My entire neighborhood now refers to me as "Go Kart Guy"

[BigWes]

Ok, you want it to go faster you need to wrap your brain around this first fact.

You gonna have to buy that speed. It's not free.

First thing I think I see it looks like you have scrub brakes that press against the tires. If this is correct you are very limited to tire size without some serious brake mods. So do you have these brakes?

Which brings another question if you do have them. How fast are you willing to go with a certain type of brake setup?

Next thing to consider. RPM limitations on your engine. It's your call there but if you're stuck at a certain tire size your RPM will be a determining factor in overall top speed. Consider removing the governor and do it the right way if you haven't.

Performance upgrade to the engine. The number one best bang for your buck without getting deeply involved will be a Stage 1 kit. If you can do normal routine engine work you can most likely handle this upgrade. It goes very well with a governor removal and an 18lb valve spring install.

Contrary to popular internet buffoonery you can do this and run your engine in the configuration above without installing a billet rod and flywheel. You just need to keep the engine under load and not run it wide open for extended periods or at all without having a load on it. It's when you start camming these things up and they start being able to pump air is when you really gotta do something with the rod...then it can make enough RPM under load to sling the flywheel apart.

Let's talk about clutches. I personally like a torque converter. But with a one wheel peel your sprocket is gonna usually be located right against the wheel and tire so that's gonna be a space issue not to mention those scrub brakes. Your tires have to stay lined up with the brake paddle. So you're going to need a lot of modding to make a TAV2 fit and line up. Engine spacers and so on. But the torque benefits will be outstanding...oh wait... nevermind... you'll just melt the tire my bad...

Back to the clutch...most racers use them and they haul balls. But the ones they use aren't cheap yard kart clutches either.

Look into getting a quality unit with springs that you can swap out to change your engagement RPM so you can talor it to your engine and driving habits so as to not burn up the clutch and get good response.

These are all things you can do.

Personally I would start with the engine first. It is the heart of the Beast. It has to be able to put life to all the rest of it. If that doesn't work, nothing works.

---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------

He said in his thread in Engines and Clutches that it's a 50T.
From the looks of it, the tires are 12-13", I'd estimate.
So with about 4.1/1, with a stock 212 on a normal yard kart, it's just too hard on the clutch to go any higher.

---------- Post added at 10:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 AM ----------



Incorrect.
Bthompson224's kart has the OHV Tejunkseh(nuthin' personal Bthompson224).

My bad... I have not been subjected to the technical specifications of his engine over and over again as I have someone else's flathead Briggs with the frame bending torque and a super pulse carb...

Sorry Bthompson224, I have been corrected sir!

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

B-b-b-but JTSpunkFace said that's not possible!

A friend of mine had a one-wheel drive go kart as well and it also left satisfying black marks on the pavement at will. I'm pretty sure it was a Sears Lime Limo.

It was a flathead 3.5HP Tecumesh! Good heaven's nooo!

For visual aid, here's a pic I found on Craigslist of a beat up old Lime Limo for sale.
Except with a MUCH better powerplant.
Seller says gov removed, so even better!

 

[bthompson224]

Bahahahahahahaha!!!!

I can just see it now!

Dude, this calls for an old school rap! You throw down the beats and I'll drop the first lines. Somebody else can come in and follow up with some more old school 80s style stuff!

Call it spunkwagon's spunkity!spunk!



One wheel peels,

pulled up on the line!

Open header Briggs!

Dressed to the nines!

JTSpunkwagon grinning really proud,

Flashing gold grills, sparkling kinda loud,

But idling to his right,

is an Indian Brave,

An old Tecumseh flathead,

that will never cave,

Bthompson224 is at the wheel!

Ready for the kill!




.......


Next verse is on somebody else

Bahahahahahahaha

I did actually laugh out loud!

---------- Post added at 12:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 PM ----------

Sorry Bthompson224, I have been corrected sir!

I've had both, really no difference. And comments from uninformed children don't bother me a bit. Maybe we got lucky, but zero complaints on that little 5hp motor. Starts on first pull and runs great.

 

[shewannameetkarty]

Uhmm, you are NOT spinning the tires. Are you 100% sure or is the engine revving and the kart isn't taking off very fast?
In a very Poboy/Hellion-esque way:
I DEMAND EVIDENCE!

My kart has a torqueyer engine, and lower gearing, it's a similar size, and also 1WD, and it doesn't spin the tire unless I'm holding the gas pedal down and I hold it from taking off.

