First go kart with torque converter

[robbie]

I posted a couple of weeks ago about a Dingo that I received in trade for a radio control airplane. The crankshaft on the 5 hp engine was too short, so I put a Harbor Freight 6.5 hp engine on it that I bought last summer but hadn't used yet.

The word that best describes the first rides that my son and I took is WOW. Until now everything that we had ridden was regular clutch/chain setup. Torque converters are a lot of fun!

Unfortunately, the pulleys were just a tiny bit misaligned, which caused the belt to burn up and fly apart after about 10 minutes of riding. I took out one spacer from behind the driven pulley, which brought them into line, and I ordered a new belt from ebay. We'll be ready when it gets here.

 

[klicky96]

Honestly, I've never had a kart with a TC on it. But I am looking into putting more torque into my kart without changing sprockets. Wouldn't a jackshaft give me much more torque?

 

[bighead]

Make sure you have them aligned correct. If I remember right some are offset and some are centered. I am not a TC guy so do some asking or checking. I am talking when you aligne the pully's.

If I am wrong just slap me. I am going by memory only.

 

[robbie]

Honestly, I've never had a kart with a TC on it. But I am looking into putting more torque into my kart without changing sprockets. Wouldn't a jackshaft give me much more torque?

Yes, at the expense of top speed. If you don't want to go fast anyway, that's a great way to set it up.

The torque converter is a variable speed transmission, which gives you top speed and torque.

 

[klicky96]

well I honestly don't wanna spend all that money on them. I work at Wendy's, come on. hahahaha. I don't have the money for that ha.

 

[bighead]

well I honestly don't wanna spend all that money on them. I work at Wendy's, come on. hahahaha. I don't have the money for that ha.

I'll take a Double Stack Meal with Large Diet Coke.

Start an ebay buy and sale business. I buy and sale from estate and garage sales to pay for all my toys.

 

[klicky96]

hahaha. Im not a cashier, I make the sandwiches. A doublestack is like the easiest sandwich to make. ketchup, 2 pickle, 1 onion. patty-cheese-patty, mustard. Ha, people thinks its hard to memorize all them sandwiches, but let me tell you, its easy as pie.

 

[jamyers]

LOL, my son likes to order "Bun-Cow-Cheese-Bun" at all the burger joints. That and a rootbeer and he's all set.

 

[klicky96]

haha yupp. regular cheeseburger tasters good too.

 

[cmbone]

I wish i worked at Wendys. They wont hire me. Im a living sign. Wendys chilli with cheese is how i warm up after work.

 

[klicky96]

In a way, I love it, but then again, I hate it. And trust me, after working there after a while, you won't eat much of there food anymore because you will just get tired of it. Personally I love there food but i don't eat it a lot.

 

[cmbone]

My oldest daughter & my oldest grandson lives in Columbus Ohio.

 

[landuse]

Honestly, I've never had a kart with a TC on it. But I am looking into putting more torque into my kart without changing sprockets. Wouldn't a jackshaft give me much more torque?

It depends what sprockets you put on your jackshaft

 

[klicky96]

Im thinking about running a 11T Clutch to a 60T Jackshaft Input(rolling on #41 Chain) then from the jackshaft, running a 12T Sprocket to a 72T(rolling on #35 Chain).

 

[robbie]

Im thinking about running a 11T Clutch to a 60T Jackshaft Input(rolling on #41 Chain) then from the jackshaft, running a 12T Sprocket to a 72T(rolling on #35 Chain).

That would give you a 32 to 1 gear ratio. Assuming 12 inch tires and 4000 RPM on the engine, you would go 4.35 miles per hour. Even if you had giant 24 inch tires you'd still go about 9 mph.

What engine do you have, and how big are your tires? Do you drive on-road or off? With that info, we can help you figure out how to get better acceleration and still have decent top speed.

 

[klicky96]

Im running a 6.5 Lifan, 22inch mudders. Offroad.

 

[landuse]

Yup, 32:1. That sound a bit too low for me. Even offroad you are going to be crawling snails pace. You should be able to tow a tractor though with all that torque

 

[klicky96]

So what sprockets should I use on my JS?

 

[robbie]

For off road use, you don't need to go much more than 20 mph, although that's your choice. Maybe you want to gear for 30. The engine is good for it, one way or the other.

Check out this speed calculator: http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=9591

Assuming an engine speed of 3600 rpm, an 8 to 1 ratio will give you 26 mph. A 12 to 1 ratio will give you 17 mph.

If your engine is ungoverned, you'll go noticeably faster than that.

The way you get that ratio is by dividing the wheel sprocket by the jackshaft output, then multiply by the jackshaft input, then divide by the engine sprocket. If you have 12 on the engine and 60 on the wheel, and 10 and 24 on the jack shaft, that would give you 12 to 1. That would get you through grass, mud, etc. If you run your engine up to 4800, that will take you to 22 mph.

 

[klicky96]

Well, I wanna be able to use it as a rock crawler so I need it to be a quick, but powerful. How about like a 6:1 ratio?