No.... you are assuming that the only cornering 'force' is being applied is by the steering action. It's not.... what gives the 'force' is the momentum of having arrived at a different angle from that which you are now heading.... it's effectively, inertia.
Just watch a kart, driven well, and imagine yourself above it. You will note that the kart IS at a tangent, albeit with the kart's front wheels being closer to the kerb than the rear. The tangent' is 'skewed'. Strictly, a tangent is equi-distant from the apex (as much to the left of the contact point as the right of the contact point). The kart only forms one half of the tangent, i.e., the line to the 'left' of the contact point before it reaches the contact point. Stylistically, like the letter Q with the kart being the 'tail.
For precision, I am NOT trying to claimn that it's a PERFECT tangent..... it's just pretty damned close.
The inertia (momentum) is making the 'tail' slide further than the 'front' wheel's line of travel, that continues the 'inertia' of the rear of the kart which continues to be 'thrown outwards from the arc being described by the front wheels. The rear wheels are STILL behaving like a pendulum swinging out from the 'hinge' of the front wheels...... but NOT so far as to be in 'oversteer'.
You still don't seem to be answering the question of what IS the 'point' where you arrive at Zero over/understeer. I think I have just shown you what that ACTUAL 'point' is! It's when the direction of travel is the same as the centre line of the kart.
For me, the 'test' is the angle at which you hold the wheel when cornering perfectly. You WILL find it's 'dead-ahead' for the quick-guys. Obviously, you can only see this clearly when the corner is long and constant radius.
It also explains so much about WHY and HOW we drive karts differently than car drivers drive their race cars. Cars with diffs CAN manage a corner with (effectively) zero slip angle on the chassis. Karts CANNOT! So we drive them differently.
Ian
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