To be fair the tire was almost bald, yet it did the same thing when I switched to the other tire so yeah it does spin

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Are the tires riddled with cracks? If so, they're dry rotted, and then it would make sense. But for now my mind isn't making the connection between high gearing and spinning tires.
Also, what's the size of your tires?

 

[shewannameetkarty]

Ok, you want it to go faster you need to wrap your brain around this first fact.

You gonna have to buy that speed. It's not free.

First thing I think I see it looks like you have scrub brakes that press against the tires. If this is correct you are very limited to tire size without some serious brake mods. So do you have these brakes?

Which brings another question if you do have them. How fast are you willing to go with a certain type of brake setup?

Next thing to consider. RPM limitations on your engine. It's your call there but if you're stuck at a certain tire size your RPM will be a determining factor in overall top speed. Consider removing the governor and do it the right way if you haven't.

Performance upgrade to the engine. The number one best bang for your buck without getting deeply involved will be a Stage 1 kit. If you can do normal routine engine work you can most likely handle this upgrade. It goes very well with a governor removal and an 18lb valve spring install.

Contrary to popular internet buffoonery you can do this and run your engine in the configuration above without installing a billet rod and flywheel. You just need to keep the engine under load and not run it wide open for extended periods or at all without having a load on it. It's when you start camming these things up and they start being able to pump air is when you really gotta do something with the rod...then it can make enough RPM under load to sling the flywheel apart.

Let's talk about clutches. I personally like a torque converter. But with a one wheel peel your sprocket is gonna usually be located right against the wheel and tire so that's gonna be a space issue not to mention those scrub brakes. Your tires have to stay lined up with the brake paddle. So you're going to need a lot of modding to make a TAV2 fit and line up. Engine spacers and so on. But the torque benefits will be outstanding...oh wait... nevermind... you'll just melt the tire my bad...

Back to the clutch...most racers use them and they haul balls. But the ones they use aren't cheap yard kart clutches either.

Look into getting a quality unit with springs that you can swap out to change your engagement RPM so you can talor it to your engine and driving habits so as to not burn up the clutch and get good response.

These are all things you can do.

Personally I would start with the engine first. It is the heart of the Beast. It has to be able to put life to all the rest of it. If that doesn't work, nothing works.

---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------



My bad... I have not been subjected to the technical specifications of his engine over and over again as I have someone else's flathead Briggs with the frame bending torque and a super pulse carb...

Sorry Bthompson224, I have been corrected sir!

Thank you for this, I was thinking about putting a disk/drum brake but I'd probably have to go live axle for that and at the moment I don't have that kind of money, so you said instead of messing with the gearing I should get a stage 1 kit, 18lbs valve springs and remove the governor?

---------- Post added at 11:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 AM ----------

He said in his thread in Engines and Clutches that it's a 50T.
From the looks of it, the tires are 12-13", I'd estimate.
So with about 4.1/1, with a stock 212 on a normal yard kart, it's just too hard on the clutch to go any higher.

---------- Post added at 10:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 AM ----------



Incorrect.
Bthompson224's kart has the OHV Tejunkseh(nuthin' personal Bthompson224).

11inch tires if I measured correctly, 50t sprocket and 12t clutch

 

[mckutzy]

You can remove the gov, but do it completely, inside and out...
Only change the spring when you have changed out the con rod....
A few other hop ups are listed here...

https://affordablegokarts.com/pages/performance-basics

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

You can remove the gov, but do it completely, inside and out...
Only change the spring when you have changed out the con rod....
A few other hop ups are listed here...

https://affordablegokarts.com/pages/performance-basics

YES! Thank you for also recommending a rod upgrade!
THIS is why you ALWAYS upgrade the rod when you go beyond governor removal:
Yes I know it had a cam, a Mikuni, etc. and Wes can complain and troll mefeedtroll about it, but the truth of the matter is that IT IS DANGEROUS to upgrade the valve springs but not the con rod.
Especially with shewannameetkarty's expected use of the engine(WOT, smooth pavement, extended periods of time).
So, unless you want a hunk of metal is your back, spend that extra ~$65 on a billet connecting rod!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCXELPyQKvE

 

[mckutzy]

....or just leave the gov in.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

....or just leave the gov in.

Yup.

 

[shewannameetkarty]

Uhmm, you are NOT spinning the tires. Are you 100% sure or is the engine revving and the kart isn't taking off very fast?
In a very Poboy/Hellion-esque way:
I DEMAND EVIDENCE!

