NATIONAL KART NEWS APRIL 2009 800-942-0033 WWW.NKN.

COM 22
STORY TITLE
KARTING
PHYsICS 101
By Mike Unger
THERE ARE 3 BASIC
LAWS THAT ALL
OBJECTS, NO MATTER
WHAT SIZE OR SHAPE,
4 CYCLE OR 2 CYCLE,
EUROPEAN BUILT
OR AMERICAN BUILT,
30MM OR 32 MM,
MUST WITHOUT ANY
HESITATION, FOLLOW.
THIS IS A SIMPLE
FACT.
Below: The forces
acting on a kart are
extreme and not
intuitive. Look at
the distortion on the
right rear of this kart
in a left hand turn.
Karting is physical but karting is also about physics.
Understanding the basics will help you go faster
I recently received a comment from one of our
readers asking NKN to explain some of the karting
topics we write about in more technical depth. Of
course even if you are a beginner you should know
that while it seems a kart is a simple machine the
physics involved and the how and why a kart does
what it does is anything but easy to understand
or explain. That being the case I do believe that
understanding the basic laws of physics acting
on a kart is beneficial to everyone. So with that
in mind, I will do my very best to explain one of
the most fundamental concepts so everyone can
understand.
Before we start talking about the physics of
karting, we have to talk about Newtons Three Laws
of Motion. These are 3 basic laws that all objects,
no matter what size or shape, 4 cycle or 2 cycle,
European built or American built, 30mm or 32 mm,
must without any hesitation, follow. This is a simple
fact.
Newtons First Law is often called Newtons
Law of Inertia. It states that an object at rest or in
steady motion will remain at rest or in steady motion
unless acted on it by another external force. Simply
put, if an object is sitting still in order to make it
move an external force must be applied to it to make
it move. If an object is moving at a constant speed,
a force must be applied to it in order to make it slow
down.
Newtons Second Law of Motion is often called
the law of momentum. It states that the force acting
on an object is proportional to the mass of the
object multiplied by the objects acceleration. Force
equals Mass times acceleration, F=ma.
Newtons Third Laws of Motion states that
when a particle exerts a force on another particle,
the opposing particle exerts an equal and opposite
force. More simply, for every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction. Put your hand against a brick
wall and push. As long as the wall doesnt move the
force you feel is equal to the force you are applying.
For a kart this means if acceleration is zero the
force being applied to the kart it is equal to the
forces trying to resist it.
Got all of that? Yeah, I know it sounds
complicated but if you can understand these basic
laws and how they apply to your kart, tuning your
kart will make more sense. Lets first talk about just
going straight. Imagine yourself at the start of a 100
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NATIONAL KART NEWS APRIL 2009 800-942-0033 WWW.NKN.COM 23
F] = O
Force (RTFj + Front Tire Force (FTFj = weight (wKj K
FX = O
l Acceleration (RFj = left Tire 0rip (L
T0
j + Right Tire 0rip (8
T0
j
8
TTT0
88|ght ht TT|re re
0rr|p
re 88|ght ht TT|re re we we|ght ht
8
TTTTw
Track w Tr Tra raack w|d ck ww|dth dt th
T
ww
wK
we we|ght ht
00 00 00 00
H
ter of 0e 0ent nteer o ter oof
av|ty av 0ra rav ty avv|t |ty ty
ggg He|ght ht ht
0enter 0f
0rav|ty
00
Aerodynam|c
Fr|ct|on
Nechan|ca|
Fr|ct|on
z
y
+
+
8ear T|re
Force
8ear T|re we|ght
8
Tw
Front T|re we|ght
F
Tw
8
TF
w
K

we|ght
(8
F
} 8eactant Force = Nass x Acce|erat|on
F
Z
= O
Rear Tire Force (R
TF
j = Reactant Force (R
F
j

Torque at the wheel (T
w
j / Radius of the wheel (R
w
j =
Nass of the Kart (N
K
j x Acceleration of the Kart (Aj +
Aerod]namic Friction + Nechanical Friction
F
X
= O
weight of the Kart (w
K
j =
weight on Rear Tires (8
Tw
j + weight on Front Tires (F
Tw
j
Figure 1
Figure 2
4 cycle or 2 cycle, laydown or situp all objects
must follow the basic laws of x2.
Above: You are accelerating down
the straight - the faster you
go the more aerodynamics
pays a part.
mile long straight at a stop with the engine running.
You apply a small amount of throttle and the kart starts
to move. The kart will accelerate until it reaches a
speed at which the force being generated by the engine
working though the chain, sprockets and tires equals
the external forces acting on the kart as a whole. This
is Newtons 3rd Law.
