De-Mystifying Ackerman Steering
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- Опубликовано: 17 авг 2022
- Like many club racers, I have heard about Ackerman Steering for years but really never understood it and understood how it can me on the track even less. So, I took a bit of a deep dive into the subject and thought I would share this information with Begin Again viewers in the hope that maybe this will help you in your on-track performance. As always, would love to hear your comments below!
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My left ear is loving this.
I've been fascinated by this for Three years (new kart owner 50+). Took me Three years just to get enough steering input (OTK4) at speed to begin lifting the Rear inside wheel. It's unbelievable how steep the learning curve is and how the Kart laughs at you when you think you're at the max.
It is always amazing to me how much there is to learn about something that is so seemingly simple like a racing kart! Of course, we both know it is deceptively complicated, you change one area of the kart and suddenly you impact another area as well. I made some very fundamental changes recently (I moved the seat forward) and instantly, the chassis became more tunable and it reacts to small changes whereas before, it would take a very big change to make an impact. The point of my story is that moving more weight on the front end of the kart actually made the kart more front end positive, and it was really "nervous", so I took Ackerman out of it and it instantly settled down and became much easier to drive...just like it is supposed to! Thanks for watching and best of luck!
This is by FAR the best video describing what the Ackermann adjustments do. Please make more karting videos. I am subscribing!
Hello Ty, thank you for watching, subscribing and for the very kind words! I am so glad that you have found this video helpful. One thing that I would say to you is that since that video was made, I have played around with the various Ackerman settings and have learned that sometimes the kart can be handling really well but the front end is super nervous and almost "darty". When that happens, I have taken Ackerman out and such a seemingly small change made a huge difference in improving the driveability of the kart. It's amazing how big of a difference that makes...can't say that I saw any change in lap time but it sure did make it easier to drive. Might be worth giving that a try, would love to hear any feedback that you might have!
Great info!
Amazing video precise info. Thsnk you
Hey @steveboisvert, thanks for the very kind words, I am so glad you found this useful! I am currently working on a 3 part series around seat placement and there will definitely be a mention to Ackerman steering as it seems like there is some linkage between the two in that when you move the seat, you can significantly affect the handling and therefore, Ackerman may be called upon to really dial the handling in. With this video, we are starting to get more into the "art vs science" part of how to tune a kart, so I am probably opening myself up for a lot of comments, but that's OK, conversations like this are usually very helpful. Thanks for watching!
Great video and even better information! This is an area where my engineer and I tend to have the most disagreement.
Thanks for the very kind words! The best thing that I can suggest to you is that you take an afternoon and go out to the track just to try out the various Ackerman setting on your particular chassis. I would go out and get the kart handling well first (via the usual tools like tire pressures, track width, etc), and then I would try out the various Ackman positions, take notes on what the kart felt like when you made changes, did you go faster or slower, is the track rubbered in or not, etc. That will take some of the guesswork out and you will definitely both have a better handle on what is going on with Ackerman. Hope that helps, let me know what you learn!
@@RKSiler , To be sure, unfortunately, right now we are in a holding pattern on everything until we close on our house and get back to the US. Kart is still sitting in the showroom at Comet!
@@avantigpracingdevelopmet6467 , yeah, that would set up a bit of chink in the armor, huh? Hope you are able to get on track soon, the guys at Comet are outstanding, I have done business with them for years. Good luck on the sale of your house!
Great video and I've always been a Bobby Rahal fan way back to Formula Atlantic...
I was lucky enough to pitch a very small sponsorship deal with Bobby in the early 2000's when he was managing Danica Patrick's career. She was racing in Formula Atlantic at the time, and unfortunately the sponsor I was pitching backed out at the last second, and 9 months later Danica became the first woman to lead the Indy 500 and wound up on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I called the President of the company that pulled out the deal and asked if he felt like a complete idiot. To his credit, he admitted that he had made a huge mistake (small consolation). That said, it was very cool to hang out with Bobby over the course of a weekend, he treated me very kindly.
Great post as always! I started karting in the shifter category this year and this will help a lot on race days as another tuning tool for me to try out.
