Friday, July 23, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Race Seven 2010 - Simple Things
Track F
Following the last practice session where I could not turn right, I went back and had a thought about it, decided best way is to align the front of the kart. So the first thing when I reached the track is to get Jason to align the front using the Sniper Alignment Tool. Found that the camber and toe is completely out for the left of the kart.
With that done, I changed the front tires to a pair of lightly used MG Yellow bought off Jon, but found out I did not have a race at all.
During qualifying, found the kart was bogging down at all the low speed corners, but it was kind of on and off and knowing my spark plugs are getting old, I changed that once back into the pit. As qualifying was on a wet track, and it started raining more, I did not go out for more testing. My best timing of 1:05 was nearly 6 seconds off pole.
Come Heat 1, I went out and suffered the same situation, but I did finish the heat. Back to the pit, I mentioned it to Jason, and we checked the Power Valve. Found that the gasket is covering the small hole which is meant for exhausting the gases from the Power Valve. That must have happened as I had cleaned the Power Valve just before Qualifying. With the hole covered, the PV is not able to close, and my low end suffered. Graeme mentioned, simple things, and very true. A simple gasket installed wrongly ruined my race. And why did I not realize it sooner? Anyway, with the rain pouring down and no wet tires, I skipped Heat 2. So it turned out I did not have a race at all.
Just in case any reader is wondering why this is race 7. This is race 7 on the calendar, just that I don't have enough funds to join all of the races.
Following the last practice session where I could not turn right, I went back and had a thought about it, decided best way is to align the front of the kart. So the first thing when I reached the track is to get Jason to align the front using the Sniper Alignment Tool. Found that the camber and toe is completely out for the left of the kart.
With that done, I changed the front tires to a pair of lightly used MG Yellow bought off Jon, but found out I did not have a race at all.
During qualifying, found the kart was bogging down at all the low speed corners, but it was kind of on and off and knowing my spark plugs are getting old, I changed that once back into the pit. As qualifying was on a wet track, and it started raining more, I did not go out for more testing. My best timing of 1:05 was nearly 6 seconds off pole.
Come Heat 1, I went out and suffered the same situation, but I did finish the heat. Back to the pit, I mentioned it to Jason, and we checked the Power Valve. Found that the gasket is covering the small hole which is meant for exhausting the gases from the Power Valve. That must have happened as I had cleaned the Power Valve just before Qualifying. With the hole covered, the PV is not able to close, and my low end suffered. Graeme mentioned, simple things, and very true. A simple gasket installed wrongly ruined my race. And why did I not realize it sooner? Anyway, with the rain pouring down and no wet tires, I skipped Heat 2. So it turned out I did not have a race at all.
Just in case any reader is wondering why this is race 7. This is race 7 on the calendar, just that I don't have enough funds to join all of the races.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Turning Right
Today, had to pick up Jon at 6:30 am in the morning, that means waking up at 6am to drive from Jurong to his place. But at least I have company this time going to JB rather than the radio for a change.
This practice, I have bought along the repaired cable for the magnetic sensor used for timing. It was ripped out during my bad shunt a while back. The previous trip, the cable did not work due to it not being grounded, this time, it WORKS! Now I have timing, and I can see how I am doing. Thanks to Karen for getting the cable repaired! That saved me around SGD35 before shipping.
It started raining lightly just as I was putting my helmet on. But it was very brief, and I waited only 10minutes for it to clear and the sky remained overcast and the temperature cool for the remaining session.
My timing as ok for the first session, I am not sure how the cool temperature is affecting my engine as I do not have a temperature sensor. That sensor is out of order for a year now.
On the second session, I found turning right a problem, especially on the downhill and the corner before the pit. I guess after the timing i posted on the first session above, the tires is starting to give me issues. Talking to Jason, he suggested that I narrow the front wheels. That I did, and I found it has gotten worst instead. So he next suggested that I remove the front torsion bar, which was removed, but I did not test as I decided to call it a day as we were running out of petrol.
There is a post on this on Jon's blog titled Wrong Can Be Good. Where he suggested that I have hardly done any setup changes to my kart. I have rebutted this before, saying I need to be consistent with my driving first, then setup change second. Also, I am starting to realize I am a driver that forces the kart to work, so much so that I am insensitive to the kart not behaving as it should. This I have to improve, else I will never get the maximum out of the kart.
