Karting??..

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You guys have a lot of Jr racers out there? (.425 plate stuff)
I used to love watching the kids mix it up... a couple of them got hooked up in the back stretch and they come flying out of their karts.. they hopped up on their feet and started sluggin it out ! LOL
Yes sir. Some of the guys I raced with are starting their kids out in Jrs. I think they run Predators in some of those classes now.
 
A friend had his grand daughter in an asphalt sprint kart, Briggs World Formula, very successful.
The WF he had was one of those "One of a Thousand" motors where everything in it was perfectly machined right out of the box. That motor won 3 Duffys with Red at the wheel. IKF National events. He needed to borrow some fuel one Sunday for that WF, I handed him the Unocal 91 that I used. "I dunno, this motor likes the 89." :lol:

That's awesome !!! I love it when kids succeed like that !! To see the joy and the character being constructed is over the top. It will carry them for a lifetime !
 
That's awesome !!! I love it when kids succeed like that !! To see the joy and the character being constructed is over the top. It will carry them for a lifetime !

She was 14 and racing the adults. Red was the track champ twice I think in Hobby Stock here.
 
I did a .425 restricted motor for a local guy way back when. It was about the same time I got them figured out. The engine ran great! and the dad raced Jr when he was a kid and knew how to set it up.
That kid just flew that first night with the fresh motor and won the main. I can still remember his arms flying up in a V when crossed the checkered flag.
He came running to me laughing and half crying and gave me the biggest hug his soul could give! I was so happy for him, I started crying too !! all of that hard work flow testing and machine work nothing compared to the reward !!!!
I will never forget that.
 
Well there's a completely almost unbelievable deal on a couple rotax 125 karts... But they're 2004 and outdated.
All the extra goodies stands and whatnot but again outdated. Can't even get front brake shoes for them which they don't need front brakes but...
The one in the picture and post number one is a 2017 and just the LO206..
I just went and looked at it and it's very nice. And I could put a faster 2-stroke motor on it later if I wanted to....
Kind of where I'm at at the moment...

Outdated is a relative term used by Chassis manufactures to sell their product.
We used to call it the "Chassis of the Month Club".
 
I did a .425 restricted motor for a local guy way back when. It was about the same time I got them figured out. The engine ran great! and the dad raced Jr when he was a kid and knew how to set it up.
That kid just flew that first night with the fresh motor and won the main. I can still remember his arms flying up in a V when crossed the checkered flag.
He came running to me laughing and half crying and gave me the biggest hug his soul could give! I was so happy for him, I started crying too !! all of that hard work flow testing and machine work nothing compared to the reward !!!!
I will never forget that.
That's awesome. Did you ever dyno an engine?
 
That's awesome. Did you ever dyno an engine?

No, never did. Wanted to. Did you?
I figured once I was able to run with the higher dollar Turk Motor, I knew about what they had.
I still have most of the tooling for those, and I couldn't even tell you why.. LOL Parts are long gone. Except for 4 early 5 horse Briggs flywheels that are at the 5 lb 15 oz minimum. I spent so much time finding them, I can get myself to throw them out ! LOL
I discovered a way to get the newer heavier flywheels at the minimum that wouldn't catch the eye of the tech. Those were bitchin !
 
There's not much can be done to make drastic changes in a kart chassis.
Change how much or where it flexes or doesn't flex.
Most of those combinations have probably been tried at one time or another.
The tubing can get stressed/fatigued over the years.
 
No, never did. Wanted to. Did you?
I figured once I was able to run with the higher dollar Turk Motor, I knew about what they had.
I still have most of the tooling for those, and I couldn't even tell you why.. LOL Parts are long gone. Except for 4 early 5 horse Briggs flywheels that are at the 5 lb 15 oz minimum. I spent so much time finding them, I can get myself to throw them out ! LOL
I discovered a way to get the newer heavier flywheels at the minimum that wouldn't catch the eye of the tech. Those were bitchin !
The last one we had freshened by Bullet Racing Engines in Knoxville TN dynoed 13 and some change. Our fastest 1/4 mile lap was 14.5 or something like that. Of course the Animal would run at least a second quicker. That's awesome on the flywheel. I certainly miss it all.
 
