Arizona Briggs and Stratton LO206 Pilot Program

Todd Snider · Last edited by Todd Snider on Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:15 am, edited 1 time in total

I'd like to open a thread to keep folks informed about the Pilot program starting up this Monday 4/20 at the Bondurant Briggs and Stratton Karting complex in Phoenix Arizona.

Background - Bondurant has been gracious enough to allow the use of it's Briggs and Stratton racing complex for testing and racing Briggs LO206 equipped race karts this summer. Traditionally, the track is used for Arrive and Drive programs through the Superkart school www.bondurantsuperkarts.com during peak months (spring/winter/fall) and for racing leagues in the summer using it's Briggs equipped rental kart fleet. Typical summer leagues draw 20 - 30 karts per race. Sessions are limited to 10 karts on track, creating 2 to 3 groups or brackets. We plan to add an additional group for LO206 karts and follow the same format. Our goal being to develop a core group of racers which would serve as the basis for a new budget friendly class serving a variety of racers as mentioned in many of the posts in this Briggs forum. If things develop as planned we'll transition this class over to PKRA www.pkra.com in the coming seasons.

Planned activity - test session Monday (4/20) from 4 - 6 pm @ Bondurant. Anyone interested is welcome to join if they have an LO206 equipped kart. John Mathews, owner of Heartbeat Racing Products www.heartbeatracingproducts.com will have at least one LO206 kart for interested parties to drive that night. Our main focus will be to put a few karts on the track to give the Bondurant staff a chance to address any concerns they may have. League schedules and format will be released shortly afterwards.

Please post your questions or comments. I plan to share as much of our experiences as possible.

Bondurant Karting Website - http://www.bondurant.com/kart_school/index.php
Briggs and Stratton Motorsports LO206 info - http://www.briggsracing.com/latest_news/Local_206_ad.pdf
Heartbeat Racing Products - www.heartbeatracingproducts.com
Phoenix Kart Racing Association - www.pkra.com
East Valley 4 stroke Website - http://evkc.org

Bondurant Briggs and Stratton Karting Complex

Todd Snider · Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 9:36 pm Post subject:

Additional info -
PKRA is an MG Tire track. I'll be running a set of MG IR (hard) tires over the summer. Durometer = 74. I'm not sure how that compares to the tires currently used in some of the SoCal programs, but we're hoping this tire will prove to be long lasting and sticky enough to provide a good balance between peformance and economy. The added bonus is they are about $25 less than all the softer compound MG tires @ ~ $165 a set.
www.mgtires.com

Rob Howden · Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:50 am Post subject:

Todd,

This program sounds like its on the right track. The venue looks good and the straight focus on the spec low-cost 206 will keep the purity there. If you can build a following for this program at Bondurant, then transition the class to the PKRA, it would a huge development. New karters can be introduced to the sport through this easy-to-understand and affordable program, then can move to the PKRA looking for more events in which to compete. At that point, they are shown the other options they have in the sport.

I like it.

I wish I could be there to sample the 206 package myself.
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Todd Snider · Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:09 am Post subject:

Thanks Rob.

Anytime you'd like to make a stop in Phoenix and sample the 206, just let me know. I'm 20 minutes from Bondurant and I'm sure Alan would roll out the red carpet (in exchange for a reduction in estimated age).

I'll be posting more information over the weekend as I build my kart and then after the test session on Monday.

Todd

John Matthews · Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:32 pm Post subject:

I'll be there with my big guy kart. I had planned on bringing a second kart for someone else to drive but I sold it this week. We should have another hotshot though, I'm helping Ian Pierce to put together a kart and he knows his way around that track pretty well....

I plan on running myself but there might just be a chance for someone else to drive my kart after I get a few laps in Wink

Actually the kart I was going to bring got split up with the engine going to someone who had a chassis and the chassis going to someone who already has a stock Animal. I suspect this thing is gonna grow pretty quick with as much interest as we have already. Once people start to see they won't be the only one out there they'll jump in since there's a real need for a class like this.