What are those forces? They are aerodynamic and
mechanical forces. Aerodynamic force, in simple terms,
is the friction caused by the air passing over every
part of the kart. This friction is exponential to the
velocity of the kart. That means that the effect of the
aerodynamic force acting on a kart at 10mph is 100
times greater than acting on the same kart at 1mph.
This is why aerodynamics is so important in racing. For
sprint karts, where the speeds rarely get above 60mph,
aerodynamics are not as important as it is for enduro
karts traveling at 100mph.
Mechanical drag is the friction caused by the
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NATIONAL KART NEWS APRIL 2009 800-942-0033 WWW.NKN.COM 24
Figure 3
bearings, chain, sprockets, and tires. These forces are directly
proportional to the velocity of the object. The faster the
object goes mechanical friction goes up a linear amount.
At lower speeds around 40mph or so, mechanical drag
is the dominant resistant force, at high speeds above 70
mph aerodynamic forces are the dominant resistant force.
In between those speeds the 2 forces are equally
important and depend on your particular kart.
So here we are applying a small amount
of throttle accelerating up until the kart will
not accelerate anymore. The point when the
speed is not increasing anymore is called
steady state. At this point is where Newtons
laws become clear. The force generated by the
engine is equal to the aerodynamic and mechanical forces opposing the kart. In
order to accelerate to a higher speed, an external force greater than the opposing
forces must be applied to the kart. Since we have only applied a small amount of
throttle, more force can be applied by pushing the accelerator pedal more. The
engine will make more power, the chain and sprockets will apply more torque to
the axle the axle and tire will translate that torque into a force that will act on the
road. Since the force being applied to the road is greater than the aerodynamic
and mechanical forces acting against it the karts speed will increase. As the
kart accelerates the mechanical and aerodynamic forces will increase with
the speed of the kart. At some point the force being applied by the engine will
equal the mechanical and aerodynamic forces. This is when the kart will stop
accelerating and reach its maximum velocity.
Now with that all understood lets
think about how to increase this karts top
speed. Here we are on our super long
straight trying to go a little faster. Gearing
is critical here. Since most all engines
reach some maximum horsepower
peak before they actually stop
revving it is important to look
at the dyno curve of your
engine. If you are
at max speed at
15,500 rpm but
your engi ne
makes best
Notice the lateral tire forces acting
on the right rear tire in this picture.
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IF YOU ARE RACING SPRINT
KARTS I DONT RECOMMEND
YOU MESS WITH BODYWORK
CHANGES. THE COST IS
TOO HIGH AND THE BENEFIT
IS TOO LOW. SAVE YOUR
MONEY FOR TIRES.
Notice the inside rear tire barely touches the
ground. This is necessary for a kart to turn.
power at 15,000 rpm you are giving up speed
because you are not using all of the power available
to you. In this case dropping a couple teeth will
increase your speed. The opposite is also true. If
you are not reaching the max horsepower peak of
your engine before the kart stops accelerating you
need to increase the number of teeth on the rear
sprocket.
Other things to consider while on this long
straight is improving aerodynamics, a matter of
bodywork shapes. If you are racing sprint karts I
dont recommend you mess with bodywork changes.
The cost is too high and the benefit is too low. Save
your money for tires. On the other hand if you are
racing enduro karts with open bodywork rules pay
careful attention to your karts bodywork. Keep
edges from flapping in the wind and try to close up
all the gaps as tight as possible. Since nobody that
I know of has the money to test a kart in a wind
tunnel pay careful attention to what bodywork the
winning karts have, especially if that winning kart
doesnt have the most powerful engine.
The other way to increase your top speed is
to reduce mechanical drag. Things that contribute
to mechanical drag are bearings, chain, and tires.
Bearings should be taken care of and be in good
running order at all times. If they sound like a coffee
grinder, they need to be cleaned or replaced. Your
chain and sprockets also need special care and
attention. Chains wear out over time and a worn
chain will tend to have tight and loose sections in it.
A good chain lube is also important here. Lube your
chain every time the kart goes out and pay careful
attention to how freely the rear wheels spin when
the kart comes off the track. You will need a good
sticky chain lube that will not sling off over the
course of a race. At the end of a race when
the chain is hot it should spin smoothly with
the sprockets. If it doesnt your chain lube
isnt doing its job. Sprockets
wear out over time as well
and can cause
excessive drag.
Keep an eye
on them and
replace when
n e c e s s a r y .
Ti r es al so
c o n t r i b u t e
mechanical running resistance as well, the softer
the rubber the higher the drag in general. The same
is true for tire pressure. Higher pressures tend to
have less drag. But before you go increasing your
pressures and changing to hard tires remember we
are just talking about going down a 100 mile long
straight with no turning involved. Read on to get the
whole story.
Since we dont race our karts on a 100 mile
long straight piece of asphalt the previous several
paragraphs only tell half of the story. Now you need
to go around a turn. For this exercise, imagine you
are in the middle of a medium radius right hand
turn at around 35mph. You are applying the throttle
but only enough to maintain speed, the steering
wheel in turned and the kart is not understeering or
oversteering. The setup is perfect.
