[Walt Gifford]

What kind of kart are you putting these on? Can you mount the one you have and see if the camber looks close to zero?

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[Walt Gifford]

Who has the best price on the Leatt brace?

[Walt Gifford]

I have a few similar stories, mostly from road racing which I don’t do anymore. Karting dishes you a real raw deal sometimes.

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[Walt Gifford]

I had a Rupp A bone that would slide sideways for days.

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[Walt Gifford]

I just have one question. What maximum rear track width is everybody using 50″ or 55″?

Thanks,
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[Walt Gifford]

That piston looks a little lumpy on top like it had some corrosion and someone bead blasted it. Do they come that way new? I would try to smooth that out with a flat file then some 220 grit paper (don’t round the edges).

Put the ring on the piston and check the side gap. If it’s more than .001″ you’ll get ring float and loose some compression. If it’s good, take some red scotchbrite and put a matte finish on the sides. New pistons are not round, they are tapered and cam shaped so you have to allow extra clearance at the skirt. If it’s already been running in that bore no worries on being too tight. How is the pin fit, are the bosses cracked, are the grooves for the clips punched out?

If you have a flexi ball hone keep it away from the ports at all costs. You can use it for 2 seconds only in the very top of the sleeve. Just a few little scratches, don’t be tempted to do more or you’ll bell mouth the top. If you have a shoe type hone you’d have to hone all the way through the plating to get the shape you want so don’t even get started with that. Best to just take your red scotchbrite and work the shinny area just below the top where the ring seats.

hey, it was running when it came in here, a new ring can’t hurt it.

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[Walt Gifford]

If I had your money I’d go full armadillo.

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[Walt Gifford]

Check your chain for pulsation (loose-tight). Sometimes you get a sprocket or carrier that is slightly off or the axle gets a slight bend. I spend allot of time getting the chain not to pulsate. Also check the engine crank for run out. Other than that, little clutch with a piped engine is a hard test, a lower stall speed and more corner speed will help it live. Change the bushing before it disintegrates and everything will stay fresh longer.

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[Walt Gifford]

A customer had 2 Comer ICA reed engines, one built in Texas turned 500 rpm higher than the one I built but mine got lower lap times. At some point it’s hard to quantify these things.

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[Walt Gifford]

Are you talking about wear between the crank and the ID of the main bearing? I use to worry about that until I saw how they clearance the shaft on 125 shifter engines to loosen it up.

[Walt Gifford]

Paying less and having almost nothing done is the joke. As someone who does the work for real, 1200 on an X30 sounds reasonable and 1500 is more the norm for everything that goes into it.

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[Walt Gifford]

Finding the right fit is sometimes frustrating paying for return shipping ect. Do not buy a Tiltit it puts all the cornering pressure right on 1-2 ribs and it will mess up your back. Get a ribtech or a deepseat they both have sizing charts.

Chassis parts that are branded with the kart name are the most expensive. You want the CKS Billet Aluminum Sprocket Hub. I’d stay away from floating sprocket mounts and anything wild.

http://cometkartsales.com/CKS-Billet-Aluminum-Euro-Sprocket-Hub.html

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[Walt Gifford]

I got you guys beat, I had a whole frame in the dining room for a week because the new paint wouldn’t dry in the garage.

You know your a bachelor when there’s nobody at the end of the straight giving you worried looks every lap.

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[Walt Gifford]

One thing for sure, if John Ferris is involved it’s going to be a good deal.

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[Walt Gifford]

I’ll tell you this, you can’t do it with just hand tools and the tools you need are a big investment. Do you want to get into the engine building business? The KT100 book is a good place to start for some general knowledge but, there are allot of details you learn from being brought up in the mechanic/machinist trades that are hard to learn from books or the internet.

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[Walt Gifford]

In my situation of high CG and over loaded tires it would tell me what I already know. My tires start off too cold then slowly over heat. If I reduce pressure they still over heat plus feel mushy. I just set my pressure from feel then put up with whatever temp that brings on any given day. Usually means I’m stuck to the track with snap over steer and a ton of caster dialed in. If karts were only 15% bigger.

I suppose you could move the sensors around over several track sessions or maybe just read the right front and rear.

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[Walt Gifford]

Why does everything in karting cost 300 something dollars.

[Walt Gifford]

With a sealed Rota$ you can’t pull the head. Usually on a two stroke if you need to clean the carbon you also need a top end rebuild.

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[Walt Gifford]

I would avoid pulling the plug wire with the engine running. If you need to stop a runaway engine put you hand over the carb. If that doesn’t work you have a serious air leak.

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[Walt Gifford]

Dang, most places will make a class if you have 3-5.

I will say I hate it when people are running that are not in the class. Even if you’re a back marker you should be clear to race the guy beside you. There was a shifter in with the KT100 class once. He didn’t know how to drive and we caught him. He would slow way down for every turn and bunch us up then scoot away on the straight. Finally we all plowed into him.

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[Walt Gifford]

I don’t see how you start the engine would make any difference to the carb. Any time I tried to put a bigger carb on something it just made more problems than it was worth, especially on a small sprint track.

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[Walt Gifford]

The only thing worse than a rental kart with no front grip is a rental kart with too much grip. Don’t put racing tires on it unless you have muscles like Zeus. At least that’s my experience with outdoor asphalt rental karts.

MM

[Walt Gifford]

I use to race karts cross country through woods and fields. Basically a racing type kart is going to be 1″ off the ground. To run in the yard or a coarsely groomed track you need 4″ of ground clearance and knobby tires. You’re going to be bottoming out and getting stuck every 10 feet.

MM

[Walt Gifford]

If you want to check the rings do a compression check or look in the exhaust port would be my first action.

[Walt Gifford]

But the title says…

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