Keeping the Kart 'On it's Nose' to Make You Faster in AND Faster out

If you want to preserve your front tyres, be super late on the brake and fire off corners, this is for you!

This weeks paid subscriber only edition is about ‘going in on the nose’, a bit of karting terminology you may have heard before:

"You need to go in on the nose, take your braking deeper, keep the kart on its nose!"

You’ll hear this if you get off the brake too early before you apex corners, making the kart sit flat and understeer wider than you would like.

Going in on the nose simply means carrying some brake pressure all the way to the corner apex to keep the kart ‘on it’s nose’ - which just means leaning its weight on to the front tyres. It keeps the front of the kart planted, and the rear inside wheel up, which is exactly what a kart needs to turn well.

If you find yourself missing apexes, struggling to rotate the kart like others do, or you can't get on the power early enough despite good initial braking, this is exactly what you need to read!

But it’s not anywhere as easy to do as it sounds!

Sorry - You Might Have to Re-Learn Your Braking Habits (again)

I spend a lot of time talking to people about getting hard on the brake and then releasing it to regain control when the kart begins to slide. This is essential to break an old habit of braking harder when things feel a bit sketchy - and then binning it when the rears let go.

However, now I'm going to flip reverse that good advice and say that once you've understood how to get off the brake, you now need to learn how to stay on it instead, all the way to the apex!

The Perils of Releasing the Brake Too Early

Braking too much and turning at the same time can make you likely to lose the rear. While that's the right instinct to develop, you need to learn that some brake pressure is essential on your way to an apex (unless its a corner that needs no braking at all!).

If you don't stay on the brake, here's what happens:

You hit the brake hard at the braking point, feeling the tyres dragging along the track and delivering deceleration. The kart is now on its nose, with the weight biased to the front.

The chassis is primed for turning, ready to pop the inside rear wheel off the ground when you turn in - perfect.

However, before really getting into this ‘on the nose’ technique, most drivers have the bad habit of releasing the brake completely towards the end of the braking zone. As they release the brake, the kart goes back to a more horizontal position rather than pitching forward, unloading the front tyres.

The kart is no longer primed to turn, so you need more steering to turn it in.

This extra steering introduces instability, any small adjustments are more unsettling. You can't get on the power as early, might miss the apex, or have a slight slide.

Killing Your Front Tyres - Fast Until it Isn’t

It's possible to achieve a good lap time coming off the brake early, either through luck or judgement. However, the extra steering angle needed when you come off the brakes early, takes extra life from the front tyres. This often happens when drivers move from cadets to juniors on grippier tyres. They may be fast initially but have no clue they're killing the front tyres as the day goes on.

By the end of the day, the front tyres are dead.

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Here’s what you need to do instead:

6 Reasons the 'On the Nose' Technique Will Impact Your Lap Times

Going in on the nose is an essential technique to make the kart work how it's designed to. Many people don't do this because they feel too vulnerable steering and braking at the same time. Here are the reasons why you need to learn how to go in on the nose:

1. You’ll be Forced to Brake Later

It's crucial to brake late enough when employing this technique. If you begin braking at your usual spot without adjusting for the deeper braking phase, you risk slowing down excessively, potentially almost coming to a stop at the apex.

2. Front Tyre Preservation

When you haven't mastered staying on the brake as you approach the apex, you might use too much steering to slow the kart down. Increased steering angles act almost like a front brake, which abuses your front tyres. Learning this technique allows you to use up the brake pad instead of your tyres.

3. Stable Cornering

Holding the brake pressure keeps the kart in a stable state from the braking point to the apex until you get on the power. You're putting the kart into its designed cornering state, and a stable one at that. The brake pressure pops the kart onto the front outside tyre and lifts the rear inside, maintaining this set condition.

4. Increased Front Grip Without the Rear Feeling Loose

Holding the brake keeps the weight of the kart biased to the front, making the front more responsive. This doesn’t come with a terrible feeling of lacking front grip though - it just feels great!

5. Enhanced Jacking Effect

Braking while steering helps lift the rear axle. The geometry of a kart's chassis is designed to lift the inside rear tyre away from the ground when you steer. This is called the jacking effect, and braking while steering makes it easier to achieve. You don't want to use much steering to steer a kart; you need to use as little as possible. Using the brake to help the rear pop up means you don't need as much steering to jack the kart. Less steering means less drag, less tyre wear on the front tyres, and more stability. The kart will corner faster, release easier, and be less likely to get into a hopping condition, which can be a nightmare.

6. Improved Rotation

The jacking effect helps the kart rotate. When you get to the apex and the kart is jacked, it turns beautifully, allowing you to get on the power with the kart rotated at the right angle. If you haven't got this jacking effect, you'll induce understeer when you get on the power.

Step-by-Step Guide to Keeping the Kart on its Nose (with video)