All depends on track you are at.. generally staggered side to side.
depends a lot on the track and of course the tyre
on a practice day .... put the same psi in all and go out and do a race distance
immediately when you come in take pressures and let them down to the same psi all round.
tyre diameter is dependant on tyre pressure so it is "nice " to have them the same dia at race temp.
Now look at your times ...
Did your times drop off in the later laps ? - Yes ! drop 1/2 pound and try again
Did it take forever to come on ? - Yes ! go up
Too much front - drop
All this assumes you have good kart set up !!!!
On the old MG red we generally found for most tracks the fronts and offside rear ended up the same with the drive rear 1/2 to 3/4 pound lower.
My son ran a Kosmic kart and we found he would post a good time after 2 laps and then be running the same times for the rest of the race give or take a couple of hundredths. - in a 20 lap final he often would see a fasted time around lap 18 with it only being marginally faster than the early laps
We then knew setup and tyres pressures were good !
Typically start all equal as you want the kart to evenly use the tyres. And that way you don't induce understeer or oversteer from missmatched pressures.
But in higher horsepower classes you may use lower rear pressures as the rears get used more on exit and more speed to wash off during braking zones.
P.s. I used to like running higher pressures in the rears when i used to be running on SL1 tyres
Track/ tyre/ race length will vary your starting pressure.
Just as an example on MG reds you might start at FL13.5 FR 13 RR 14 RL 13.5
Just depends on what your chasing.. You may have 1 corner with high grip and another with a large bump in it.. Testing is your friend..
You are trying to achieve optimum pressures at WORKING temp. This means that you should be checking tyre pressures as soon as you return to the in-grid.
The difference between cold pressures and working pressures will vary greatly, depending on your driving style, kart setup, track, grip level, engine power/class and also the tyre parameters themselves.
I found on my old chassis on our anticlockwise track and MG reds, to aim for a 13.5/14 lb working pressures.
I would (for memory) start with a cold tyre temp (not stone cold out of the trailer but after initial practice)
FL13, FR12.5
RL12.5, RR 12.
After a 12 lap finial, they would all fairly even and be between 13.5/14lb.
Again, chassis type, setup and driving style will effect this so aim for an even WORKING pressure.
Thank you all lots for your advice
B Fast
Hey David do you have any knowledge/experience with the Dunlop DFM tyre and their ideal start/working temp? David Arnold said:
You are trying to achieve optimum pressures at WORKING temp. This means that you should be checking tyre pressures as soon as you return to the in-grid.
The difference between cold pressures and working pressures will vary greatly, depending on your driving style, kart setup, track, grip level, engine power/class and also the tyre parameters themselves.
I found on my old chassis on our anticlockwise track and MG reds, to aim for a 13.5/14 lb working pressures.
I would (for memory) start with a cold tyre temp (not stone cold out of the trailer but after initial practice)
FL13, FR12.5
RL12.5, RR 12.
After a 12 lap finial, they would all fairly even and be between 13.5/14lb.
Again, chassis type, setup and driving style will effect this so aim for an even WORKING pressure.
No sorry. I left the sport when the rear bars and new tyres came in.
The tyre importer should be able to supply data on the ideal working temp and perhaps even recommended ideal pressures.
Regards Daniel Smith said:
Hey David do you have any knowledge/experience with the Dunlop DFM tyre and their ideal start/working temp? David Arnold said:
You are trying to achieve optimum pressures at WORKING temp. This means that you should be checking tyre pressures as soon as you return to the in-grid.
The difference between cold pressures and working pressures will vary greatly, depending on your driving style, kart setup, track, grip level, engine power/class and also the tyre parameters themselves.
I found on my old chassis on our anticlockwise track and MG reds, to aim for a 13.5/14 lb working pressures.
I would (for memory) start with a cold tyre temp (not stone cold out of the trailer but after initial practice)
FL13, FR12.5
RL12.5, RR 12.
After a 12 lap finial, they would all fairly even and be between 13.5/14lb.
Again, chassis type, setup and driving style will effect this so aim for an even WORKING pressure.
