UK Karting - Notice Board (General Karting) : Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement

Notice Board (General Karting)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement
Posted by 'SimonS' on 13 Jul 2011 @ 18:43

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SimonSJoined: December 2004
Total Posts: 4
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"Is it a practice in the karting world to measure the tortional rate as one component of the chassis dynamic characteristics."

No. The reason for the answer lies in the market definition.

There are two visible markets. Kart manufacturers and race team management, including the rich individual driver who becomes their own race team.

For kart manufacturers, I suspect that the rewards of being the winners of a technology race are not large. Simply put, they don't sell enough karts based on reputation or race performance to warrant a great deal of extra expense.

Kart manufacturers, you see, need to put out a kart that gives a driver a performance advantage without the need for a suite full of computer equipment, because the majority of their customers won't have the money, expertise or incentive to buy that suite. Any construction advantage last precisely as long as it takes for their rivals to acquire the kart, dismantle it and duplicate it.

A very few race team managers would be able to afford and benefit from the suite. The difficulty for them is that there really isn't that much one can do to hide one's setup from the rivals. If it can be seen on the grid that one has a soft seat, intermediate axle, and particular torsion bars and it goes faster, then your rivals can duplicate it by the next practice session.

For team managers the problem is that they are not interested in talent. What oils their wheels is money and the most talented drivers are not going to get anywhere without the money. (There are one or two extremely talented drivers, even former British champions, who cannot get into the next level of motorsport simply because they don't either have the money, sponsorship or influence). Money and talent do not always go together....even some F1 drivers are only there because they can pay for it.

So, the bulk of karters are in it for the fun. They aren't going to buy a kart which is only successful if you have an analyst with a PhD and a computer with thousands of pounds of sensors / software on your side.

(Most karters don't even use their existing dataloggers to their best advantage).

So where is the commercial advantage of what you are suggesting?

Now, that's not to say that if you were able to build yourself a suite of kit that would enable you to predict setup, that there wouldn't be people who would hire you. But that is a very different thing form it being a commonplace in the karting world, and one suspects that the first steps would all be at your own cost.

Does that make sense?

Message Thread:

Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'Danlee' (12 Jul 2011 @ 20:18)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'John' (12 Jul 2011 @ 23:02)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'Danlee' (13 Jul 2011 @ 6:51)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'John' (13 Jul 2011 @ 9:11)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'PaulMRotax' (13 Jul 2011 @ 6:52)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'NJB' (13 Jul 2011 @ 9:27)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'PaulMRotax' (13 Jul 2011 @ 10:40)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'JDsRs' (13 Jul 2011 @ 10:55)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'PaulMRotax' (13 Jul 2011 @ 11:27)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'John' (13 Jul 2011 @ 12:46)

PaulM-Rotax get's it by 'Danlee' (13 Jul 2011 @ 13:07)

Re: PaulM-Rotax get's it by 'BanzaiBoy' (13 Jul 2011 @ 13:28)

Re: PaulM-Rotax get's it by 'PaulMRotax' (13 Jul 2011 @ 13:50)

Banzai Boy by 'NJB' (13 Jul 2011 @ 20:20)

John by 'NJB' (13 Jul 2011 @ 20:15)

Re: Chassis tortional rate measurement by 'SimonS' << You are here!

Off back under my stone by 'Danlee' (14 Jul 2011 @ 8:13)

Re: Off back under my stone by 'PaulMRotax' (14 Jul 2011 @ 8:57)

Re: Off back under my stone by 'SimonS' (14 Jul 2011 @ 10:27)

Re: Off back under my stone by 'PaulMRotax' (14 Jul 2011 @ 11:33)

Re: Off back under my stone by 'BanzaiBoy' (14 Jul 2011 @ 15:20)

Re: Off back under my stone by 'PaulMRotax' (14 Jul 2011 @ 18:11)

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