Constant Tension Driving: The Addiction to Load in Karting

Discover how changing your focus from speed to load can make your driving automatically flow with effortless performance

You might as well face it…

Many drivers who've read my book have found the concept of "loading" to be their biggest breakthrough. It's about gradually building load into the chassis and tyres to maintain corner speed while keeping the kart perfectly balanced. While the physics behind it are interesting, this article focuses on how to apply it practically - giving you a mental model you can use while driving.

If this concept clicks with you, it can revolutionise your driving. It can transform you from a driver who tries to be smooth but occasionally makes digital or reactive inputs, to one who's naturally liquid-smooth, constantly.

What is Constant Tension Driving?

At its core, constant tension driving is about maintaining tension in your steering at all times. You're always trying to sneak load into the kart, even if it's just a tiny amount. This approach eliminates all slack in the chassis, giving you constant feel and feedback.

This mindset naturally generates speed. Building load into a kart requires cornering forces, which in turn demand velocity. The faster you go, the more load you can generate. By fixating on maintaining load, you're inherently pushing for maximum speed through every part of the track. Your pursuit of load becomes a relentless drive for velocity, optimising your lap times without consciously chasing speed itself.

The Load Addiction: Why You'll Crave Corner Forces

Think of load as a drug, and you're the addict. You crave it constantly. You want to get the maximum kick from loading up through the corner, but you never want the high to end. The goal is to feel the maximum load that the kart can give through the seat of your pants, into your ribs, through your arms.

When you're in this state, your whole organism is constantly craving more load, more side force. You want to feel it, hold it, increase it, and prepare the kart early to deliver it.

How Your Body Responds to Constant Tension Driving

When employing this technique, you'll find your hands opposing each other on the wheel, forcing against each other to feel tension. You never want the steering to go loose and light. This constant tension allows you to feel and respond to every nuance of the kart's behaviour.

Your whole body becomes involved. You're yearning for maximum force through every part of your body that contacts the kart. The sensation becomes all-consuming.

Shifting Perspectives: Prioritizing Load Over Speed

This approach requires a significant mental shift. Instead of thinking about how to take a corner fast or find the best line, you're focused on how to use the corner to create and hold maximum tension and load in the kart.

By focusing on maintaining load, you naturally begin to take corners more efficiently. Instead of just aiming for speed, you're now introducing the kart into the corner early (but without compromising your line), using minimal steering to build the right amount of tension.

This gradual increase in load keeps the kart balanced and allows the tyres to generate maximum grip, helping you carry more speed through the corner without upsetting the chassis. The result is a smooth, fast corner entry that the kart responds to effortlessly

Why You Become a Driving God When You Focus on Load - Video Demo