would a 3.8 work for a go kart

[tyler]

hey everyone i would like like to know if a 3.8 hp lawn mower engine work for a go kart. plz help me

 

[2or3wheels]

is it vertical shaft?

 

[Jblankster]

if its a verticle shaft, its too much trouble for wat its worth, if it was a 10+ Vert. shaft then it would. if its a horizontal shaft then it might be... but it wont be very powerful.

 

[tyler]

it is a verticle shaft but i don;t need to it to very powerful.

 

[2or3wheels]

If its 4 stroke(no mixing gas and oil), you annont use this engine unless you get a transmissions and blah it would be better to buy a crapy lawn tractoe and rob the tran/rear end and motor off that.

 

[tyler]

the i'm taking an old tractor rear end off of it but i just need to put an engine on it
and i need it to be a pull start

 

[Jblankster]

youll need more than 3.5 horse in my opinion. try to find somethin bigger. ebay allways is good.

 

[tyler]

would a 4 to a 5 work or something bigger

 

[thatoneguy]

my friend built a one-and-a-half-seater go kart with a 3.5 horse briggs. It will only go 12 with two people in it, but it does 18 with one. Plus, it's pretty lightweight and only about eight inches long. but don't be expecting to look cool peeling out with a little engine like that.

 

[tyler]

the only thing is it is my first kart and i just want to build one then start to upgrade once i get to know stuff better

 

[tyler]

would a 4 or 5 hp be good

 

[Jblankster]

5 sounds good. but i think youll only go like 20 mph

 

[2or3wheels]

i think look for an 8, theyre not much different from a 3 or a 5 and you would have better low end power allowing you to gear is slightly higher giving you a speed around 30 (thats on the high side.