There's not much can be done to make drastic changes in a kart chassis.
Change how much or where it flexes or doesn't flex.
Most of those combinations have probably been tried at one time or another.
The tubing can get stressed/fatigued over the years.

Yes, I remember that, though I wasn't a chassis guy... My last recollection was a frame with changeable 'torsion bar's' across the rear of the drivers seat. they would bolt in. Neat idea, but that was at about the same time I moved on to bracket racing.
 
The last one we had freshened by Bullet Racing Engines in Knoxville TN dynoed 13 and some change. Our fastest 1/4 mile lap was 14.5 or something like that. Of course the Animal would run at least a second quicker. That's awesome on the flywheel. I certainly miss it all.

I seem to recall that name.. 14 1/2 HP is really good !! I never thought I got up to that.. 13 yes. I kinda miss it too. But those Animals took the wind out my sail.
I should tell you the story about the flywheel.. funny really :)
 
I seem to recall that name.. 14 1/2 HP is really good !! I never thought I got up to that.. 13 yes. I kinda miss it too. But those Animals took the wind out my sail.
I should tell you the story about the flywheel.. funny really :)
I should have clarified, the 14.5 was the lap time lol I think our highest hp engine was like 13 and a quarter. Pretty decent for a 5hp Briggs. I'm all ears lol
 
I seem to recall that name.. 14 1/2 HP is really good !! I never thought I got up to that.. 13 yes. I kinda miss it too. But those Animals took the wind out my sail.
I should tell you the story about the flywheel.. funny really :)

World Formula Briggs were like 16? My Honda GX200 was right there with them.
 
The two karts with the great deal not so much being old, but the maintenance and all that stuff as well. Again the front brakes are no longer made and they really only need the back brake and they are replaceable. It's also the fact that the faster the car the more tires you're going to go through and more fuel and likely a race fuel.. also there's no longer a local 125 rotax class for those if I ever decide to race..
With the newer cart it is nice new and modern and only a few years old. It does have the lo206.. there's lots of competitive classes for that motor which of course is sealed.. also it can be upgraded to the faster 2-stroke engine. I don't think I'll ever get to the shifter kart..
it's just going to be too expensive..
 
If the deal is pretty good, might be worth it to pick it up for the parts and possible just for seat time on the older kart. My first kart was an '88 model. Talk about outdated. The bottom rails were full of buckshot for weight. It pushed like a snow plow.
When I say good deal that still $2,200...
Again that is a smoking deal for two carts with carriers helmet suit rib protectors mychron 3 which is the older version much older LOL and all that but that's a lot for just giving it a whirl...
On the other hand the 2017 with the lo206 is $2700 for the one cart but very easy on the wallet as far as maintenance and expenses. Again able to upgrade as I go or still hold its value if I want to sell an upgrade or just want to sell and say I had fun...
 
Buddy and I went to Laguna Seca to watch the Enduro Karts, also a nice weekend camping trip at the track. Turn 9 just before the start/finish line, the 250 shifter karts were literally smokin' the tires coming out of the corner :steering:
 
I should have clarified, the 14.5 was the lap time lol I think our highest hp engine was like 13 and a quarter. Pretty decent for a 5hp Briggs. I'm all ears lol