My kart has a torqueyer engine, and lower gearing, it's a similar size, and also 1WD, and it doesn't spin the tire unless I'm holding the gas pedal down and I hold it from taking off.

Just bought new tires as I ripped the old ones and you might be right in saying I shouldn't be spinning, the new ones feel way grippier than the old ones that were dry rotting and everything

 

[Hellion]

If you heed the advice of the "old men" of the forum you will do well.


At a minimum, you could delete the governor and replace the con rod with a billet rod and be fine. Keep everything else stock and your natural rev limiter will be valve flutter/float at 5,000/5,500 RPM; a condition where the valve train is running so fast (with stock valve springs) that the valves cannot close fast enough to complete a proper combustion cycle thus the engine won't/can't run any faster.
The con rod is just insurance.

For visual aid, here's a pic I found on Craigslist of a beat up old Lime Limo for sale.
Except with a MUCH better powerplant....

I know what they look like. No need for visual aids, thankyouverymuch. The point of my comment was that a one-wheel-peel drive can smoke the tire on command. It was not about the kart. Stay focused, Spunky!


What troubles me is you know basically nothing except what you can regurgitate from internet lore and you have this broken record running incessantly in your head....

We get it. You like Briggs & Stratton engines. How admirable. You say (a Briggs L-Head) is a MUCH BETTER engine but that's just your opinion which is essentially worthless. You have near-zero experience with anything else and you freely admit it. You're just a fan boy and that's alright, but do you not see how biased you are?

Wait, who am I kidding? You're just a cross-eyed ball of raging teenage hormones.


This thread is a

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

I know what they look like. No need for visual aids, thankyouverymuch. The point of my comment was that a one-wheel-peel drive can smoke the tire on command. It was not about the kart. Stay focused, Spunky!


What troubles me is you know basically nothing except what you can regurgitate from internet lore and you have this broken record running incessantly in your head....

We get it. You like Briggs & Stratton engines. How admirable. You say (a Briggs L-Head) is a MUCH BETTER engine but that's just your opinion which is essentially worthless. You have near-zero experience with anything else and you freely admit it. You're just a fan boy and that's alright, but do you not see how biased you are?

Wait, who am I kidding? You're just a cross-eyed ball of raging teenage hormones.


This thread is a

Weell, I won't say THAT'S not true, 'cause it is.
But that rant seemed a little excessive. Maybe next time pack it in a little red box tied up in a sparkly gold ribbon and send it over in a PM?
And yes, I am HIGHLY biased towards Briggs, I know.

---------- Post added at 03:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:26 PM ----------

Just bought new tires as I ripped the old ones and you might be right in saying I shouldn't be spinning, the new ones feel way grippier than the old ones that were dry rotting and everything

Yeah, that's what I thought.
If I put my current front tires on the rear, they'd go up in a cloud of smoke.
Those tires actually probably saved your clutch, so the tires would slip instead of the clutch.

And Hellion, I know the kart made no difference, and you now know I knew that you knew what the kart looked like, I just happened to find one on Craigslist today, so I thought I'd share for the other users.
And I also know that just about any kart can smoke the tires just fine as long as they're dry rotted enough.

---------- Post added at 03:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:31 PM ----------

And sheesh, some people sure seem grumpy lately around here.
At least at me.
Maybe it's the heat, I was just in the garage and was probably in the 100s easy.

 

[BigWes]

Yea, he wants to bust my balls because I said you don't necessarily need to change the connecting rod when you do engine upgrades. The fact is you don't so long as you follow certain guidelines and limitations. I listed most of them. I, along with Hellion mention the valve train. The stock valve train is gonna really limit the RPM of these engines. I choose an 18 pound valve spring because I tend to run hemis and I don't want to deal with coil bind or valves floating. If you pay attention to the sound your engine makes as the RPM increases it'll tell you when it's had enough anyway...if you know what your listening for.

Make no mistake. I'm certainly not against installing billet rods and flywheels and all those other gorgeous expensive parts. But, even though I can actually afford to buy those things, it's not something I go out and toss money to the wind on all the time either. I try and spend wisely. It's very easy to tell someone else to go buy billet this and billet that when it's not your money. That's why I don't choose to do it. I do know what works.

What I do and encourage other people to do is try and think out their problems in a methodical way. Try and read something I write to help someone else with their problem.

When you encounter a problem identify your problem first. Write it down. Methodically work it out step by step. Start at the beginning with the easy and most likely things and work towards the finish with the hard unlikely things. Don't rebuild the engine because your forgot to check and see if it was out of gas...