Recently, in an article, there is a comparison between Senna and Mansel when they were teammates and Button and Lewis where they are now teammates. The comparison was their driving style, one likes the car to be setup nicely where the other do not mind the car sliding round a little. We are not world champions, but i think the comparison may be the same for me and Jon.
This practice, I have bought along the repaired cable for the magnetic sensor used for timing. It was ripped out during my bad shunt a while back. The previous trip, the cable did not work due to it not being grounded, this time, it WORKS! Now I have timing, and I can see how I am doing. Thanks to Karen for getting the cable repaired! That saved me around SGD35 before shipping.
It started raining lightly just as I was putting my helmet on. But it was very brief, and I waited only 10minutes for it to clear and the sky remained overcast and the temperature cool for the remaining session.
My timing as ok for the first session, I am not sure how the cool temperature is affecting my engine as I do not have a temperature sensor. That sensor is out of order for a year now.
On the second session, I found turning right a problem, especially on the downhill and the corner before the pit. I guess after the timing i posted on the first session above, the tires is starting to give me issues. Talking to Jason, he suggested that I narrow the front wheels. That I did, and I found it has gotten worst instead. So he next suggested that I remove the front torsion bar, which was removed, but I did not test as I decided to call it a day as we were running out of petrol.
There is a post on this on Jon's blog titled Wrong Can Be Good. Where he suggested that I have hardly done any setup changes to my kart. I have rebutted this before, saying I need to be consistent with my driving first, then setup change second. Also, I am starting to realize I am a driver that forces the kart to work, so much so that I am insensitive to the kart not behaving as it should. This I have to improve, else I will never get the maximum out of the kart.
Recently, in an article, there is a comparison between Senna and Mansel when they were teammates and Button and Lewis where they are now teammates. The comparison was their driving style, one likes the car to be setup nicely where the other do not mind the car sliding round a little. We are not world champions, but i think the comparison may be the same for me and Jon.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Race Five 2010
Track B
Installed the new MG Yellow I bought off Benz and qualified 6th.
Before the start of Heat 1, I visualized how I am going to start and I did exactly that, just that it was a false start, the green flag did not drop. On the second try, I bumped into the kart in front just at the last hairpin before the start and finish line and my kart stalled. Since my starter is not working, I was stranded, by the time my kart was started using the external starter, I was already 1 lap behind.
Heat 2, I started from the back and had the best race of my life so far. At the first corner, I was up two position, then I left just enough room for Leo to squeeze through on the right, and found myself trapped between 2 karts, and Leo came in and hit my front right tire, causing me to lose speed and drop 1 position.
After that, it was a blur, I was overtaking karts after karts, and not even knowing who i was overtaking, I was just concentrating very hard on overtaking. Once a space is created, I just went for it, no hesitation at all. Out of 13 racers on that day, I finished the heat 6th. I have already caught up with Jon who is 5th, but found my tires have overheated and just could no longer find the pace to overtake. Setting the kart up with very high tire pressure to have early performance, I am paying for it near the end of the race. Talking to Jon, he is right in a sense, I could have easily overtaken the guys at the back with a less aggressive pressure setting. But its a great experience, just wished I could have overtaken Jon, heehee.
Installed the new MG Yellow I bought off Benz and qualified 6th.
Before the start of Heat 1, I visualized how I am going to start and I did exactly that, just that it was a false start, the green flag did not drop. On the second try, I bumped into the kart in front just at the last hairpin before the start and finish line and my kart stalled. Since my starter is not working, I was stranded, by the time my kart was started using the external starter, I was already 1 lap behind.
Heat 2, I started from the back and had the best race of my life so far. At the first corner, I was up two position, then I left just enough room for Leo to squeeze through on the right, and found myself trapped between 2 karts, and Leo came in and hit my front right tire, causing me to lose speed and drop 1 position.
After that, it was a blur, I was overtaking karts after karts, and not even knowing who i was overtaking, I was just concentrating very hard on overtaking. Once a space is created, I just went for it, no hesitation at all. Out of 13 racers on that day, I finished the heat 6th. I have already caught up with Jon who is 5th, but found my tires have overheated and just could no longer find the pace to overtake. Setting the kart up with very high tire pressure to have early performance, I am paying for it near the end of the race. Talking to Jon, he is right in a sense, I could have easily overtaken the guys at the back with a less aggressive pressure setting. But its a great experience, just wished I could have overtaken Jon, heehee.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
It Rains!
