Removing governor?

[Trevor51]

I recently bought a go kart with out a motor. I ended up buying a power fist 6.5 hp from princess auto here in Canada which is a Honda clone . ( nearest harbour freight was 5h drive). I'm just wondering why every one is removing the governor? I under stand that it make the motor faster or more powerfull or something like that. Is it ok for the engine to do this? I've heard people say it wears down a metal coating on the piston from to many rpm making it loss compression and that sort of thing....

Thanks any opinions would defiantly help.

 

[KartFab]

Its probably better to think about what you want in the kart with a few more questions.

Do you like how fast your go kart is?

Do you want your kart to go faster?

Do you have a limited budget?

Are you mechanically inclined and want to do any engine modifications?

 

[Trevor51]

I would like my kart to go faster without risk of damaging my motor any more.... I defiantly do have a limited budget

 

[BirdFanatic]

I would like my kart to go faster without risk of damaging my motor any more.... I defiantly do have a limited budget

Hop up kit level one will work take the stock air filter and allows you to put a k&n air filter and change the jetting . For me while im driving because i drive on a race kart my engine is right beside me i can just push the arm on the carb (Not the level the actual butterfly arm on the carb ) forward and float the valve and go a little faster but it does bog down and back fire a lot after .

 

[Mulletcar88]

The damage that can be done to your engine and even you is not worth it in my opinion, the stock cast aluminum connecting rod and flywheel are made within the parameters of the governor. When the stock rpm is bypassed, the rod can break and ruin the entire engine, and the flywheel can come apart sending pieces flying in all directions (and into you). You can even float and drop valves and cause catastrophic engine failure as well. I understand limited budget, but it's not worth it. I bypassed the governor on a fun power Briggs and Stratton when I was a kid and ruined the engine when the rod broke. In the long run it'll be better to buy a forged rod and flywheel, and at least get stiffer valve springs beforehand, then do fuel mods (bigger jets in stock carb, or tillotson carb), performance cam (will actually increase power in higher rmp). I'm not here to rain on your parade, more to keep you from wasting money and blood.

 

[jandj]

Simply put, removing the governor allows you to turn more RPM's.
If you remove the governor and leave the stock springs in you should be ok, the valves will float before anything comes apart....usually.
If you go with heavier springs, get a billet rod.
A billet flywheel is good insurance...but now we're talking money.
Check the www.affordablegokarts.com website.
Lots of good advice on how to go faster without breaking the bank.

 

[Poboy kartman]

The damage that can be done to your engine and even you is not worth it in my opinion, the stock cast aluminum connecting rod and flywheel are made within the parameters of the governor. When the stock rpm is bypassed, the rod can break and ruin the entire engine, and the flywheel can come apart sending pieces flying in all directions (and into you). You can even float and drop valves and cause catastrophic engine failure as well. I understand limited budget, but it's not worth it. I bypassed the governor on a fun power Briggs and Stratton when I was a kid and ruined the engine when the rod broke. In the long run it'll be better to buy a forged rod and flywheel, and at least get stiffer valve springs beforehand, then do fuel mods (bigger jets in stock carb, or tillotson carb), performance cam (will actually increase power in higher rmp). I'm not here to rain on your parade, more to keep you from wasting money and blood.

Annnnnnnnddddddd......NO! To almost everything you posted....you DEFINITELY do not want to install stronger valve springs first.....

Do a little research here on what the bulk of members have found through experience before spouting out bad contradicting advice....

 

[OzFab]

The damage that can be done to your engine and even you is not worth it in my opinion, the stock cast aluminum connecting rod and flywheel are made within the parameters of the governor. When the stock rpm is bypassed, the rod can break and ruin the entire engine, and the flywheel can come apart sending pieces flying in all directions (and into you). You can even float and drop valves and cause catastrophic engine failure as well. I understand limited budget, but it's not worth it. I bypassed the governor on a fun power Briggs and Stratton when I was a kid and ruined the engine when the rod broke. In the long run it'll be better to buy a forged rod and flywheel, and at least get stiffer valve springs beforehand, then do fuel mods (bigger jets in stock carb, or tillotson carb), performance cam (will actually increase power in higher rmp). I'm not here to rain on your parade, more to keep you from wasting money and blood.

