"Ackerman steering. People will tell you a LOAD OF TRIPE about this. ALL karts have 'Ackerman Steering' no matter WHAT anyone tells you. What it describes is the effect that the inside FRONT wheel needs to 'point' more sharply than the OUTSIDE front wheel for the reasons given in the 'running track example'. If you had two bikes on a running track, the one of the INSIDE would need to turn the handlebars further to stay in lane than the one on the OUTSIDE lane. That's why your inner wheel turns more sharply than the outside wheel. The 'Ackerman Angle' describes that effect and ALL karts have it to a greater or lesser effect. It's the AMOUNT by which the inner turn more or less that can be adjusted!"
I've got 4 different Ackermann settings on my kart, from pretty well parallel steer to "loads" of Ackermann. I'd be more scientific, but it's all highly non-linear. I've tried all of them now, and it makes more difference to the feel of the kart than it does to lap times. Full Ackermann makes turn-in very sharp, and is **supposed** to encourage lift at the inside rear. As Ian has already said, if the front wheels are straight ahead at the apex, or if there's a bit of opposite lock, no way it's going to happen. Gone back to one of the mid positions for the moment.
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