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Flathead vs. Predator

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Randy H

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I'm a little conflicted here, I was gonna start calling JTSpeedDemon "Boy Wonder"

Stolen from Facebook.
 

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JTSpeedDemon

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Hmm? Why call me "Boy Wonder"?
But yes, that graphic sums it up pretty well.
 

BirdFanatic

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Never be able to make more then a predator in retro spect if you start with more HP your going to end with more hp weight for weight when the engine is completely maxed out u will still have more HP coming from the predator at the end with the same mods done to the flathead
 

JTSpeedDemon

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Maybe so, but have you ever heard of a 50 HP Predator???:smiley_omg:
Some pro Jr. Dragster builders can drag 50 HP out of a flathead. I've never heard of that kind of power out of a Predator.
 

itsid

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those flatheads have nothing in common with your average briggs 5horse however.

and sure you can find 50horse gx-es (heavily build 390s)
or 35horse gx200s (no longer 200cc though ;))
IIRC Birdfanatic had one of those massively modded 390s (30++ horses or such?)
in a mini stock car...

Anyways,
so in theory one could also try that with a 420 (and likely break the rato in seconds)

'sid
 

JTSpeedDemon

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Well yeah, those Jr Dragsters are completely non stock, and of course those GX390s can crank out ~50 HP, but if the GX200s can only crank out ~35 HP, then the flathead wins again in terms of HP per cc. :D
 

itsid

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it's not completely non stock...
it's completely different from a Briggs.. nothing is actually Briggs

it's as if you'd pull Ford V8s against Chevy V8s flatheads vs Hemis
to compare who'd win in this single cylinder small engine debate.

'sid
 

Randy H

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Flatheads have an undeniable cool factor. I like em... I like em alot. But dollar for dollar and cubic inch for cubic inch an OHV engine will whip on our beloved Briggs.

The extreme powered Briggs (I should say flatheads) are over 400cc's. 3" inch stroke, 3¾"bore (538cc). Might be bigger engines out there IDK.
 

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anickode

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Well yeah, those Jr Dragsters are completely non stock, and of course those GX390s can crank out ~50 HP, but if the GX200s can only crank out ~35 HP, then the flathead wins again in terms of HP per cc. :D

A flathead made entirely out of aftermarket components, from the block to the bolts.

It's a flathead, loosely based off the briggs design, but that's all they have in common.

That's Like calling a 10,000hp top fuel dragster engine a Chrysler hemi. It's based off the Chrysler hemi, yes, but it's not built out of one.

You could probably get 50hp out of a ~200cc GX style engine as well, if it was built from absolute scratch and designed from the beginning to produce 50hp. 250hp per liter is well within the reach of modern engine design. In fact, when purpose built from the ground up, it should quite easily be able to outperform the Briggs based flathead race engines. It's simply a better design.

The automotive world all but abandoned the flathead engine 70 years ago because it just did not have the same potential as an OHV engine. I'm not saying it doesn't still have its place, but it is an outdated design.
 

Flyinhillbilly

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I have one Briggs and six clones. Two of the six clones will eat the Briggs alive, and it’s very built, but I still like looking at the flathead better.
 

Randy H

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The old Briggs will always have a place in my heart. When my kids were little, now in their 30's, we'd tear apart an old Briggs in the winter. Do all the cheap redneck tricks I could think of. Rebuild it as cheap as possible. Then slap it on some old frame and rip around all summer.

We still play around with karts and minibikes. Got a little more money to spend, but alot less time. Lol.
 

Budget GoKart

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Who said only briggs I own five flatheads (three mower engines)and I like em both but I also own 3 ohv engines one is a 212 predator it is pretty good for ripping around in the grass and smokes everything else. My 3.5hp tecumseh flattie is pretty fun and it runs like crap like every tecumseh in existence.:roflol:
 

Randy H

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My 3.5hp tecumseh flattie is pretty fun and it runs like crap like every tecumseh in existence.:roflol:

There are many great running Tecumsehs, the only problem with Tecumsehs is they are outnumbered by guys with limited brain function. Possibly just lack of knowledge, likely a combination of the two.
 

Flyinhillbilly

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The old Briggs will always have a place in my heart. When my kids were little, now in their 30's, we'd tear apart an old Briggs in the winter. Do all the cheap redneck tricks I could think of. Rebuild it as cheap as possible. Then slap it on some old frame and rip around all summer.

We still play around with karts and minibikes. Got a little more money to spend, but alot less time. Lol.

Time and money seem to be inversely proportionate.
 

Flyinhillbilly

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Spending time with adult children is next to impossible. Dinner, soccer games, no problem. Try to work on a fun project, all you get is stink eye from the women's.

My woman is supportive of my racing. She tries to get me to slow down on the upgrades sometimes, but don’t complain when I do them anyway.
I have a keeper :)
 

Randy H

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Your lucky. Good for you.

I could only keep em happy as long as I was doing what they wanted. That frequently made me happy as well, lol. High performance gearhead stuff did not make any of em happy. Haha.
 

Flyinhillbilly

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Your lucky. Good for you.

I could only keep em happy as long as I was doing what they wanted. That frequently made me happy as well, lol. High performance gearhead stuff did not make any of em happy. Haha.

My first wife thought racing was a complete waste of time and money, this one likes doing sports photography and slinging dirt in hot rod go karts makes for some good pictures.
I do a lot of things that she wants to as well, but we have a pretty good give and take going. I lost everything in my divorce, so I kind of feel like I deserve this one, lol.
 
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