There's a massive difference between removing a governor & simply bypassing a governor; bypassing a governor will cause damage... removing it probably won't...

 

[chancer]

These engines are actually sold as generic replacement motors for industrial and yard equipment. Like a cement mixer, air compressor, rototiller, pressure washer.... The industry standard for these types of equipment is approx 3500 rpm. Governor sets that rpm with the throttle manually placed at "bunny" and left there in these applications.
There is a small plastic gear inside the engine that is part of the governor system. This must be removed, not just bypass the gov. linkage. The plastic gear will break apart inside the engine if you just bypass the linkage.
Removing the governor allows the engine to rev up to 5000-5500 rpms. being that go karts are usually one gear or single speed this will get you more top speed. The engine fly wheel and internals have no problem operating at that rpm. The valves will start to float at 5000 and stop the engine from revving higher.
This is all perfectly safe and fine for you engine, I learned all this here at DIY from members experience, and have done this myself and my experience doing this has also been good.
There is a little more to it but then this post looks to long and nobody will read it.

 

[Mulletcar88]

Annnnnnnnddddddd......NO! To almost everything you posted....you DEFINITELY do not want to install stronger valve springs first.....

Do a little research here on what the bulk of members have found through experience before spouting out bad contradicting advice....

Tell me how any of that is contradictory, you don't know me or my experience. If you've never seen floating valves drop, stock rods break, or stock flywheels grenade when bypassing or removing the governor, you don't know.

 

[OzFab]

The point is, under the correct circumstances, we haven't seen any of those thing occur; there have been many times we've seen a block ventilated by an exploding conrod but, upon further investigation, the circumstances were not correct...

No one is debating your experiences but, from what you described, your experiences were not under the correct circumstances...

 

[Poboy kartman]

Tell me how any of that is contradictory, you don't know me or my experience. If you've never seen floating valves drop, stock rods break, or stock flywheels grenade when bypassing or removing the governor, you don't know.

And you don't know me or my experience. But, it's not about our limited experience, but the collective experience of this forum, and what that has been proven out over time to be reasonably safe, and what has not.

Just recently, a member put a rod through the block because he removed the governor and installed stronger valve springs, but not a billet rod.

So....let's take a moment to look at the difference between stock and billet. Billet means it is formed by milling the part out of solid stock aluminum....(like a woodcarver makes a piece) ....while stock pieces are cast by pouring molten aluminum into molds.

There are several things that can go wrong in the casting process and occasionally you can even see them with the naked eye. One is air can be trapped inside leaving a void. It's possible to have a partial fill, then the fill be resumed leaving a cold joint. Those are probably rare, but a void can be caused by moisture. But what causes most failures in cast parts is contamination in the pour material itself.

Ok....so the reason for the rambling above ^ is to point out that cast parts can and do vary in structural integrity.

So....have I seen a rod go through a block....yep! Seen a few....with the governor intact!!! Have I seen a flywheel grenade? Never. Have I ever heard of someone getting injured by one? Nope. Have I heard of anyone here grenading one? No.

Have I heard of people removing govenors, adding better exhaust,air filter, porting, and rejetting and running the stock flywheel and con rod without problems? All the time.

So.....it would appear that your statements are contradictory not only to my experience, but more importantly, to the collective knowledge of this forum , which is one of the functions of a forum, to let the collective knowledge guide us.

 

[crazykart]

very very well said Poboy.

 

[JMINDY]

Of the local road course tracks that I've looked into, they all have a stock clone classes without the governor. They only allow you to change out the flywheel with the exception of one track allows forged or billet connecting rod. You would think if the tracks were routinely experiencing engine failures, they would set up different rules. Why only allow flywheel changes?...to me, rod-valve-or flywheel, the flywheel is the least of my worries to fail first...maybe it's an insurance issue, as a flywheel is more likely to injure someone???

