Owner`s manual

HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE
FRONT STUB AXLES
PROBLEM: “The front understeers on entry to 180° turns”
Solution: Raise the front ride height i.e. lower
the front stub axles in the chassis by one spacer
at a time
PROBLEM: “The front understeers from the middle
to the exit of fast turns”
Solution: Lower the front ride height i.e. raise the
front stub axles in the chassis by one spacer at
a time.
Why?
Height adjustable front stub axles are an aid to achieving that ‘perfect’ kart set-up. What is being
achieved when the front stub axles are lowered or raised is raising and moving back or lowering and
moving forward the kart’s “centre of gravity” (c.o.g.).
When you lower the stubs in the frame you raise the kart’s front ride height. This raises the karts
c.o.g. as well as moving it further back. The effect on the kart will be to make it a little slower with
its immediate reaction on initial steering wheel input but from then on in the front will have more
grip into a corner’s apex. The effect of having moved the c.o.g. back will be to create more rear end
grip throughout the whole corner as well as making the rear of the kart sit flatter, especially from the
corner’s apex.
Be careful not to go too far when raising the front ride height. You might start feeling that your engine
is ‘going off’, losing mid-range pull out of the turns however the kart itself feels great. Wrong! What
is actually happening is that by going too high with the front ride height, the c.o.g. has been moved
too far back and is now making the kart sit too flat through the corner. By doing so, the kart is not
allowing any ‘chassis jacking’ or ‘differential effect’ i.e. not allowing the inside (unloaded) back wheel
to lift off the track through the corner’s apex, pulling the engine down as it tries to drive both the back
tyres which are mounted on a fixed axle yet are each trying to go through the corner at a different arc
to one other.
NOTE: By raising the stub axle in the chassis you lower the kart’s front ride height achieving
the reverse of the above.
At least one spacer must always remain above and below the stub axle.
HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE FRONT STUB AXLES 15