OK, what does Newton say about this situation
and what can we learn from it? Well just like the
long straight when you are in the turn and things are
at steady state all the forces acting on the kart have
to balance out. That is, they are equal and opposite.
So what forces are we talking about? The weight
of the kart works though the Center of Gravity and
acts straight down to the track surface. Its equal
and opposite force is the right and left tire force
pushing up on the tires. The lateral forces acting
on the kart are the reactant forces acting though
the Center of Gravity and the Tire Grip force acting
at the point at which the tire touches the road. The
reactant force acting through the CG is trying to
push the kart the opposite direction of the turn.
This force is the mass of the kart times the lateral
G of the kart at any given time. The Tire Grip Force
is the equal and opposite force keeping the kart on
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IN THE MIDDLE A RIGHT HAND
TURN, THE LEFT TIRE GRIP
FORCE WILL BE THE WEIGHT ON
THE LEFT TIRE (MOST OF THE
WEIGHT OF THE KART) TIMES THE
COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION, 2.0.
the racing line. If these 2 forces are equal the kart
maintains the line, if they are not the kart goes off
line depending on which group of forces win the
battle.
A closer look at the forces is shown in the
exaggerated view of the rear of the kart. Notice that
the inside rear tire of the kart is off the ground in
the middle of a turn. This is a typical characteristic
of a kart and is necessary if it will go around a turn.
This is because of the karts solid rear axle. In order
to go around a turn, one of the tires must slip and
allow the other to turn or pivot around the other.
Karts are designed with a large amount of caster
(usually around 15 degrees) that mechanically lifts
the inside rear tire off the ground as you turn the
steering wheel initiating the turn. After the tire is off
the ground, the turn occurs.
During the turn, the dominant force is the
outside tire grip force. Tire grip is defined as the
Normal Load (or actual weight on a given object)
times the coefficient of friction. When dealing with
deformable materials like rubber that can press into
all the nooks and crannies of asphalt or concrete
surface this coefficient can often exceed 2.0. I have
personally measured the lateral G on a number of
karts in excess of 2.0 a number of times. In the
middle a right hand turn, the Left Tire Grip Force will
be the weight on the Left Tire (most of the weight
of the kart) times the coefficient of friction, 2.0. For
that reason in our model the Left Tire Grip is the
dominate for acting on the rear of the kart. With that
in mind the Left rear tire will distort and the rear
axle will bend in the exaggerated view shown.
A couple things you can learn from this
simplistic view. First of all you need to realize that
since the forces are acting though the Center of
Gravity. The CG is somewhere between the drivers
hips and shoulders the seat plays an integral part of
the chassis. The stiffness of the seat and seat struts
is as important as any other part of the chassis. The
second thing to consider is the way at which the tire
and axle deflects under load. Since the dominate
force is coming from the force acting 90 degrees to
the tire the wheel and tire will tend to tilt outward
somewhat, basically adding positive camber to
the outside wheel. This again points out why the
stiffness of the axle and even wheels are used as
tuning tools. A stiffer axle will tend to keep the tire
flatter relative to the track giving it more chance to
press into those nooks and crannies in the asphalt.
Stiffer wheels will have a similar effect.
The other thing to recognize is how the rear tire
deforms. Notice how it deforms into the center of
the kart and its innermost radius grows slightly. This
explains why the inner edge of rear tires on karts
wear faster than the rest of the tire. Tire pressure
will affect how much the tire deforms and the shape
of that deformation. Too much pressure and the tire
doesnt sink into the nooks and crannies of the road
and you lose grip. Too little pressure and the tire
deforms so much that the deformation becomes
unstable and will affect handling and response. You
can also image that the inner construction of the
tire will have a huge impact on the shape of the tire
under load. A tire with a stiff sidewall will behave
much differently that one with a soft sidewall. This
is why each tire design has its own sweet spot for
tire pressure.
Another thing that becomes clear when looking
at this situation. If you lower the Center or gravity in
order to get the same balance of forces as before
you need to narrow the rear track width. Lowering
the CG will reduce the amount of weight transfer
to the rear tires. This explains why karts with very
low laid back seats tend to run much narrower rear
track widths than karts with the seat more upright.
Now you have all of that? Newtons 3 laws of
motion and a little bit of reality of karts all sprinkled
in. You need to be aware of all the forces and
balance them in order to go fast. If you are racing
super long straights you pay most attention to the
forces acting along the length of the kart. If you are
racing on super twisty curves you need to pay more
attention to the forces acting on the side of the kart.
If you are like most of us we need to pay attention
to both and carefully find that magical balance. That
is what makes racing so challenging.
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