Got my magnetic sensor cable back from a friend, and was really hoping that it works so that I can start to do some practicing. But it did work at all. Louis troubleshoot it and found that the cables are not grounded. Hopefully, it is still a cable issue and not a head unit problem. I really need to know my timing, else practising is quite useless.
Luckily, it rained.
Once the rain stopped and the sun popped out, I was already in my kart and headed straight out. Have not drove in the wet for ages. Really had fun, and only spun once. Maybe I was being too careful with the throttling, braking was find as I was braking earlier to prevent the rear wheels from locking. But with the sun being that strong and puddles of water in most sections, the track turned into a dry, semi-dry and water-logged track. At my corner(180R), you can even see the mist from the evaporating water. Trully appreciate the difficulties in driving in such conditions, with the conditions changing with every single lap.
Front tires was peeling off in this session, once I could not get the front to turn in without wrestling the kart, I decided to stop.
Luckily, it rained.
Once the rain stopped and the sun popped out, I was already in my kart and headed straight out. Have not drove in the wet for ages. Really had fun, and only spun once. Maybe I was being too careful with the throttling, braking was find as I was braking earlier to prevent the rear wheels from locking. But with the sun being that strong and puddles of water in most sections, the track turned into a dry, semi-dry and water-logged track. At my corner(180R), you can even see the mist from the evaporating water. Trully appreciate the difficulties in driving in such conditions, with the conditions changing with every single lap.
Front tires was peeling off in this session, once I could not get the front to turn in without wrestling the kart, I decided to stop.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Impromptu Race
Supposed to be practise day. But turned into a 2 Heats impromtu race of 10 laps each and I dont feel I accomplished much except to get some race craft experience.
First Heat started from pole as it was decided by birthday months. Finished 2nd after being overtaken by Leo and he pulled away easily.
Took out my magnetic sensor cable to see if I can make a new one in SG rather than buy one which is quite expensive.
And the kart cannot be started from the push button. Need to be cranked up. Looks like I would need to spend more $ again.
First Heat started from pole as it was decided by birthday months. Finished 2nd after being overtaken by Leo and he pulled away easily.
Took out my magnetic sensor cable to see if I can make a new one in SG rather than buy one which is quite expensive.
And the kart cannot be started from the push button. Need to be cranked up. Looks like I would need to spend more $ again.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Shrinking Budget
After less than 3 months into the new year. I have already used up a big chunk of my budget.
If you all remember, I broke the clutch in December last year and decided to go for the '09 clutch. That and the cost of installing it took 25% off.
Then I had to replace the chain as it was elongated. That took 2.5% off.
First new set of tires for both races took 12.5% off. The 2nd set of tires I have bought is taking 11.2%.
Thats for a grand total of 58.3%.
And if I add in the miscellaneous like storage, petrol, track fees, race fees etc I have already used up a grand total of 69% !!!
And Karting is acknowledged as the cheapest form of motorsport? I guess when you have the means, somethings are cheap no matter how you look at it.
If you all remember, I broke the clutch in December last year and decided to go for the '09 clutch. That and the cost of installing it took 25% off.
Then I had to replace the chain as it was elongated. That took 2.5% off.
First new set of tires for both races took 12.5% off. The 2nd set of tires I have bought is taking 11.2%.
Thats for a grand total of 58.3%.
And if I add in the miscellaneous like storage, petrol, track fees, race fees etc I have already used up a grand total of 69% !!!
And Karting is acknowledged as the cheapest form of motorsport? I guess when you have the means, somethings are cheap no matter how you look at it.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Race Two 2010
Settings are exactly the same. Just that during Qualifying, tire pressures are pumped high. Higher than what I have used before, but seems to have given me a good time.
Out of the 13 karters, only 2 front runners turned up for this race. James and Leo. And it would seem after Race One and this race, Allan is now running in front with his timing quite close to Leo's.
Prepared the kart by taking off and cleaned the power valve. May have used too coarse a sandpaper to clean it, the scratches are quite deep. Topped up the radiator and found it leaking from the top. May have been damaged by the hit from Allan Smith in Race One. Took it off for Jason to repair but he was too busy with Louis and Leo's kart, that means qualifying is out for me. Graeme heard about my predicament and he loaned me a radiator from his unused engine! Thanks bro!