Anytime you start altering the engine to get more speed, the potential is greater for failure.

Mulletcar88 statement is not untrue or contradictory... everything he stated could potentially happen. I don't see where Mullet said replace the springs first. He just stated that it is, in his opinion, not worth the risk.

But as Poboy stated, there is not much documentation on this or other forums, plus tracks, that show a great risk to running a stock engine without the governor... usually

As stated Affordablegokarts is a great website to start to learn engine mods.

Want something safe (warranty)? leave it alone...
Want to go faster? Start with exhaust, breather, and governor removal.
Want to reduce the risk of problems with going faster? Replace the connecting rod... then valve springs... flywheel, etc.
Want to go even faster? Do more mods, like cam, carb, etc.
Only your budget will dictate you how fast or how much risk you are willing to take!

 

[Trevor51]

Has any one heard about some other metal coating on the piston wearing out spinning at 5000rpm making it lose compression

 

[Half-breeder]

OK... not sure if its been said (I iggy argument replies)... speaking from a NON professional on engines (even though I 'do' know the Honda clones inside n out). Awhile back I didnt know know the 'risks' of removing the governor and I got the pretty much same kinda answers youre getting 'above'. After hearing all I wanted to hear... I removed the 'opinions' from the 'facts'... and I made my 'own' judgement call (NOT because someone told me to do it!)... BTW, I did remove my governor, and havent regretted it in the least!

In reference to your question... NO it is NOT safe to remove the governor! NOT an opinion... just a fact. ANY upgrades done to an engine causes wear n tear... but then again... just using a stock engine causes wear n tear!... So, removing the governor (properly/fully) just causes the engine to have higher RPMs... no 'extra' HP, infact there's less HP at higher 5k RPMs than at 3600 (unless a specified cam is introduce into the mix). W/ stock springs (10lbs) the valves will 'act' as the governor at around 5k RPMs.

The stock conrods are designed to withstand the 5k RPM's the engine would produce, but they have an expiration date (like milk). From what I 'hear' the date is normally about 8yrs... but the length of time is just hear-say and is under the fact that the governor is still intact/functioning... but the fact that they have an expiration date IS fact, but I imagine the length of time IS shortened due to more/faster movement(s) in a governorless engine.

Depending on the drag factor, on the engine (how hard it's run) and the parts used for propulsion (clutch type... gearing), is another BIGGY on 'how-long' will running w/out a governor last... but then again the same could be asked/wondered w/ a stock engine aswell!

Fact is that movement causes wear. The faster/harder it moves, the better the chances of a shortened life span. ANY unneeded alterations are not good... but some are useful to gain topend... and cheaper in the long run... ei- 3/4" shaft parts vs 1"... engine alteration cost vs a whole new engine(stock 8+hp)... engine mounting holes are different after 6.5hp... keeping same gearing vs. having to regear... etc.

 

[Mulletcar88]

I'm not trying to start an internet rumble, I'm just stating my experiences and what I have seen and heard from other forums. And I did mean to say that stiffer valve springs should be installed after governor removal to avoid valve float. A good friend of mine ruined a 6 pack 440 in his superbee (I know, not a clone) from valve float, it dropped 4 valves. I'd hate to see someone on a budget ruin even a clone engine.

 

[landuse]

I'm not trying to start an internet rumble, I'm just stating my experiences and what I have seen and heard from other forums. And I did mean to say that stiffer valve springs should be installed after governor removal to avoid valve float. A good friend of mine ruined a 6 pack 440 in his superbee (I know, not a clone) from valve float, it dropped 4 valves. I'd hate to see someone on a budget ruin even a clone engine.

If you get stiffer springs after removing the governor without putting in a billet rod, your engine WILL self destruct.