Part 3 - Performance Tuning
By Mike "IRONMAN" North (ubrew@webhart.net)I had lots of time to write this final article in the current series as I was recovering in hospital for the treatment of petrol ingestion. I blame the neighbours for using cheap gas.
Anyway, this time I’d like to cover basic performance tuning. It’s well known that the most significant increases in performance come from applying the right go faster stickers. My son proved this beyond any doubt over the last 2 seasons . Year 2000, running without any stickers Dave finished 7th in the championship, while in 2001- same kart, same engine, but sporting U-Brew stickers he finished 2nd. Who could argue against such conclusive evidence? Which stickers to use? Extensive wind tunnel and dynamometer testing over the winter yielded the results you might expect.
Obviously U-Brew were the best, but KDM had good results, especially when combined with their snazzy ball cap. Ferrari good, McLaren bad. Formula 1 good, NASCAR - don’t even think about it. Some number stickers like those containing zeros actually showed a performance decrease.
Now for the application. You’ll know by now to start with your ¾ combination wrench . Prepare the surface where you want the sticker by giving it a good rub down with an oily rag. A good source of oil can often be your neighbour’s garden. Next, remove the backing paper and put the sticker face down somewhere to allow the glue to marinate. Take a good long pull. Oh-oh, the sticker’s stuck to your ham sandwich. Well that’s ok, the mustard will help it to adhere more better, probably.
Apply the sticker to your chassis and smooth out the wrinkles with your scrim bar. Don’t worry if you accidentally got the sticker upside down, this is an old mechanics trick to make it easier to read for some competitors who spend more time inverted on the track than right side up.
Well, another job done. If you’ve followed my advice this far you should probably spend some time composing your trophy acceptance speech in time for the annual awards banquet, also practise your joined-up writing for autographs.