Interesting Qualifying, went out for my usual 5 laps, came back in and saw I am 5th. Just 0.06 seconds off Jonathan in 4th. But the time was disqualified as i was underweight by 0.1kg! There was still 10 minutes left for Qualifying, I quickly took the prepared petrol from Jonathan's canister and topped up 3 liters and off I went out again. Doing an additional 4 laps with a timing of 53.52, exactly 0.2 seconds off my first timing dropping me to 6th. On reviewing the Qualifying Time sheet. Instead of 5 laps, I did 6! I was sure my fuel was enough even with doing 6 laps, but a lot of factor can contribute to that 0.1kg.
So I qualified with the same time as Graeme! We made a deal, he took the point and I took the position.
Heat 1. DNF!
After 4 laps, my exhaust broke! Luckily (Or unluckily), Jason had a used spare which he said has only been used a few times. That is another chunk off my racing budget for this year.
Heat 2.
Starts from 11th. And guess what, finished the race 4th. That was also due to Graeme, James and Ivan dropping off. Hit my fastest timing of 52.63 seconds on the 5th lap. That goes to show that the kart is able to hit a very good time. Now, its all up to the nut sitting between the steering wheel and the engine to do it consistently.
Out of the 13 karters, only 2 front runners turned up for this race. James and Leo. And it would seem after Race One and this race, Allan is now running in front with his timing quite close to Leo's.
Prepared the kart by taking off and cleaned the power valve. May have used too coarse a sandpaper to clean it, the scratches are quite deep. Topped up the radiator and found it leaking from the top. May have been damaged by the hit from Allan Smith in Race One. Took it off for Jason to repair but he was too busy with Louis and Leo's kart, that means qualifying is out for me. Graeme heard about my predicament and he loaned me a radiator from his unused engine! Thanks bro!
Interesting Qualifying, went out for my usual 5 laps, came back in and saw I am 5th. Just 0.06 seconds off Jonathan in 4th. But the time was disqualified as i was underweight by 0.1kg! There was still 10 minutes left for Qualifying, I quickly took the prepared petrol from Jonathan's canister and topped up 3 liters and off I went out again. Doing an additional 4 laps with a timing of 53.52, exactly 0.2 seconds off my first timing dropping me to 6th. On reviewing the Qualifying Time sheet. Instead of 5 laps, I did 6! I was sure my fuel was enough even with doing 6 laps, but a lot of factor can contribute to that 0.1kg.
So I qualified with the same time as Graeme! We made a deal, he took the point and I took the position.
Heat 1. DNF!
After 4 laps, my exhaust broke! Luckily (Or unluckily), Jason had a used spare which he said has only been used a few times. That is another chunk off my racing budget for this year.
Heat 2.
Starts from 11th. And guess what, finished the race 4th. That was also due to Graeme, James and Ivan dropping off. Hit my fastest timing of 52.63 seconds on the 5th lap. That goes to show that the kart is able to hit a very good time. Now, its all up to the nut sitting between the steering wheel and the engine to do it consistently.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Learning to Drive
Know what? I have been saying this for the better part of 1 year. I have to learn how to drive the kart. The fact is, I don't know how to go about doing it.
Talking to people at the track is not much help.
Trying to find information on the net invariably leads to how to setup your kart instead.
And now, there is a huge problem, I cant find out my time. After the huge shunt last December, my cable for the magnet to the Alfano got ribbed off. Its now with a friend of mine, asked her to find out the cable type and see if she can build a new cable for me.
I was sent a video of me entangling with Tony and Alan hitting me and flying off. But from the video, I saw how I took that corner, and was instantly behind Tony's back. I guess learning to drive now would be learning how to break a corner down into parts.
Entry
Rotation
Apex
Exit
And remembering each and every details of what is happening. In each and every corner.
Talking to people at the track is not much help.
Trying to find information on the net invariably leads to how to setup your kart instead.
And now, there is a huge problem, I cant find out my time. After the huge shunt last December, my cable for the magnet to the Alfano got ribbed off. Its now with a friend of mine, asked her to find out the cable type and see if she can build a new cable for me.
I was sent a video of me entangling with Tony and Alan hitting me and flying off. But from the video, I saw how I took that corner, and was instantly behind Tony's back. I guess learning to drive now would be learning how to break a corner down into parts.
