Advice on Flat Track Racing

[yernkie]

This Saturday I am entering a flat track race. It is on a small (around 1/8 mile) hard packed dirt track...no banking. I have never raced anything other than asphalt and sand drags. My 400ex is piped, jetted, K&N, and has a 14 tooth front sprocket. I have front and rear lowering kits and I am running American Racer (compound 23) tires. I am a rookie and I don't expect to win, but I am going to be running in a 400cc and lower 4 stroke modified class, and I would like to be competitive. Any advice?

[sandspanker]

get a swaybar, you will want the right front shock a little stiffer. measure the stagger of your tires, you want the bigger ones on the right side. dont be afraid to ask questions at the tack the only hard part about that is you will have to decide what is bs or what is not. tire pressure will depend on the track conditions. i always ran my pressures lower then every one else. but that suited my riding style. if you are running stock shocks start with the left front all the soft and the right front one click from the bottom. a wide adjustable axle would also benifit hope that helps some.

[CarGuy7a]

on a 1/8 mile i would maybe recomend taking a 15 tooth driver with you. you may have to shift down the straights with the 14.

i race go carts on a 1/10th mile flat oval and they also run quads as well. and the guys with 400's run 15 gears on the front and i'm not sure about the rear.

i do know that the guys with 400's run them pretty much stock except pipe and lowering and all that jazz and i've seen them smoke the 450's and banshees every week.

[yernkie]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not going to be running a swaybar mainly because I don't want to invest the money just yet. If I decide to start racing more I am going to buy another 400ex just for that so I still have my other one for the trails and dunes.

I am pretty tight with the people putting on the race so I get to hit the track and practice Thurs and Fri evening, so I will play around with my shocks, tire pressure, and front sprocket before the actual race.

Any tips on riding style? Do I want more weight on the rear or the front?

[Dill]

without a sway bar, you're going to want to lean to the inside as much as possible to attempt to keep your outside tires on the ground.

[Nac's22]

when i flat track i usually have more weight on my rear trying to get traction. a very good dirt racer on quads told me once that if your loose your fast so i always like to stay a little on the looser side. i also start in second gear seems to get better starts like that. try things out sounds like you have a lot of practice time. most important advice i can give you is this... GO FAST TURN LEFT! lol. good luck you will do fine flat track is a blast