Moving around in your seat

Ray Lovestead · Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:52 am Post subject: Moving around in your seat

Does anyone move forward or back in their seat to adjust their COG in differing corners? From what I've read, folks recommend you do not do this as you would not get a good (consistent) idea of how to tune your chassis if you are moving all around in your seat.

But I find that on a track with both long sweepers and short turns, moving around in your seat is the only way to solve both lift rate scenarios.

Ray
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TJ Koyen · Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 3:55 pm Post subject:

I wouldn't say I move forward or backward to try and get different handling effects, but I definitely use my body to make the kart work.

During a race my butt is barely ever touching the bottom of the seat.

If you have an ill-handling kart, the only way to adjust it on-track is to move around in your seat.
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Ray Lovestead · Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:02 pm Post subject:

Interesting. So where is your body then? What are you leveraging off of to raise up in the seat? Foot rests/back of seat? Or sides?
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Jim McMahon · Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:13 pm Post subject:

Per Terry Fullerton "lean out, not in, its not a **King motocycle"
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Tim Salvino · Joined: 20 Nov 2010 Posts: 257

I have done this a few times. As the tires get hot, and gain grip the chassis starts to hop. To cure this I will pull myself forward out of the seat, and maybe lean into the corner, to get weight off the rear tires. But that is only a last ditch effort, in the final race. During a practice or pre-final I will stay still and then tune the kart to hopefully cure the problem before the next session.

But in rental karts It's like TJ said, I am almost never still in the seat. But that's a different story haha

Joe Brizzolara · Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 5:56 pm Post subject: Very Interesting Experience

Went to drive rental karts with a group from work. They had adjustable seats (front to rear). Raced in 5 or so heats and moved the seat as time went on to dial in the kart.

Wonder how much work it would be to put an adjustable seat in my kart. Would add some weight but probably wouldn't be so difficult. I've used cardboard behind and under me to make minor adjustments and it seemed to help a bit.

Mike Cullum · Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 6:44 pm Post subject:

With my driver on the scales (yamaha @ 165ks) moving from his "lazy head back cruzy" position to his " Im here to race and win" head and shoulders hunched forward position is between 1/2-3/4 of a percent weight distribution f/r.
In the wet we've always lent out and forward at turn in, out and back at mid turn and all the way back at braking and turn exit, also back in the dry under braking.

Ray Lovestead · Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:02 am Post subject:

>>With my driver on the scales (yamaha @ 165ks) moving from >>his "lazy head back cruzy" position to his " Im here to race and win" >>head and shoulders hunched forward position is between 1/2-3/4 of >>a percent weight distribution f/r.

This is why it cracks me up when people say that they should have 43% front and 57% rear. You couldn't have that accuracy if your own weight changed due to a Mountain Dew and a full bladder. Just approaching a corner and lean forward subconciously would make it 45%/55%.

Same in the 50/50 left to right weight distribution. Everyone leans.

But I'm guessing that leaning could really make a real difference in track times if you were to do it 'right'. I'm going to try and set up some experiments the next time I'm at the track (certain corners, two IR timers).

Ray
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Rodney Ebersole · Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:46 am Post subject:

Ray, be sure to test for turbo hopping too. Razz

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Ray Lovestead · Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:46 am Post subject:

At my weight, if I hop in my seat, I'll probably jump the entire kart into the air...
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Justin Martin · Joined: 27 Mar 2012 Posts: 328

Paul Makarucha · Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:35 pm Post subject:

Not so much in shifter, busy enough as it is. A little more prevalent in TaG. HUGE in the rentals. Laughing

I did 3 sessions in rentals last weekend and with the seat being a bit big as they are, I was moving myself around a ton... well, a week later I still have a bruise and small scab on my ass. opps...
I didn't even realize I was doing it
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