Hi Christian, thank you for the kind words! I am still learning about Ackerman and how it helps to tune the chassis, there is definitely an interplay between Caster, Ackerman and track width depending upon how much grip the track has, tires, etc. and to be totally honest, I am still trying to understand what the secret sauce is for the various track conditions. Would love to hear about your experiences as we figure this out!
@@RKSiler Honestly I haven't done almost any tuning yet in the few race days I've been to, mainly bc of carburation issues/reeds. But of course if anything sticks out to you in particular as a good combination considering the track you can let me know. I'll keep you posted as well!
@@ChristianM23 Sounds like a plan! BTW: you have probably already done this stuff, but in addition to checking out your carb and reeds, be sure to check your fuel pump and change your fuel filter. Seems really basic but a clogged fuel filter bit me one time. Now I change it out on a regular basis.
@@RKSiler I'll remember to check that as well. I haven't messed with the fuel pump yet. Thanks!
So advanced from the karts we raced in 1960, where the king pin (pivot) was made as close to the wheel as possible. Today the wheel is quite distant from the king pin and moves in a long arc which can be tuned to raise or lower the wheel as it turns. At 76yo I still follow karting.
Welcome to the Begin Again channel and thanks for your comments! I started karting in 1972 when I was 14, and my first kart was an old Alakart with a Mc 91B on it...and yes, very primitive compared to what I am driving today...If I could have shared with my 14 year old self what I would be driving in my mid-60's, I don't think I would have believed it. If you are interested, check out my series on Finding the Perfect Seat Position...I got to try out some pretty cool technology to adjust seat position, just another tuning device that would have been unthinkable back in the day. Thanks again for watching!
I have chatted with you before, I'm new to Karting and appreciate the TIP!!!
Hi Richard, how are you? Are you having a good season?
@@RKSiler I haven't started yet been restricted due to bad hips... they have been replaced now gotta get back in shape so next spring is my goal! How's your season???
@@richardlemasters9684 This year has been...interesting! With the massive heat wave we have had here in North Texas, not many of us want to venture out for a full day in the heat, so many of us have been running just for practice early on Saturday mornings. The heat wave broke about a week ago, and there was supposed to be a race today, but naturally it got postponed due to rain (never fails, right?). So, I will be racing next Sunday, which is fine, my kart is locked and loaded, so all good. BTW: I am in post-production with a video called "Getting In Shape For Speeding", and I have a highly qualified fitness coach in the video who has lots of good info for us racers. Looking forward to sharing it with you and all the viewers of Begin Again!
I'm learning,good info,no cart yet
I'm liking the new intro/outro!
Nice looking, fresh ROK motor, btw.
Do you have to balance it out, or average the "steering tune" based on the distribution of the turn mix on a given track ( meaning number of big radius turns, number of small radius turns, length of turn, etc )? Or, is it trial and error? Great video again, thanks for sharing. Good luck on the 21st by the way!
Thanks, I really enjoy what is essentially a new ride!
Hi in your intro montage, I saw you raced in Vegas. Do you live here? I've been wanting to get into karting here in Vegas but the only things around are those dumb tourist go karts. I don't think there's a club or local track or anything. Do you have any suggestions how I can get into it here and where to race?
if you change the ackerman at the bolt hole on steering shaft do you have to reset you toe in/out.
I do a quick check of the alignment on my kart and it is sometimes changed from a toe perspective; I would expect that the toe would change every time that you move the tie rods but that has not always been the case for me (I wish I could tell you why but in my experience, it doesn't always change). As a result, I always check it in case the toe has changed.
Does it create more inside wheel lift than adding caster? Or is it more of a fine tuning after you set caster where you like it? Havnt tried playing with that in a very long time! Loll
Hello and thanks for watching! You know, that is a great question! My gut tells me it is more of a fine tuning mechanism than something that will make a big change. That said, you make an excellent point and so there is only one way to find out, and that is by experimenting. Hmmmm....sounds like an idea of another video! Thanks so much, let me figure out how to make a story out that and we'll shoot it and then we will both know! Thanks again!