Kart Safety

[philneast]

Tom
thanks for the comments about the kart. But what is an HPV? I am assuming it is a motor.

We run a motor used only in Australia, a Yahama KT100J. It is smilar to the KT100S engines that are common here as Clubmans and are used extensively in the US.

The 'J' has less performance than it's Yamaha sibling and is widely used here as a junior and entry level senior class.

I think our nose cones are the break away CIK type you refer to. Well we certainly get plenty of contact on the rear crash bar with the nose cones. I suppose you could say they are used to let the driver in front know thta there is some one behind wanting to get past.

A saw a recent story from the Rotax Max worlds final wgher Rotax displayed some new kart ideas. One was not to have a full width bumper, but to have rollers mounted on the rear chrash bar preventing wheel to wheel contact. Perhaps a better idea than a full width bumper?

Phil

[yelodwg]

Phil, HPV is a motor made in Italy by I.A.M.E., same company that makes the Parilla Leopard/Jaguar. It is a 100cc spec motor with spec dry clutch. There are 5 (5th one is brand new) different pipe sizes to offer different performance levels. The pipe on your KT sure looked like an HPV pipe!!

From my understanding of a CIK breakaway nose, when you hit the kart in front, it literally breaks away, falling forward to the ground. I think it is still connected. Maybe Superbird can correct me on this. This way, there would be no bumping of the kart in front, as when your nose breaks away, you are DQed.

Do you by any chance have a link to that story for a picture of the new Rotax????

Tom

[Warwick]

people in NZ have tried to make neck supports compulsory for years,however there is no data which supports the idea that they reduce the incidence of neck injury, if there was they would be compulsory tomorrow.

Now how would you do it,have a group wear neck supports and a control group without and monitor for a year?,of course you would then have to do the same trial with the groups the other way around just to make sure.

I think the cik nose is meant to fall off if you contact another kart,you are the not allowed to proceed till the nose is reattached,the idea behind this is it discourages contact as you would lose to much track position.

[philneast]

We certainly don't run break away nose cones. Ours are optional and their main function is to protect the drivers feet. The slope tends to lift other karts up and over the feet. If they come off you just keep racing.

Our pipe is a special control pipe for our class made by an Australain company called Powermac.


The articles and photos were in that old fashioned print medium in KarOz magazine, they do not appear on their web site.

Maybe somebody ut there has a flat bed scanner and a copy of KartOz?

[Warwick]

Yes well that same sloping nose cone helped a mate of mine bury the front of his kart under a fence and break his foot, afer sliding way off the track it acted like a wedge and helped the front of the kart go under a fence,the doctor was quite impressed said he hadn't ever seen anyone do so much damage to a foot before.

[KartingFun]

The breakaway nose in an interesting point. I believe that as many here have said, the idea is that they break away under contact and you have to re-fit before continuing - effectively costing you the race and therefore discouraging contact. What's odd to me is that here in the UK, these noses have to have the clips that attatch them to the guard rail fastened by wire loops or cable ties to prevent them coming off under impact. This makes them pretty difficult to dislodge. Seems their only use is to allow you to cut the cable tie and remove a nose quickly at the end of the day to put all your kit back in the trailer !

[yelodwg]

Sounds like maybe the clips themselves have to be wired on so they don't fall off to the ground as the noses fall off onto the ground. Nose on the ground is OK, but not the clips too???

Tom

[Warwick]

Both nose cone and side pods were made compulsory in all classes in NZ at all permitted meetings,this was to stop the type of incident where two karts run over each others wheels and launch into orbit,not attending any sprint meetings I cant say how well this rule change worked.

[yelodwg]

Warwick, as long as the rear wheels are exposed, the nose won't help if the rear kart's tires run into the front kart's rear tires. But the bodywork will help in general for other incidents.

Tom

[Stephen Green]

Let me poke my nose in for a second on the issue of neck braces. While I agree that being in a kart you are normally thrown clear in the event of an accident, there are occasions when you may have an accident which leaves you unconcious and sitting in the kart. In these circumstances your head falls forward and can often close the windpipe. A neck brace MAY stop that and save your life. I happen to believe that any item of safety or that can make your racing safer should be a serious consideration.

Stephen.

[yelodwg]

Originally posted by Stephen Green
I happen to believe that any item of safety or that can make your racing safer should be a serious consideration.
Stephen.

Stephen, I happen to agree with you. Regarding the neck braces, I actually feel more secure with mine on.

However, the argument that others bring on is where does the safety equipment end, with roll bars and cages? Then we don't have go karts anymore. To me, that WOULD be going too far.

So how does one convince those who have this type of thinking that neck braces and/or wider bumpers are a GOOD thing?

Tom Stephens
www.kartfinder.com

[Stephen Green]

I don't really know Tom. My experience is mainly in car racing as a marshal and I do know of a couple of occasions where neck braces have helped to avoid serious injury. In the end I think it has to come down to personal choice and comfort.

I rather liken it to when we were first forced to wear seat belts in the UK (for road going cars I mean). Initially it felt really restrictive to wear a seat belt, now it feels strange not to wear one.

As for karting, I'm afraid my experiences only run to corporate events which I appreciate isn't quite the same thing in terms of both speed and experience. But given the choice, I would wear a neck brace if I were racing.

[philneast]

Hey Tom (yelodwg)

I came across this article on a Canadian kart site. It has details and pictures of the Rotax kart with the rollers behind the rear wheels.

http://www.srakarting.com/html/text.asp?id=269



Persistance pays off in the long run!

[yelodwg]

Phil, wow, you are persistent!!!! Thanks very much! And I even have SRA Karting listed on my site as the Canadian Rotax chassis importer and even I had not seen the photos!!

I would like to hear some stories as to the workability of the rear wheel rollers. But I guess it's still too new to have the stories trickle down.

Tom Stephens
www.kartfinder.com