Paul....
You need to remember it's NOT 'yes or no' to these sorts of questions.
By INCREASING the numbers of teeth on the driven sprocket you will:-
*Increase the acceleration of the kart. That MIGHT allow you to get into the 'working' rev band of the engine sooner and more usefully so that, on a short-ish straight, you will increase you revs AND improve your lap times. However, too large a driven sprocket CAN mean that you will run-out of revs before you reach the end and, although you'll get out of corners faster, you could be left for dead by the end of the straight. Increasing the number of teeth on the driven sprocket is like sticking in 4th Gear in a car.... there MAY be plenty of places where you will be FASTER in 4th than in 5th...... but in others (like motorway-runs) you'll be slower.
The exact opposite applies if you REDUCE the number of teeth. This time, it MAY make you faster but it COULD also may be like getting stuck in 5th gear round Tesco's car park! Far too low revs!
The point is, the IS no single answer!
However..... if you have been karting for a year, you really SHOULD be trying a number of changes and 'testing' the effects. Changing the sprockets is one the minimum tests. Most sprockets will be useful but, if you are at only one track, then 1 set of sprockets 1 tooth smaller AND another set 1 tooth larger would be good 'sets' to test. 1 tooth larger WILL make a difference. They are not THAT hard to change.
The way you test is important. Test the kart over 5 laps (un-interrupted) and take the total lap times. If you get an interrupted lap, do 6 laps and drop the time for the interrupted lap. Then change over your sprockets and go out and PRACTICE with those sprockets. Then, after you are used to them, do 5 un-interrupted laps and compare to the first test. That will show you the effects. If it has IMPROVED your lap times, then you are going in roughly the right direction. It would be worth having a set 1 tooth still larger or smaller and trying those, too.... and so on until you LOSE lap time. Then you'll know you have gone too far for THAT track on THAT day.
Obviously, if you change to (let's guess) 1 teeth larger and it IMMEDIATELY make you slower..... then you'll know you are going the WRONG way..... act accordingly. When you arrive at the gear which gives you the BEST lap time and anything either side is slower...... you have got it RIGHT!
The only caveat would be if the revs are getting TOO high.... even if you ARE quicker.... it could get expensive!
With practice, you'll learn how to assess the most likely change your going to need to make to go faster... but the ONLY way you can get this knowledge is by TRYING the changes with this wonderfully crude, but effective, approach!
Ian
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Sprocket change? by 'AbacusRoccoRacing' (19 May 2014 @ 12:24)