LOL ok. no secret now...
It started out while deep sea fishing. There was a collage student on board who was studying to be an engineer. (I wished I could have went this route, so I was interested in what he had to say..)
Through our conversation he mentioned that they were studying magnetic fields and were using a 5 HORSE BRIGGS in their study. My ears got pointy like Dr. Spock in Star Trek.
As you know, there was a lot of Juju about what the optimum coil gap was to run, and what gap to run for low end and for top end..
Their study concluded, that a percentage of magnetic energy was absorbed by the first leg to pass over the coil during rotation would get sucked back into the cast iron flywheel BEFORE the second leg of the coil would break magnetism that would cause the spark energy to release!
So they concluded as much as 38% of potential spark energy was being lost back into the cast iron.
Boy, did that get my wheels turning. I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET HOME.
This is just the problem I was hoping to solve... heavy azz flywheel, when the light ones were getting impossible to find, and the spark issue to boot !
So here's what I did.. I knocked the retaining roll pins out of the magnet and removed the magnet. I chucked the flywheel into the lathe (with old cut off crank) and turned down the OD of the flywheel .020 deep or .040 off of the OD total. No rule on flywheel diameter, just weight and 'no machining'. I figured, how could anyone prove who machined the flywheel?
Not only is the weight of the flywheel reduced, at the heaviest part - the OD, but the coil would also be further away from the cast iron!!! AND you could get that coil right next to the magnet for best spark !!
I would weight the flywheel with the magnet, of coarse, and if the flywheel was still way over the minimum, I would then re-chuck it it in the lathe and shorten the fins until it was at 6 lbs.
The only thing I had left to do, was to leave it outside so that the dew would rust up the fresh machine marks. Unless you were looking at the OD, you could not tell anything was ever done. Got good at it too. I could almost perfectly replicate the factory machine trail. LOL
Boy, stuff like this, really made it fun !!
 
When I say good deal that still $2,200...
Again that is a smoking deal for two carts with carriers helmet suit rib protectors mychron 3 which is the older version much older LOL and all that but that's a lot for just giving it a whirl...
On the other hand the 2017 with the lo206 is $2700 for the one cart but very easy on the wallet as far as maintenance and expenses. Again able to upgrade as I go or still hold its value if I want to sell an upgrade or just want to sell and say I had fun...
I think we ran a Mychron 2 or 3. I understand the parts issue. I think you'll have fun either way.
 
LOL ok. no secret now...
It started out while deep sea fishing. There was a collage student on board who was studying to be an engineer. (I wished I could have went this route, so I was interested in what he had to say..)
Through our conversation he mentioned that they were studying magnetic fields and were using a 5 HORSE BRIGGS in their study. My ears got pointy like Dr. Spock in Star Trek.
As you know, there was a lot of Juju about what the optimum coil gap was to run, and what gap to run for low end and for top end..
Their study concluded, that a percentage of magnetic energy was absorbed by the first leg to pass over the coil during rotation would get sucked back into the cast iron flywheel BEFORE the second leg of the coil would break magnetism that would cause the spark energy to release!
So they concluded as much as 38% of potential spark energy was being lost back into the cast iron.
Boy, did that get my wheels turning. I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET HOME.
This is just the problem I was hoping to solve... heavy azz flywheel, when the light ones were getting impossible to find, and the spark issue to boot !
So here's what I did.. I knocked the retaining roll pins out of the magnet and removed the magnet. I chucked the flywheel into the lathe (with old cut off crank) and turned down the OD of the flywheel .020 deep or .040 off of the OD total. No rule on flywheel diameter, just weight and 'no machining'. I figured, how could anyone prove who machined the flywheel?
Not only is the weight of the flywheel reduced, at the heaviest part - the OD, but the coil would also be further away from the cast iron!!! AND you could get that coil right next to the magnet for best spark !!
I would weight the flywheel with the magnet, of coarse, and if the flywheel was still way over the minimum, I would then re-chuck it it in the lathe and shorten the fins until it was at 6 lbs.
The only thing I had left to do, was to leave it outside so that the dew would rust up the fresh machine marks. Unless you were looking at the OD, you could not tell anything was ever done. Got good at it too. I could almost perfectly replicate the factory machine trail. LOL
Boy, stuff like this, really made it fun !!
That's absolutely awesome. This is hot rodding with karts!
 
I texted my son in Colorado and he says to paint the duster LOL.. I'm thinking he's going to inherit the thing why doesn't he have anything to do or spend on it? But duster been fine without paint..
 
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