sno-kart
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So we just learned that the "45HP" liquid cooled 440cc two stroke snowmobile engine we rebuilt for our go kart actually has around 77HP 
As fun and ridiculous as that # is, we are now seriously rethinking a few things, the most important being the brakes. We realize that with that much power on a race kart we should be putting in front brakes, but it is just out of our budget. So our next thought is to get two front calipers off of a sport bike with the master cylinder and mount these to the rear axle. These can be had for under $100 used on ebay and should be very effective. The problem is that motorcycle front rotors tend to have a large diameter (~10 or 11") and since our wheels are 11", this is a no go. We have a 7" MCP go kart rotor which is the correct thickness to fit most motorcycle calipers so we want to use that, but we will definitely have less brake pad contacting the rotor since the diameter is significantly smaller.
The other issue we have is that we really only have space for one rotor/caliper on our rear axle but would love to have the braking power of two calipers. All this being said, we have a few questions, the answers to which would really help us figure out how to move forward.
- Will a caliper designed for an 11" rotor lose a significant amount of its effectiveness on a smaller 7" rotor?
- Is mounting 2 calipers on one rotor a possibility, or is it pointless / potentially unsafe?
- As a more general question about braking systems, what is it that decides the effectiveness of the brakes? I'm guessing the force with which the pads "clamp" the rotor is one factor, and I also know that heat dissipation plays a role, but if one caliper is enough to lock up the rear axle, then is a second one really necessary?
- Since we have a jackshaft in our setup, would putting one caliper on the jackshaft and one on the rear axle be a good idea? I would guess that we would gain some mechanical advantage by having a brake on the jackshaft, but would of course want one on the axle in case our chain snaps.
Here is an example of what we are thinking of buying:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350674538130?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Thanks!!
As fun and ridiculous as that # is, we are now seriously rethinking a few things, the most important being the brakes. We realize that with that much power on a race kart we should be putting in front brakes, but it is just out of our budget. So our next thought is to get two front calipers off of a sport bike with the master cylinder and mount these to the rear axle. These can be had for under $100 used on ebay and should be very effective. The problem is that motorcycle front rotors tend to have a large diameter (~10 or 11") and since our wheels are 11", this is a no go. We have a 7" MCP go kart rotor which is the correct thickness to fit most motorcycle calipers so we want to use that, but we will definitely have less brake pad contacting the rotor since the diameter is significantly smaller.
The other issue we have is that we really only have space for one rotor/caliper on our rear axle but would love to have the braking power of two calipers. All this being said, we have a few questions, the answers to which would really help us figure out how to move forward.
- Will a caliper designed for an 11" rotor lose a significant amount of its effectiveness on a smaller 7" rotor?
- Is mounting 2 calipers on one rotor a possibility, or is it pointless / potentially unsafe?
- As a more general question about braking systems, what is it that decides the effectiveness of the brakes? I'm guessing the force with which the pads "clamp" the rotor is one factor, and I also know that heat dissipation plays a role, but if one caliper is enough to lock up the rear axle, then is a second one really necessary?
- Since we have a jackshaft in our setup, would putting one caliper on the jackshaft and one on the rear axle be a good idea? I would guess that we would gain some mechanical advantage by having a brake on the jackshaft, but would of course want one on the axle in case our chain snaps.
Here is an example of what we are thinking of buying:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350674538130?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Thanks!!