Thanks,
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John Matthews
Heartbeat Power, LLC.

Todd Snider · Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 10:47 pm Post subject:

Install is pretty much done - need to pick up some header wrap, but the plan is to run without this week.

Last month I picked up a used Tonykart Icon chassis that was set up as a "Rok Box", an inexpensive TAG set up marketed by Compcor back in 04/05 I believe. The frame looks to be a Racer or very close to one. It's 30 mm with lower cost billet aluminum OTK components, a single master BS2 brake system, standard straight up caster/camber, and bolt on right side seat strut.

Costs so far - I paid $1500 for the kart used and sold the Rok for $800 so I'm in the chassis for $700. Total cost for the 206 was right around $800 which included an upgraded Burris adjustable mount, and RLV spec 5506 pipe/muffler. I had to purchase a pulse fitting for one of the oil fill plug holes ($1.50 from True Value). Total is ~ $1500. I had a Mychron 4 w/GPS sitting in the garage - obviously not a must have in this class. If I had a more simplistic gauge, I would have used it. Used gauges can be had for $50 - $150 w/temp, RPM, and lap times. Clutch is a $70 Noram w/15 tooth #35 driver.

One thing I noticed right away, the motor is very compact and lightweight. For some reason, I thought these were heavy. The motor + mount + clutch weighed in at 33 lbs. With the pipe, oil, and chain I think we're right around 35 - 40 lbs max.

Mounting the motor - I offset the motor to the right as much as possible to clear the seat strut. The chain might be a bit long with the clutch being in front of the strut. Big issue for me is the side pod fitting is one of those slip fit/welded types which creates an obstacle for the motor mount. Right now I have the mount centered over the obstruction to allow ~ 1 inch +/- adjustment for different gears. Tilting the seat strut forward may be necessary in order to move the motor rearward, if the chain length becomes an issue.

Pipe issue - Offsetting the motor and using RLV 5506 pipe creates a conflict at the rear bumper on this kart. Taking some of the radius out of the pipe allowed an exit just above the bumper. An angled exit header may be something to consider if allowed in your area. Once I got the pipe to clear, I added a piece of flat stock aluminum which is secured under the header and silencer clamps. This should keep the silencer from vibrating off the header. Double clamps were used for both the header and silencer.

Rather than use an aftermarket throttle assembly a direct piece of plastic throttle tubing was used between the throttle fitting on the frame and the carb. Some extra throttle tube was used to protect the plastic tubing from the header. A couple of 1/2" rubber coated hose clamps secure the throttle cable to the control plate and carb overflow tube to the lower part of the motor.

After draining the rest of the assembly oil, I added 16 oz of oil to the motor, purged the tank of old two stroke fuel and added new fuel lines. After pressurizing the tank to fill the float bowl, the motor started on the second pull without the choke on. Sounds good and idles - nice.

Next plan is to run the kart at PKRA tomorrow before running at Bondurant Monday. The chain is binding a little as it passes between sprocket halves. I've tighten up the sprocket halves using the chain to set the pitch - however, the halves don't line up perfectly. Not sure if I'll need to surface the sprocket hub or not. I'm hoping the chain and sprocket wear a little tomorrow and loosen things up a little. Also checked skew in the motor mount - near perfect as there is very little slop in the mount plates - they are set with conical bolts and recesses in the plates.

Overall, pretty easy install that took ~ 8 hours over the course of a few days. I'm sure some can do it faster - but taking your time, I think 8 hours would be a good estimate.

Greg Houston · Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:00 pm Post subject:

Todd, looks great! Look forward to the results. I am an old oval guy. For your gear issue, check to make sure that one of the sprocket halves are not flipped, it happens all the time over at AKA.

P.S. What tooth sprocket are you running?
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Todd Snider · Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:25 pm Post subject:

Thanks Greg...

