there's
no need for any introduction. On the other hand, my choice of the
chassis is another matter.
I can't say much on the chassis's performance from personal
experience, since it will be about a month more before I will get it.
Much good things had been said about the chassis, let's wait to
find out how good it actually is. If you have not heard about GP-10 take a look at http://www.kerrpartners.com/products.htm or
http://www.gpracing.it/page14/page8/page8.html

Meanwhile, I will also plan and assess my 'ambitions' for 2010 RMC.

Did I say "Watch this Space" the last time round?
You ought to!

cheers

Straight On ... slowly

17 June

Had a race on 14 June.
Track configuration is as follows:
It is mainly straight, meaning it's very fast.
And that is the problem. My kart package is just not good enough.
In the last race, I was on the up. This race I was seeing others back
view.

I had to start from 11th from 15 guys. That just goes to show how
slow I am moving around this high speed configuration.

In heat 1, I had some battles with Yap. It had some scary moments
that goes along with it as he was lifting his throttle and even brake
on the downhill chicane. I nearly slam into his back at least twice at
the same spot. Much as I was annoyed, I could not overtake him
nicely as his Max engine churn out more torque.
Which is why I had not out brake him twice on the Black Hole.
Thankfully, I managed to get by twice with this risky move at the
superbly slippery hairpin.

Along the way, I reckon there were quite a few who DNF and
somehow I got a point by finishing 8th.
Not too bad , but I demand more from myself

Heat 2.

Starting from 8th is not ideal position to begin with.
As I am just too familiar with the mid field mayhem in the
1st few laps of the race.
Thankfully, there was no such problems this time round as my
start was not too shabby. However I think I did lose one position
before the 1st corner.

The new few laps were keeping me busy. I was not busy
overtaking but busy having to defend my position. I had to take
a lot of defensive lines to vend off Tony and Yap and Alan and who
knows who else!

I was simply too slow after all slow corners. The engine seems
to be bog down by the aged chassis. No matter how I try to keep the
revs up it seems once after the apex my speed will just all disappear.
All in all, after defending 'bravely' for who knows how many laps.
Tony was the 1st to pounce at the pits section. I tried to fight back
but once on the exit he just pull away. sigh....
After a few more laps, Alan and Yap and Allan all got past me.
That was that. Finished 11th, which is where I qualified.
Back to square one!

This is a race I will like to forget but also remember.
Because very likely this will be the last on my Rok kart.
Forget Rok....
As I will be scouting for a Max package with another chassis.
Remember a new beginning that is to come..!

watch this .... bLOG

Frameworks

8 June

On Sunday, 7 June, went on to the track to look at my kart
again.
I begin the day looking at the engine balance shaft just to see if
there's anything wrong with it.


Fortunately, there is nothing wrong with it. However on the flip side,
that means there's something seriously wrong somewhere else..
namely the chassis and it's settings.

That seems to be the answer.

After fixing the engine back on to the kart I went out on to the track
with Allan for a couple of rounds. I was having no confidence in the
kart. I could not push hard at all, and he duly overtook me. I never
could mount a challenge after that. With 2 laps driving as fast as I can
or as fast as the kart allow me to I stop. It was really bad.

After Allan stopped, he told me my rear end was twitching excessively.
That how I felt in the kart too. The back end was especially an issue for
the very quick left then right section after the Spoon section.
A small movement on my steering will result me being 'thrown' about in
my snug seat. Scary !

In the last race, it was very close to full throttle in the same section.
On my kart, I had to lift else I would feel I may be thrown off.

We did some works on the front end, then was heading out to test the
change but the weather will not cooperate. It poured heavily.
I was going to continue to work on the kart with its rear to be
widened too. But alas...

It is also noted that my aged chassis is now 10mm higher on the right
side. That would also translate to a very ill handling chassis.

So now I have to ask Louis to try to level the chassis and see how it
goes from there. I really hope there will be some marked
improvement else it is really a high time for a chassis.
Truth to be told I had never put the importance of chassis this high up
in my assessment, but now I certainly know what a good handling chassis
can do to one's driving, good or bad.

All in all, that is to say a bad driver can hide behind a good car
but with a bad car, there seems to be no hidings for any driver.

I dreamed A Dream

4 June

I believed most of us had seen or at least heard of the name
Susan Boyle recently.

If you have not, then perhaps you have not watched any BGT
or seen this at all as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I'm still moved by her first audition almost every time I see
she belted out "I dreamed a dream"

Anyway, enough of Susan.

I did actually have a dream a few nights back. I dreamt that I
had a brand new kart. Brand New chassis, Brand New Rotax
Max engine and I was going fast on the track! It was fantastic.
I was elated.... in the dreams, of course.

Basically now back to reality, I still had to work out what's
wrong with my kart. Really have to identify where the
problem(s) is. Is it with the chassis and it settings?
Or is it with the engine and its settings?
At the moment, I may have to say it's a bit of both.

Because of all these 'troubleshooting' it means since last race,
I had not been on the track and be able to push hard at all.
I would really be really short of 'race fitness'.
With the race coming up next week, I really hope I can
get some overall improvements from the kart this Sunday.
Otherwise I may just sit out of it.

I had a year or so already at the tail end, and I had enough
lessons from it. Now I know I really can be competitive I will
be inclined to race somewhere near the front.
Otherwise, it will seems to me to be a step or many steps
backwards.

I want to be competitive again. I definitely need to sort the
issues I have now
OR
to go out and get another kart. But the latter option will be
the last resort since first and foremost it will requires $$$
and secondly patience to scout for a good replacement.

Much as I like a new kart, I do hope on Sunday I will be able
identify the problem areas and fix it once and for all.
Fingers crossed!