Entry
Rotation
Apex
Exit
And remembering each and every details of what is happening. In each and every corner.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Race One 2010
Track C - Full Track
Qualified 10th.
Heat 1 finished 8th.
Heat 2 finished 6th.
A few top drivers did not attend, so finishing in the points may be due to that.
Only hit below 59sec one time on Heat 1 Lap 4. And kenna hit by Alan Smith in Heat 2 Lap 3 after entangling with Tony. My front left bumper got stucked in his rear right wheel.
Tested with rear sprocket at 80 teeth, but felt the engine really struggling at the end of the long uphill straights. So changed to a 78 as well as a new chain as old one is stretched at certain location. Was "advised" to use a 80 teeth instead for the next race.
Rear Width Track 138.5
Rear Hubs 95mm
Front Hub 90mm
Front Left 10mm spacer
Front Right 10mm spacer
Tires MG Yellow 10psi/0.7bar
Main Jet 165
Front Sprocket 12
Rear Sprocket 78
Qualified 10th.
Heat 1 finished 8th.
Heat 2 finished 6th.
A few top drivers did not attend, so finishing in the points may be due to that.
Only hit below 59sec one time on Heat 1 Lap 4. And kenna hit by Alan Smith in Heat 2 Lap 3 after entangling with Tony. My front left bumper got stucked in his rear right wheel.
Tested with rear sprocket at 80 teeth, but felt the engine really struggling at the end of the long uphill straights. So changed to a 78 as well as a new chain as old one is stretched at certain location. Was "advised" to use a 80 teeth instead for the next race.
Rear Width Track 138.5
Rear Hubs 95mm
Front Hub 90mm
Front Left 10mm spacer
Front Right 10mm spacer
Tires MG Yellow 10psi/0.7bar
Main Jet 165
Front Sprocket 12
Rear Sprocket 78
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Fixing the clutch
First trip in to Plentong for 2010
Got my new 2009 spec clutch delivered from Kartpartsuk. My old clutch was totally shot, had to be welded a few times before I can drive. Not only was the new clutch replaced, Jason also replaced all the fuel line to as he said, original Tony Kart.
Counted the chain used, was a 106 using 80 tooth rear sprocket. Same chain for 78 tooth sprocket. Looks like 106 is the sweet spot for chain now. Darn, I bought a 102 chain.
Adjusted brake position to reduce the lag. Meaning, when I step on the brake, there is less movement before the brakes actually does its work. Hopefully, it will give me a better feel on the brakes.
Adjusted throttle stop positioning as well. After the throttle is all the way down, I felt the cable can still be pulled a little more. So adjusted the stop nut so that the pedal can go down a bit more.
After that, it was just cleaning and cleaning. There is a citrus cleaner from 3M that looks interesting, will try it to see if it can clean out those tires marks.
Anyway, with the new clutch, does not mean its better. There are still a lot of reports on the 2009 spec clutch breaking. Have to re-look into my braking. Maybe the Rotax Max cant allow me to brake so hard like the other engines. Cant have this new clutch breaking on me this year. It took a 25% chunk off my karting budget for 2010.
Next Race. 7th February.
Got my new 2009 spec clutch delivered from Kartpartsuk. My old clutch was totally shot, had to be welded a few times before I can drive. Not only was the new clutch replaced, Jason also replaced all the fuel line to as he said, original Tony Kart.
Counted the chain used, was a 106 using 80 tooth rear sprocket. Same chain for 78 tooth sprocket. Looks like 106 is the sweet spot for chain now. Darn, I bought a 102 chain.
Adjusted brake position to reduce the lag. Meaning, when I step on the brake, there is less movement before the brakes actually does its work. Hopefully, it will give me a better feel on the brakes.
Adjusted throttle stop positioning as well. After the throttle is all the way down, I felt the cable can still be pulled a little more. So adjusted the stop nut so that the pedal can go down a bit more.
After that, it was just cleaning and cleaning. There is a citrus cleaner from 3M that looks interesting, will try it to see if it can clean out those tires marks.
Anyway, with the new clutch, does not mean its better. There are still a lot of reports on the 2009 spec clutch breaking. Have to re-look into my braking. Maybe the Rotax Max cant allow me to brake so hard like the other engines. Cant have this new clutch breaking on me this year. It took a 25% chunk off my karting budget for 2010.
Next Race. 7th February.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)