A Manco Dingo
Member
Great you fixed it
Clutch smoking
- Thread starter Odom
- Start date
adh
New member
I used to have a clutch on my go kart and one night I realized it was glowing red. I changed to the Bravex torque converter posted on here and it has been awesome. I also am running 6:1 gearing.
bob58o
SuckSqueezeBangBlow
Clutches are fine for race like situations. You start from a stop once, then keep it floored for the duration of the ride. Stop and go travel means slipping clutch. Driving slowly with Miss Daisy, slipping clutch. Slipping is smoking. Rubbing is racing. A happy clutch is fully locked up. Slipping clutches get angry.
A clutch means you have a single speed. CVT means you have infinite number of gear ratios that span a wide range.
Imagine a truck that only has 4th gear, or only has 1st gear. One might only be good for highway travel and requires a friend to help push it to get it moving. One only good for putting around the farm. If that truck has multiple gears (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th…) it will work better in a variety of situations.
A single speed bicycle geared to climb mountains won’t go very fast on flat ground. A fast single speed bike won’t climb a mountain.
IMO, CVT is the superior technology and should be used on all yard, fun, kid karts. Clutches are for racing when the CVT advantages are limited and the power loss through the belt drive is more devestating.
A clutch means you have a single speed. CVT means you have infinite number of gear ratios that span a wide range.
Imagine a truck that only has 4th gear, or only has 1st gear. One might only be good for highway travel and requires a friend to help push it to get it moving. One only good for putting around the farm. If that truck has multiple gears (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th…) it will work better in a variety of situations.
A single speed bicycle geared to climb mountains won’t go very fast on flat ground. A fast single speed bike won’t climb a mountain.
IMO, CVT is the superior technology and should be used on all yard, fun, kid karts. Clutches are for racing when the CVT advantages are limited and the power loss through the belt drive is more devestating.
bob58o
SuckSqueezeBangBlow
The thing that nobody seems to pay any mind to is the speed the kart is geared to moved at clutch engagement engine rpm.
For an example… Imagine a a kart with centrifugal clutch set to engage at 1600 RPM. This kart has 12” tires and is geared 5:1.
At 1600 engine RPM, the kart should be moving 15mph. At any time the kart is moving at a speed less than 15mph, the clutch is slipping and angry.
For an example… Imagine a a kart with centrifugal clutch set to engage at 1600 RPM. This kart has 12” tires and is geared 5:1.
At 1600 engine RPM, the kart should be moving 15mph. At any time the kart is moving at a speed less than 15mph, the clutch is slipping and angry.