Oval track setup tips needed

[SixthFloorFreak]

Recently, a local stock car dirt track(1/4 mile, slightly banked) has been allowing quads to race. They are shut down for the winter now, which gives me some time to buy some parts to hit it with a bang next season. The only problem is...what parts?

I think i've decided on a set of a-arms...+3, +1 Housers. My 250r already has Elka triples on the front with ZPS so i can bring the ride height down pretty good. The rear is an Elka rebuild.

What about tires? The track isn't smooth at all, so i don't think normal flat track tires will work but i may be wrong. I was thinking about getting grooved mx radials for the front, which could serve a dual purpose since i could run them around the house for play riding. I am undecided on the rears, so any advice you guys could give would be very much appreciated...regarding size, tread type, etc...

Sorry for the novel, but thanks in advance to anyone who reads it all and offers their advice.

[dirtmomma]

WEllllll as for tires I run the grooved radials flattrackin & they work good on all the tracks I ride, as for rears, we run both turf tamers & class C tires depending on track conditions! It sounds like you'd be ok running some tamers, w/ an R if it's pumped up good then you probably won't get traction w/ American Racers/Hoosiers unless you have them grooved right but I still think it's iffy. my brother has an insane R & tried to run AR on a outdoor track & of the start all he did was sit & spin!! Now I run a Duro(Dennis Kirk) flattrack tire they look like a Hoosier but have more of a bite to them, they might work for ya, I really think you'd be better off w/ the tamers though ;)
Now to keep it's *** end down & stuck to the track you may want to get a sway bar some people say they are a MUST but we dont' have them on our quads & my son took the blaster class championship last season, one thing w/ running outdoors there are WAY more rutts probably so this will help ALOT I did run one on mine for a few races last season & WOW I couldnt' beleive the difference it just stuck to the track!! I think we wil be running one on both quad this winter if we get them done before the season starts LOL
Now go out & have fun hope I haven't rambled on too long LOL ;)

[iceracer65]

dirtmomma hit the nail on the head. also a shorter swingarm will help...-1" or 2". if the track has loose dirt on it you can groove the american racers to work really well...they are very light and will be easier to turn. (like bolting on horse power). a sway bar is a must, but you can screw around with front shock preloads to keep the front end from rolling over.i'm sure you also have an aftermarket axle w/ width adjustability...this is a common and fairly easy adustment that has good results.

[SixthFloorFreak]

what exactly is the purpose of a sway bar? i know this is a very noobish question, but i've never seen a solid explanation of what they do

also, what size rear tire should i try starting out...18 or 20? i know its kinda a shot in the dark for you guys trying to give advice, but i just need some kinda guidance. my gut tells me to try the 18"s first, and if i need more top, just mess with the gearing. but that is just an assumption on my part

one more thing...reducing unsprung weight is a good thing right. i'm thinking about going for the whole light weight wheels and tires. like a set of Hipers in the front and .125's in the rear(can't afford two sets of Hipers lol)

[dirtmomma]

WEll someone else can probably explain the sway bar better than me but I think it pretty much transfers the weight thru the turns/bumps to keep all tires planted on the ground LOL:o All I know is when I put one on my quad last season toward the end of the season I started doing WAY better I had a serious spin out issue & it helped that alot I think. I know there's a nice one on Ebay right now it's a Lonestar :) better than buying brand new.

As for tires the bigger the tire the more top end of course, we run 18's on the shorttracks but when we get on the big ones we have a hella time on the straights, so we put 20's on the rear of our blaster & it made alot of difference!! I guess it depends on how many sprockets you have LOL I ran 18's on my 300 on a big outdoor track & was like WTF :huh this really sucks I couldnt' keep up w/ nobody!! My gearing was 13/36 I should of ran 14/36 but next time I know!!!

So in closing (hehe) I guess if you can afford lots of different sprockets for gearing start there I think we are going to try a 20" turf tamer for the blaster so we can have an in between kind of :)
OH one more thing I don't know about running a .125 in the rear one bump or rubb & you'll be buying new ones for the next race they are just soooooo thin, we run 160's on mine & they held up all thru last season & believe me I did PLENTY of bumpin & rubbin
rubbin is racin ;) & if you have lots of HP then you may want to consider a beadlock on the rear in case you spin em off the rim, I also run race rings on the class C tires so that works good too help w/ damage control :)

[SixthFloorFreak]

i rode the track, before the season ended, on a lowered 400ex. it had full exhaust, 16t on the front, and 18's, and it felt about right as far as gearing...5th-4th downshift into the turns, 4th-5th upshift outta the turns down the straight. now i just gotta figure out what tires and sprockets i need to be geared similarly, lol

[iceracer65]

another thing you can do with a swaybar is put alot of jack/stagger in the quads setup. when you go into a left hand corner at high speed the natural thing to happen is for the left rear tire to come off the ground turning your quad into a one wheel drive. by lengthening the right turnbuckle on the sway bar, you will drive the left rear into the ground giving you more forward bite. just dont go too far or you wont be able to steer. this is what it should look like...check me out. I'm fast!lol

http://forums.atvconnection.com/i/GalleryImages/51066/SM_scan0002.jpg

[dirtmomma]

Originally posted by iceracer65
another thing you can do with a swaybar is put alot of jack/stagger in the quads setup. when you go into a left hand corner at high speed the natural thing to happen is for the left rear tire to come off the ground turning your quad into a one wheel drive. by lengthening the right turnbuckle on the sway bar, you will drive the left rear into the ground giving you more forward bite. just dont go too far or you wont be able to steer. this is what it should look like...check me out. I'm fast!lol

http://forums.atvconnection.com/i/GalleryImages/51066/SM_scan0002.jpg

:cool: right on!! Yep thats a good explaination :) Here's one of me :macho that rear tire is stuck, actually the swaybar was kinda out of adjustment on this day & I coudn't figure out how to dial it in :( :o but I know now.........
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid104/pb20ce1af9085e5deab1b7ab832924c20/f9890aa6.jpg