Race #10

I made a few changes to the kart before this race.  We made a few practice runs at Fremont and noticed that the exhaust pipe seemed to closer to the rear sprocket afterwards.  When I investigated, I discovered a crack in the pipe.  Who knew that problem was underneath the fiberglass insulating wrap?

Not where the exhaust is supposed to come out!

I also was frustrated that adjusting the idle mixture on the carburetor did not have any effect on the idle quality.  Because the idle mixture affects the low and midrange throttle response, I wanted to make sure it was right.  Fearing the incorrect idle jet was installed (I had heard that others had this issue with used carbs) I purchased another one.  Turns out that the jet was plugged and I couldn't clear it so I just replaced it.  Now the idle mix works!

Do flame tips give you a speed advantage?

Finally, I wanted Lian's clutch to engage earlier and with more force so I changed the shoe position on the hub which determines this behavior.  I was hoping to get her better starts.

Lian made her own changes and decided to Flame her hair.  What do you think?

In practice on race day, Lian complained that the kart was really loose.  I adjusted the chassis to improve this but she still felt it was loose.  I told her that the only other change I made was to the clutch and began to think that by engaging harder, she might be getting loose on the throttle application.  I switched her clutch back to the way I had it before.  In Heat 1 she reported that she liked it better.

Lian drew a high number so she started 5th out of five in Heat 1 and started on the pole for Heat 2.  I still didn't think the clutch was right because it appeared to be slipping too much.  You can see it most in this video of the start of the second heat where the second place kart gets ahead right after the flag.  Lian finished 4th and 2nd in the respective heats.  You would expect her to start 3rd in the Feature but she actually tied for third with two other drivers and with the high number she drew, she wound-up starting in the back.

Holding off third place during Heat 2

The feature didn't bring any change to the running order (although she had a shot at passing the 4th place driver).  We have more changes planned for next race.  The practice tires are done, especially the right front.  I knew we would probably need another set before season's end so I just bought and mounted what will be our new "race set" of tires, re-marking the old race set as our "practice set."

We resolved to get the kart over to our consultant, Gary at Prime Time Racing, for a re-check of the front end settings and corner weights.  I suspect we will find some more speed in this thing yet.  Thanks for reading!