Too many people on this forum bypass step #1 and go right into compression checks and gear changes when they overlooked the obvious because they wanted to show everyone how smart they are... Yes guys...you are all super smart...but how wise are you?

Anyway, billet rods are awesome, I'm going to order one real soon for one of my builds. But I have an engine on on kart with governor removed, stage 1, and everything else stock... I'm sorry guys but the stock cam and heavy flywheel it has... it's just not gonna pull out the kinda rpms to cause it to come apart. Now if I bump up the cam so it can start moving more air... well all bets are off then. I don't even want to be around a cast flywheel on an engine with a high performance cam.

Back to 18 lb valve springs...I have a nonhemi predator... stage 1... governor untouched that will occasionally float the valves on a downhill run. It's getting 18 pounders put in this weekend...why it does this...I don't know but I can hear it so...we shall see....I just think stock springs on the predator is weak.

And as far as JTSpeed is concerned, I'm not gonna troll you about your comment. That's an opinion that you have obviously developed from information derived from someone else. I can plainly see the link you have referred to.

In other words until you blow up your own predator or not you are going by second hand information. So that doesn't hold water with me.

And that is not a troll.

Contrary to yours, or anyone else's thoughts about me, I would help anyone that I could if there was a way that I could do so. That being said I am far far from being perfect or knowledgeable on a lot of things, normally if I don't know I just won't say anything or I'll say I don't know. I'm not going to ever pretend to be something I ain't or pretend to know something I don't. I will joke around sometimes.

With that being said let's get on with getting Go Kart Guy pointed in the right direction.

 

[mrdeadman1]

It's a one wheel peel not a live axle, you can smoke those off with a 3hp briggs. Op if you go with a TAV unit you will for sure hit high 30's and still have wicked low end. The bullet lines converter has worked great for me they are like 80 buck on amazon

---------- Post added at 10:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 AM ----------

you can also but a drum brake on the other rear wheel just pick up a hub and band and make a bracker out of a couple bolts

 

[BigWes]

Hey OP...

You ever been to the dentist?

https://www.6sigmajetkit.com/nitrou...CbfFIicmuTzSj5B3k1hlfn2_SUnHiKGQaAgbyEALw_wcB

Don't tell any of those haters on here I shared you this link. You know the ones. Use this info wisely. Watch some videos and educate yourself prior to use if you decide to go for it. I do advise a proper governor uninstall if you do this. And it would be wise to buy a rod and flywheel as well.

 

[Mrmonk7663]

I’m going to use one of those myself. Nice quick burst of power.

 

[Flyinhillbilly]

I have used a cheap max torque clutch on a 9000 rpm high horsepower motor on alcohol with a 5.66 gear ratio and didn’t hurt it. I like the expensive parts because my engines routinely spin 150 times per second. That means the piston is changing direction 300 times per second. That’s a huge amount of force and I need my junk to stay together to finish the race. I ran the crap out of them with stock rods and they’ll take more than you’d think. I’ve found that if you grind about 1/4” off of the dipper that they’re less likely to break. They usually break from hitting the case when the crank flexes enough from the rpm. I actually broke a block in half once with a stock rod in it and the rod was fine. I was running a built head with 36lb springs, and a 30% nitromethane mix for fuel. It was crazy fast for what it was until the block gave it up.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

One thought:

 

[BigWes]

I have used a cheap max torque clutch on a 9000 rpm high horsepower motor on alcohol with a 5.66 gear ratio and didn’t hurt it. I like the expensive parts because my engines routinely spin 150 times per second. That means the piston is changing direction 300 times per second. That’s a huge amount of force and I need my junk to stay together to finish the race. I ran the crap out of them with stock rods and they’ll take more than you’d think. I’ve found that if you grind about 1/4” off of the dipper that they’re less likely to break. They usually break from hitting the case when the crank flexes enough from the rpm. I actually broke a block in half once with a stock rod in it and the rod was fine. I was running a built head with 36lb springs, and a 30% nitromethane mix for fuel. It was crazy fast for what it was until the block gave it up.

That's what I'm talking bout...run'er till she blows!

Enjoy the snot out of it until it does!

I love expensive parts too.

But there are some things you can get away with. But you can't tell any of these guys that.

I certainly don't like getting rev happy with a cast flywheel though...I just don't trust them at all especially up above 5k.

I bet that thing made a **** of a racket when it broke up!