A Few Quick Questions

[JTSpeedDemon]

Hi, I just have a few quick questions about my kart with a 1985 Briggs and Stratton 132432 flathead.

• What is the compression ratio on my engine?
• Will the rear scrub brakes be adequate for some occasional driving?

 

[jandj]

Briggs doesn’t give exact compression ratios but says “typically” a flathead is about 6:1
They also don’t give compression psi, the test is to rotate the engine backwards against compression.
If it rebounds, you have enough.
Your scrub brake is fine.

 

[Chrisvdw]

The scrub brakes should be more than enough... i put a 5hp on my kart that has scrub brakes and it was more than enough even when we were going 60kmh down a hill

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Dang! That's about 37 mph! My engine is a 5 HP too. I kind of geek out about it since it's an aluminum engine. Kind of like a Chevy ZL-1!