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Tuesday, 28 December 2010 21:19 |
Flat track quad racing takes place on ovals and TT (left and right hand turns plus a few smaller jumps). The setup of your quad can amount to about 60%. If you can't handle and get traction, it will be tough to win races. That being said here are a list things you need to race flat track quads along with additional mods to add later on.
In District 23, AMA and any sanctioned ATV race you need a tether switch and nerfs bars to race. Next would be numbers and number plates. You need a plate on the front bumper and rear grab bar plus numbers on your rear fenders and front hood. Without these items, you would not be legal to race in competition.
Now that we have those items next would be a set of flat track tires and wheels. The choices in tires are limited to American Racer and Hoosier. Typical tire sizes are 18x6x10 for the front and 18x10x10 for the rear. Wheel choices include Douglas and ITP for aftermarket. Some OEM front wheels could be used but are generally a little heavy. A wheel thickness of .160" or above is best for strength and safety. Wheels sizes are generally 10x5 for the front and can come in different offsets including 4+1 and 3+2. A 3+2 offset is the same offset as an OEM wheel. A 4+1 wheel would be an inch narrower than that. Rear wheel sizes are 10x10 and sometimes 10x9. A 10x8-rear wheel is tougher to use because it causes too much tire rollover. Next would be choosing a compound for your tires. American Racer offers compounds ranging from a SD-23 (softest) to a SD-44 (hardest). Hoosier compounds depend on the model of tire chosen. For Tri-Trac type tires compounds are T10 (softest) to T30 (hardest). New style block pattern Hoosiers range from a D10 (softest) to a D35 (hardest). For an amateur rider a good starting point would be a SD-33 compound front and rear for American Racers and a T20, D10 front and D15 rear for Hoosiers. Air pressure is next and depends on track conditions. A good starting point would be 8psi in the front and 6psi in the rear.
The next, and possibly best addition to your quad, is a sway bar. The function of the sway bar is to keep all the wheels planted on the track for optimum traction. Commonly used brands include Lonestar Racing. Sway bar setup is determined by track conditions. Consult the manufacturer for setup and installation details.
Those are the basic modifications needed to make a quad ready for flat track racing. Now we can talk about more extensive modifications.
Suspension; Lowering your quad's suspension will greatly improve the handling. Either this can be accomplished with aftermarket lower kits or lowered shocks made for flat track racing. Next would be an adjustable axle and wider a-arms. Both will help tune your quad to track conditions and improve handling.
Engine modifications would be last. For a 4 stroke, a pipe is the biggest mod you can make on an engine. The same goes for a 2 stroke. Next would be things like a cam (4 stroke), porting, high compression piston and aftermarket ignition.
Flat track racing has lot to do with handling and being able to adapt to changing track conditions.
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