Running a solid rear axle

[Superfumi]

Has anybody has success running a solid rear axle. At the comp this year, our torson locked up totally so we were effectively running a solid rear axle. The car handled great. I know in general a solid rear axle will pronounce the understeer in the car, but this could be designed for. What experience have people had with this?

[Superfumi]

Has anybody has success running a solid rear axle. At the comp this year, our torson locked up totally so we were effectively running a solid rear axle. The car handled great. I know in general a solid rear axle will pronounce the understeer in the car, but this could be designed for. What experience have people had with this?

[awhittle]

I would have blasted this idea untill last year when I raced a shifter kart. The solid diff is not a problem as long as you have plenty of rear roll stiffness to help unload the inside rear tire and then learn to run the $%^#& out of the car. The harder you drive...the better the car feels.

Hope this helps

AW

[Bavarian Motorsport]

I agree to the statement about the harder you drive, the better it feels. The first couple laps I took in a shifter last year were sketchy, and it took a solid 20-30 laps before I gained some confidence to dive into a tight turn at say 80mph. My friends who track I was racing at was giving me some tips on how to drive his kart, and all shifters for that matter (but moreso on how his was setup). Basically the way it works when you accelerate through the turn it pushes the kart into the ground, making for some serious lateral G's (2.5+ for sure, rip breaking!). So Once I figured this out and got confidence, its amazing how hard you can push wiht full traction... but its a little scary when doing 80 or so through a turn ful throttle in 4th http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[James Waltman]

Superfumi,
Do you mean solid rear axle or spool?

James Waltman
waltmaj@cc.wwu.edu
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/
Formula SAE
Vehicle Research Institute at
Western Washington University

[Superfumi]

So the rear shafts are still independent. Sorry for the confusion