Troubleshooting guide

Oversteer: A tendency for the rear of the kart to slide outward at corner entry or mid-corner. It’s

important to understand this tendency must be occurring as the kart enters the corner, not on corner

exit when application of power can cause “power induced oversteer”.

Power Induced Oversteer: A tendency for the rear of the kart to slide outward at corner exit, under

hard power application. Steady state throttle should not upset the chassis balance.

Push/Kick: Occurs near the apex of the turn as the kart transitions from brakes to application of

throttle. The kart rear kicks out suddenly at the apex.

Pyrometer: A device used to measure the temperature of the tread of a kart tire, upon returning to the

pits.

Rear Track: The overall measured width of the rear, taken from the outside edges of the rear tires.

Ride Height: The distance of the kart chassis from the track surface.

Road Race (Enduro) Track: Normally a winding track that is over a mile in length and typically also

used for automobile racing.

Seat Strut: A brace mounted between the seat back and the bearing carrier to add chassis stiffness to

the rear of the kart chassis.

Shifter Kart: A kart with a gearbox (normally six-speeds) and a manual clutch. Most shifter karts have

an 80 or 125cc two stroke engines.

Side Bite: lateral adhesion between the kart tires and the track surface.

Slick Tires: Tires without tread to be used on a dry track.

Spindle Bolt: The pin on which the individual front wheel spindle pivots.

Sprint Track: A track, normally between ½ and ¾ miles in length, intended primarily for kart racing.

Torsion Bar: Used to add or reduce chassis stiffness by adding reinforcement to the kart frame.

Tire Compound: The degree of relative hardness (or softness) of a tire, influencing both adhesion and

durability.

Toe: In - The condition of front-end alignment when the front edges of the tires are closer to each other

than the rear edges. Out - The condition of front-end alignment when the rear edges of the tires are

closer to each other than the front edges.

Understeer: The kart will not turn into the corner due to a lack of front end grip. Also known as “push”.

Weight Distribution: The percentage of total weight on each tire or half of the kart.

Wet Tires: Soft compound tires with full tread to be used under wet track or rain conditions.

Wheel Spacer: A metal ring that slides over the front axle to change the front width of the kart.