Clutch on 13hp honda?

[steezy]

just ordered my new clutch from northerntool.com for my 13hp honda gx390. ive heard that a torque converters the way to go but money was tight so i went with the clutch. any ideas on whats gunna happen. if the clutch goes im just gunna put a direct drive engine sprocket. but humor me for now.
thanks
-steezy

 

[anderkart]

Well that clutch is rated up to 13hp so your good there. The thing I don't like about the Max torque 1" clutches is they only seem to be available with fairly large-sized/tooth-count driver gears.

How long the clutch lasts will pretty much depend on your final gear ratio, how heavy you and your kart is, and where you ride. If you only ride on flat surfaces like parking lots, that clutch would probably last for years and years. If your going to ride off road (and try to climb hills) where the clutch will have to spend much more time slipping before it fully locks in, you'll find most any centrifugal clutch would wear out much quicker.

Your final gear ratio might be very critical to how long your clutch lasts so I've got a few questions for ya here:
Northern Offers 1" clutch models with 3 different choices of driver gears, which one did you order?

How many inches tall are your karts rear tires?

Does your kart have a jack shaft by any chance? (if so, what tooth count gears does it have?)

How many teeth does your current rear sprocket have?

How much do you weigh and whats the approximate weight of your kart?

And finally where will you be riding your kart?

 

[steezy]

ok, mostly street riding, some packed dirt, dounts lol. I ordered the smallest available clutch tooth which was 14. my rear sprocket is 54T and my tires are 18". as far as weight goes its a dingo frame and a 50pound or so motor and im 140 pounds. no jack shaft.

 

[anderkart]

With those gears/tires you'll be hitting 50mpg at 3600rpm: http://www.diygokarts.com/speed-calculator.html
That clutch might hold up alright if you get right up to speed and don't mess around much at lower speeds where the clutch is constantly slipping.

 

[Sleepy122CID]

If the clutch goes and you put a direct drive sprocket on please consider how you will disengage it before starting the engine =P

 

[steezy]

wait so if im not at 50mph lol the clutch will be constanstly slipping ?

 

[steezy]

and to Sleepy122CID how would a direct engine sprocket work on starting. couldnt i just push the cart and the spinning crank will start engine?

 

[Sleepy122CID]

My point was if you had a direct drive, how would you stop the thing? The wheels would have to be spinning or the engine would shut down... If the wheels speed was 0, the engine speed would have to be as well...

 

[steezy]

yea but i would just never really come to a stop but i get what your saying, do you think with direct drive i could jsut start the thing by pushing it

 

[Sleepy122CID]

Yes you could - how hard you would have to push it would depend on gearing I guess...

 

[anderkart]

wait so if im not at 50mph lol the clutch will be constanstly slipping ?

No under full acceleration, I think your clutch will be fully lock in somewhere between 15 and 25mph. (but your kart should top out at 50mph)

If you find you mostly only ride at lower speeds (where the clutch is constantly slipping) or just want better acceleration, you could always install a larger rear sprocket.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

50mpg at 3600rpm

Gawd, I wish I could say the same for my gas-guzzling Durango!

 

[anderkart]

Gawd, I wish I could say the same for my gas-guzzling Durango!

Hey I'll bet your Durango gets a lot better mileage than my old big-block Suburban with 410 gears

 

[steezy]

anderkart, in your opinion how long do you think the clutch will last doing drifts and lots of donuts....when doing donuts i feel like the clutch would be slipping but maybe if you have enough torque i.e. 13hp it would spin the wheels fast enough to the point where the cluthc would lcok up......and with a direct drive how long do you think before i would kill engine coming to stops maybe once or twice a ride

 

[anderkart]

anderkart, in your opinion how long do you think the clutch will last doing drifts and lots of donuts....when doing donuts i feel like the clutch would be slipping but maybe if you have enough torque i.e. 13hp it would spin the wheels fast enough to the point where the cluthc would lcok up......

Don't know, you'll just have to try it out and see how much it slips with your driving style.

If your main goal is to drift and do donuts, I'd suggest you install the largest rear sprocket you can find, (but that's still an Inch or 2 smaller diameter than your rear tires).

and with a direct drive how long do you think before i would kill engine coming to stops maybe once or twice a ride

I don't think running direct drive would damage the engine.

 

[r97]

if you put your info on this calculator http://gokartguru.com/engineering_tool_kit.php it will tell you your top speed and acceleration mess around with your gear rateo and find one you like. good luck