Comments8
All depends on track you are at.. generally staggered side to side.
depends a lot on the track and of course the tyre
on a practice day .... put the same psi in all and go out and do a race distance
immediately when you come in take pressures and let them down to the same psi all round.
tyre diameter is dependant on tyre pressure so it is "nice " to have them the same dia at race temp.
Now look at your times ...
Did your times drop off in the later laps ? - Yes ! drop 1/2 pound and try again
Did it take forever to come on ? - Yes ! go up
Too much front - drop
All this assumes you have good kart set up !!!!
On the old MG red we generally found for most tracks the fronts and offside rear ended up the same with the drive rear 1/2 to 3/4 pound lower.
My son ran a Kosmic kart and we found he would post a good time after 2 laps and then be running the same times for the rest of the race give or take a couple of hundredths. - in a 20 lap final he often would see a fasted time around lap 18 with it only being marginally faster than the early laps
We then knew setup and tyres pressures were good !
Typically start all equal as you want the kart to evenly use the tyres. And that way you don't induce understeer or oversteer from missmatched pressures.
But in higher horsepower classes you may use lower rear pressures as the rears get used more on exit and more speed to wash off during braking zones.
P.s. I used to like running higher pressures in the rears when i used to be running on SL1 tyres
Track/ tyre/ race length will vary your starting pressure.
Just as an example on MG reds you might start at FL13.5 FR 13 RR 14 RL 13.5
Just depends on what your chasing.. You may have 1 corner with high grip and another with a large bump in it.. Testing is your friend..
You are trying to achieve optimum pressures at WORKING temp. This means that you should be checking tyre pressures as soon as you return to the in-grid.
The difference between cold pressures and working pressures will vary greatly, depending on your driving style, kart setup, track, grip level, engine power/class and also the tyre parameters themselves.
I found on my old chassis on our anticlockwise track and MG reds, to aim for a 13.5/14 lb working pressures.
I would (for memory) start with a cold tyre temp (not stone cold out of the trailer but after initial practice)
FL13, FR12.5
RL12.5, RR 12.
After a 12 lap finial, they would all fairly even and be between 13.5/14lb.
Again, chassis type, setup and driving style will effect this so aim for an even WORKING pressure.
Thank you all lots for your advice
B Fast
Hey David do you have any knowledge/experience with the Dunlop DFM tyre and their ideal start/working temp? David Arnold said:
You are trying to achieve optimum pressures at WORKING temp. This means that you should be checking tyre pressures as soon as you return to the in-grid.
The difference between cold pressures and working pressures will vary greatly, depending on your driving style, kart setup, track, grip level, engine power/class and also the tyre parameters themselves.
I found on my old chassis on our anticlockwise track and MG reds, to aim for a 13.5/14 lb working pressures.
I would (for memory) start with a cold tyre temp (not stone cold out of the trailer but after initial practice)
FL13, FR12.5
RL12.5, RR 12.
After a 12 lap finial, they would all fairly even and be between 13.5/14lb.
Again, chassis type, setup and driving style will effect this so aim for an even WORKING pressure.
No sorry. I left the sport when the rear bars and new tyres came in.
The tyre importer should be able to supply data on the ideal working temp and perhaps even recommended ideal pressures.
Regards Daniel Smith said:
Hey David do you have any knowledge/experience with the Dunlop DFM tyre and their ideal start/working temp? David Arnold said:
You are trying to achieve optimum pressures at WORKING temp. This means that you should be checking tyre pressures as soon as you return to the in-grid.
The difference between cold pressures and working pressures will vary greatly, depending on your driving style, kart setup, track, grip level, engine power/class and also the tyre parameters themselves.
I found on my old chassis on our anticlockwise track and MG reds, to aim for a 13.5/14 lb working pressures.
I would (for memory) start with a cold tyre temp (not stone cold out of the trailer but after initial practice)
FL13, FR12.5
RL12.5, RR 12.
After a 12 lap finial, they would all fairly even and be between 13.5/14lb.
Again, chassis type, setup and driving style will effect this so aim for an even WORKING pressure.