Would you consider the V Twin the V8 of the go-kart world?

[kartmann007]

For the sake of discussion, I’d be curious to see what everyone thinks about this statement. Have you ever built any V-Twin karts?

 

[Hellion]

It's been done around the interwebz but yeah, it's a nice sounding industrial engine and the pinnacle of kart engines I guess, especially the Predator version since it is accessible.

 

[Hellion]

I think the V-twin is the V-12 of kart engines!

 

[Whitetrashrocker]

This must be that new math.

 

[Kartorbust]

The Predator 212 at the least is the LS swap of the go kart world. 670 or any V-twin for that matter? Probably 572 crate.

 

[Denny]

I don’t understand the question. And get off my grass!!! Actually get off grass so I can understand what you’re talking about.

 

[panchothedog]

The Predator 212 at the least is the LS swap of the go kart world. 670 or any V-twin for that matter? Probably 572 crate.

The popularity of, and the amount of hop up parts available for the predator 212 make it ( in my opinion ) the small block Chevy ( by far the most popular hot rodded engine of all time ) of the go kart world. Is 572 the biggest that G M
made? I thought they was a 620 cu. in. crate motor. I realize people do build them, but the V-twins BARELY qualify as a go kart engine. Size, weight, and expense put quite a stretch on the practicality of it. None the less, a lot of torque, and a lot of fun.

 

[Kartorbust]

They do have a 632cu/in V8, but I've seen way more 572 crates floating around. The small block has been replaced with the LS family for a number of years now. Stronger design and plenty of aftermarket support.

 

[panchothedog]

You're right about the L S engine family. I'm sort of stuck in the past. Unbelievable the amount of horsepower those engines can produce. And even be smog compliant.

 

[Hellion]

Since the analogy was made to a V-8 and the go-kart engine du jour is a tired old pushrod engine, I had to confirm the LS engines are themselves stuck in the past. An old fashioned pushrod V8? Amazing.

I can't name an OHC GM engine aside from the Northstar and the newer one in the Corvette.... What else am I missing?

 

[Kartorbust]

Since the analogy was made to a V-8 and the go-kart engine du jour is a tired old pushrod engine, I had to confirm the LS engines are themselves stuck in the past. An old fashioned pushrod V8? Amazing.

I can't name an OHC GM engine aside from the Northstar and the newer one in the Corvette.... What else am I missing?

Fun factoid, as far as gas and diesel engines are concerned, overhead valve and overhead cam engines are about the same age, maybe a few years difference, but close enough. OHC are made to make power higher in the RPM band vs OHV.

Regardless to answer you're query, 2.7 TurboMax is a inline 4 dohc. Its the base engine that replaced the 4.3 V6 in the Silverado and Sierra 1500. The 3L Duramax diesel is a straight six dohc.

Toyota Tundra V8s are single overhead cam. The F150 with the 5L V8 is dohc. When the Titan was still being made, that 5.6 was Dohc. The Titan XD had a 5L Cummins was dohc.

But GM? Most of their V8s are ohv, with just the few exceptions in the higher trim Corvettes.

 

[Whitetrashrocker]

Ug. The Northstar. Good until they arnt.
Once they blow the head gasket, good luck keeping a new one on there. And why put the starter in the valley pan.

Same for the 2uz.
But at least those last.
Got just shy of 300k on mine and it dont leak. Oil still looks like honey even after 9k miles.

 

[Denny]

There is a trade off with any technology. Pushrods are cheap and reliable. Have you ever wiped out a journal on a ohc engine? It gets real expensive fast.

 

[Kartorbust]

Not doing regular maintenance will destroy any engine. My dealership put in place a 5000mi/6mo oil change requirement for all Mopar vehicles 2013 and newer. Since then, we have seen a significant decrease in replacing cams and lifters in the 3.6 Pentastar.

All customers have to provide maintenance records on their vehicles for cam and lifter warranty repairs. While some of it might be poor design or materials choices, some of it is done to lack of proper maintenance.

 

[Whitetrashrocker]

What's your thought on this new trend of 0W-5 oils?
I know that machining tolerances have got better but the oil is used as a bearing surface. I see alot of complaints from mechanics saying the thin oil is to blame.

 

[Kartorbust]

I don't have much of an opinion yet on them. Only ones with 0w8 at this point in time is Toyota. But going that thin, requires CLEAN surfaces. All machining shavings need to be completely out. Partly why GM is having so many issues it seems with the 6.2L.

I prefer 5w20 more. But I run the required 0w20 in the 2014 GMC 1500 I got from my dad. It seems to do just fine.

 

[kartmann007]

I think the V-twin is the V-12 of kart engines!

That is a cool way of looking at it! What would you consider the v8s of kart engines then?

 

[Kartorbust]

EC Carbs 240 might be the equivalent to a Coyote V8 swap. GX200 would be the 327/350 SBC. Predator 224 would be like a 5.7 or 6.4 Hemi sway since they have crap cams.

 

[Sparkwizard]

My 420 will shred your V2. The 420 single is the V8. The Vtwin is the greyhound rear engine Detroit Diesel. Noise, torque and HEAVY drivetrain and suspension.

 

[kartmann007]

I don’t understand the question. And get off my grass!!! Actually get off grass so I can understand what you’re talking about.

I was thinking of what people would consider v twins in the go kart world, as they are rare and powerful. I’ve equated them to v8s due to their sound!