UK Karting - Notice Board (4-Stroke Karting) : Re: Measuring wheels?

Notice Board (4-Stroke Karting)

Re: Measuring wheels?
Posted by 'itpro' on 26 Feb 2009 @ 14:15

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itproJoined: August 2001
Total Posts: 6
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Karting offers a huge range of wheel sizes, shapes, materials and offsets. None of them are sold for puerly cosmetic reasons (errrr.... except to REALLY silly people...) ! Each type offers different benefits to different karts.

Thus, it CANNOT be answered with a simple statment that 'size and make X will make you faster"!

Karting is NOT like that!

However, as a rule of thumb.... thinner wheels make your tyres work better in cold and wet conditions, wider rims work better in dry warm conditions! Please note... that is NOT (repeat NOT!) always the case!

The concept of amount of offset has two important effects.

1) The more Offset the wheel is, the wider 'track' (width of the kart at the wheels) you can get... up to the maximum legal for your class.

2) Different amounts of offset change the way in which the wheels FLEX (and you thought they were STIFF!!!). The amount of 'flexion' changes the handling.

So... as before, there IS no definitive answer (that I know of!) for the 'right' offset!

.....

Now you might be thinking...

'MY God, I'll NEVER undersaytand all these complexities and so everyone will BEAT me....!'

... however, be assured that NONE of the rest of us understand it EITHER and that means that YOU have the same chance as the REST of us to suddenly find a combination of wheels, offset, tyres, pressures, heat dissipation rates, inflation gas used, etc., etc., to BEATS us!

So... rejoice at the complexity! It gives us ALL a chance!
Ian

Message Thread:

Measuring wheels? by 'rdbush' (26 Feb 2009 @ 8:15)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'rdbush' (26 Feb 2009 @ 9:59)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'KevinW' (26 Feb 2009 @ 10:19)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'rdbush' (26 Feb 2009 @ 10:33)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'itpro' << You are here!

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'rdbush' (26 Feb 2009 @ 14:27)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'stevenw' (26 Feb 2009 @ 23:20)

Its all a matter of preference .... by 'Chad' (27 Feb 2009 @ 0:01)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'rdbush' (27 Feb 2009 @ 0:10)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'itpro' (27 Feb 2009 @ 1:12)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'KevinW' (27 Feb 2009 @ 9:11)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'stevenw' (27 Feb 2009 @ 18:24)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'rdbush' (27 Feb 2009 @ 22:33)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'itpro' (03 Mar 2009 @ 2:23)

Re: Measuring wheels? by 'rdbush' (27 Feb 2009 @ 9:43)

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