I ran a 15/59 today targeting 50 MPH. The motor easily pulls this gear, hitting the rev limiter right at the kink so I think a 15/57 or perhaps even lower could be faster. Main thing today was to work out the bugs, of which there were really none. Kart and motor worked great. No gear issues at all. Actually, I was pretty surprised. It's a little smoother drive than a Yamaha w/3 hole can, speed isn't too bad and the motor is super smooth. My lap times were 54.8 with the gearing off. That translates to ~ 56.8 for the full track (turn two was taken out today). PKRA usually requires a little over rev so bumping the rev limiter for a while on the straight may actually be the fast way around the track.

I was getting oil up in the fuel pump so I need to rig something up to allow the oil to drain back to the case or put a baffle of some sort to prevent oil from getting up that far, I thought about putting a fuel filter in the pulse line (?). The motor didn't seem to care though and the pump vents the oil out the top.
I'm happy with the performance. Several folks stopped by to take a look. Should be a fun class to race with momentum being such a key element.

Will report back after tomorrow's test at Bondurant.

Todd Snider · Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:20 am Post subject:

We'll be out at Firebird from 4 - 6 pm today. If we end up with more drivers than karts, Alan will pull out a few rental karts. Bring your driving gear.
Thanks,
Todd

Todd Snider · Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 7:10 pm Post subject:

Great little test session tonight. We had 4 karts. Two of which had not been on pavement as 206s. No mechanical issues - all 4 karts and drivers were on the track for a good solid hour, maybe more. We ran both the short configuration and full track in both directions. It was agreed, the clockwise full track makes for better passing and probably a little better safety.

We all shot for the 4.5 gear ratio targeting 44 MPH. All 4 motors easily hit the rev limiter on all track layouts so dropping 3 teeth or so should put us in the 47 MPH range which is really all the track can handle safety. It's a fun layout, definitely a lot going on. For the purposes of getting the class rolling, it's a good start.

Benn Herr from the road racers was on track taking pictures. I'll see if I can get a few to post. We had 4 drivers and ~ 6 more there watching who are interested in driving (Benn has two karts already). We're shooting for 6 - 10 karts by the first race. Total # of people there was about 13 - 15.

Alan was happy with the session and will be putting the league schedule together soon. I'll post that along with the fees as soon as things are solidified.

John Matthews · Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:06 pm Post subject:

From the "old, heavy and slow" guy perspective I think the track is great. Should be good for beginners and for more experienced drivers looking for a mid-week workout. I'll be posting Benn's photos on the EVKC website as soon as I get them. Thanks to everyone who showed up, it's clear we have plenty of interest in the class and momentum keeps building. And a very special thanks to Alan Rudolph for letting us get out there Very Happy

Cheers,
_________________
John Matthews
Heartbeat Power, LLC.

Benn Herr · Joined: 18 Jul 2001 Posts: 1579

Hah!

Beat you guys to the punch. You can see some pictures from session here:
http://www.southwestkarters.com/?page_id=51&lzkfile=EastVallyTrackDay%2F

It was a great time.
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Todd Snider · Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:23 pm Post subject:

Link to local discussion - http://pkra.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1495&posts=28&start=1.

michael schorn · Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:37 am Post subject:

Todd you stole that Tony kart. That thing is pristine.
Engine looks good on it. Looks like it was made for it.

While I haven't been to the track, I may suggest a 16 drum driver for the clutch and a 3.7 ratio.
The animals have good torque on the bottom end and the Noram can handle it all day long. We had best luck with purple or green spring and heavy shoe for the clutch. Mid shoe placement for engagement.
That was our basic set up for most all tracks we went to and then change the ratio a bit for different lengths.
Are you planning on running a spec number of gears for the league?

I am a bit envious. Looks like you have great start of a class going and once your out there and there is close racing and the guys and gals are yucking it up at the scales after the race, more will follow.

Keep us posted.
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Todd Snider · Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:41 pm Post subject:

Michael,
Thanks. We've had a bit of a hick up in the program. I've taken a job in Norcal and have been commuting from Phoenix Mon-Thur. The commute will taper off towards the end of the summer and we'll be back in business. I thought about hauling the kart up to San Jose if I can find some 4 stroke folks to run with.
Todd