Are you looking to take your go-karting skills to the next level? If so, then mastering weight transfer is a must. It is a more advanced skill, but it can shave seconds off your lap times when done properly.
What is Weight Transfer
Weight transfer is an advanced techniqe which can impact the cart in four directions: front, back, and then each side of the kart. It is the process of shifting your body weight from one side of the kart to the other or leaning forward or back.
When your weight is shifted to the outside of the kart, it provides more grip and prevents the tires from sliding. This can have a big impact on your handling of turns. Shifting your weight forward or back applies more pressure to either the front or rear tires and can impact acceleration.
Related Motorsport Disciplines
In rally Racing and drifting we typically think about weight transfer from front to back to control the vehicle through a drift. These motorsport disciplines drift the vehicles on purpose to find an efficient line around a turn.
In karting, we don’t want to drift the tires. Sliding tires lose seconds on your lap times. Therefore we want to control your weight to provide the maximum amount of traction. We do that by leaning in specific directions and situations to put more weight and certain tires at certain times.
Why is Weight Transfer Important?
There are two main reasons why it is so important in go-karting.
First, it helps you to maintain traction and avoid sliding out. And second, when done correctly, weight transfer can help you to accelerate faster into the line and get around corners more quickly.
How to Perform Weight Transfer
Weight transfer isn’t something you need to concern yourself with on a straight. It is a technique for cornering.
Mastering the Apex
When cornering, it’s important to keep your weight over the outside or neutral on the kart. This will help you to maintain traction and avoid sliding out. It may seem natural to lean into the apex but don’t. Leaning into turns puts more weight on your inside wheels, which can make it harder to straighten up after a turn.
A slight lean towards the outside tires will provide you with more grip. More grip means less sliding, and less sliding means more control. All of this equates to faster turning.
Turn Exists
When exiting a corner, your goal is to get the tires in a straight line and your foot on the throttle without creating any unnecessary tire spin.
When accelerating on a turn exit, transfer your weight to the rear of the kart – this will give you more grip and help you to go faster. Many new drivers, when accelerating on turn exits tend to lean forward, which lowers the grip and traction in the rear of the kart.
Practice Makes Perfect
As with anything, this is a skill that takes practice to master. But once you’ve got it down, you’ll see a significant difference in your lap times. So get out there and start practicing!
Advanced Weight Transfer Techniques – Conclusion
Weight transfer is an important skill for advanced go-karting. It helps you to maintain traction, avoid sliding out, and accelerate faster. With practice, weight transfer can help you to shave seconds off your lap times. So get out there and start practicing!
