[Matt Martin]

are you going road racing?  are you sticking to dirt ovals?

 

if you’re road racing you’ll likely need a new chassis – most oval chassis are offset – asymmetrical.

[Matt Martin]

Summit Point Main? or Shenandoah?

 

hopefully this helps:

http://eknclassic.com/viewtopic.php?t=33941&start=0

[Matt Martin]

I would suggest the filter be on the feed line from the tank to the pump.

My only suggestion there is to inspect the filter and see if it is faulty and could potentially introduce air.  Try to flex it and see if there’s any give which could open a gap – I suspect that’s quite unlikely.

[Matt Martin]

In addition to making sure there are no cracks in the tank’s pick up line (and/or bulkhead), I would suggest using a Y or a T to connect the both pump outlets to a single hose, then another Y to branch them back out.  One returning to the tank – with a restriction – and one feeding the carb.

The only other thing I can recommended is if you have any in-line filters, to make sure they are tight, and not able to introduce air into the system under any kind of loading.

 

-Matt

 

[Matt Martin]

This is how I have mine routed, and have not run into this issue (I also have a slight restriction in the return line):

 

[Matt Martin]

Has to be a fuel pick-up issue if it’s happening with three carbs.

 

Fuel pick up system:

– Pulse fitting (could be affected by reeds, or crank-case sealing)

– fuel pump

– feed/pick-up line

– Pump-to-carb/return line.

Have you restricted the fuel-pump return hose with a zip tie or clamp?

 

can you post a photo of the fuel line circuit?

Does the problem occur on left and right sweepers?

[Matt Martin]

 

[quote quote=76322]Anything would be better than what I’ve seen, which is nothing.  I don’t run a Karting News website, you do.[/quote]

He runs a karting news site and forum – not a mind-reading service.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140710164254-11901792-don-t-stop-complaining-complain-effectively

 

[Matt Martin]

[quote quote=75317]The problem we’ve been finding is that nobody carries Birel, at least in the Midwest. [/quote]

https://www.mrpmotorsport.com/ ???

[Matt Martin]

Rules are written to keep things in check. Right?

I don’t think a reply was even necessary. I think the person outed themselves as the bad sport without any extra attention.

[Matt Martin]

– 2 stroke Motorcycle/dirt bike engines – are they an option? If so, what have people been using? I assume not as they don’t use liquid cooling, but karts use radiators.

Karts have primarily used 2-stroke motorcycle engines. The most popular are the 1999 CR125 w/ a 1997 CR125 6-speed gearbox. The 2001 is probably the 2nd most popular engine.

Most shifter karts use the same frame-rail spacing for the engine – get the mount that goes with your engine matched to your frame-rail diameter.

I think mounts exist for YZ engines, KZ (kawasaki), and other motorcycle-based engines.

– Are there such things as direct injected 2-stroke shifter engines?

Maybe. None that are legal in anything but some sort of “unlimited” class. Do you have $10k?

– What are the top 3 go kart specific shifter engines people use? What are the reasons for using them?

These are often referred to as KZ, KZ2, and ICC engines (used somewhat interchangeably)

TM (historically strong motor throughout global competition) K9, K9b, K9c, KZ10, KZ10b, KZ10C

Maxter

Pavesi

Motori

Derbei

Modena

Vortex

– What engines have the most aftermarket support and spare parts? This is very important as I don’t want to run into an issue where I can’t easily obtain a part.

Honda CR engines.

Basically, pick your engine based on what club/group you plan to run with locally. Or, if you don’t care about placing, put whatever is cheapest, and reliable.

I am sort of in the same boat as you – I do a few races a year at most. I have a 2008 kart with an early TM K9 engine (it’s what I found first). I would like a CR engine, but the initial buy in was twice what I’ve got in my TM even after a full rebuild.

[Matt Martin]

I have an Intrepid Explorer (same chassis manufacturer) and run into the same issue.  Never felt any impact steering or braking while on the track.

[Matt Martin]

http://sharkshifter.com/zc/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=492_281_185_188&products_id=108&zenid=8a3c04f5ae8da1c9cc994af9f5ed0c35

[Matt Martin]

are the blue ones FA kart?

[Matt Martin]

If it uses the older style spindles (8mm king pin), it’s likely 8mm x 22mm, if it’s newer (10mm king pin) it would be 10mm x 26mm bearing.

The wheel bearings would be 17 x 35mm if it’s a 17mm spindle; or 25 x 42 x 12mm on the newer, 25mm spindles.

 

Then, there’s just the uniball on the steering shaft.

[Matt Martin]

grab a pair of calipers and measure.

 

I’d assume the rear axle uses 80mm x 50mm or 90mm x 50mm

Does the kart use 17mm or 25mm front spindles?

[Matt Martin]

I agree it’s expensive currently.  Prices will come down – that’s why many high-end performance kart rental/arrive-and-drive places have gone for electric.

 

But, a top-of-the-line KZ2 setup will run the same price and cost way more over the life of it.

Consider the life-cycle costs – electricity at $0.15 /kWhr (when energy is expensive) vs. the cost of race fuel and rebuilds.

 

 

I still love the noise my TM makes, but the prospect of electric-drive karts is thrilling.

[Matt Martin]

if you were to go with commercially-available pre-made “kits” you’re looking at $3-7k depending on power and air vs. water cooled setups.  The fancy water-cooled setups with regenerative braking make 15kW (20hp) “continuous”, and 38kW (50hp) “peak” (1 min continuous).

[Matt Martin]

John,

Thanks for the insight.  I ended up running my spare K9A cylinder for now.

If I can score a K9C cylinder and pipe for a deal, I’d love that.

I’m not in a rush to sort any of this out as I’m only able to get out a few times a year and run with my local club.

[Matt Martin]

You can use whatever battery you want.  Li-Ion is the current best performer (of non-experimental batteries) with respect to energy per unit mass.

Depending how motivated you are, you could use modules from existing vehicles – Zero motorcycle, or a number of electric cars.  Or, you could make your own cells to fit neatly on the kart – E-bike folks have documented it fairly well:  https://www.electricbike.com/home-built-battery-18650s/

[Matt Martin]

40mm? 50mm? 415?  428?

[Matt Martin]

You’ll find rental kart setups, and home-made setups.  that’s basically all there is out there right now.

The best option for racing would be to have a decent thermal management system, in addition to a spare battery pack or two.

 

Battery life will greatly depend on the track, and % of time spent on the throttle.

 

The Zero motorcycle ran an 11.4kWh battery and I would guess that you could get 10-15min out of it. They ran one – in production trim – up Pike’s Peak in about 12 minutes.

[Matt Martin]

Previously Honda was still producing all the replacement parts and the end-user, or a shop would assemble them.  It seems that now honda is selling factory units, again:

 

https://hpd.honda.com/racing-line/racing-line-store/part.aspx?program=karting&number=HC0013

[Matt Martin]

aren’t boats usually a polyester resin?  Epoxy is a phenolic resin.  either way most paints which say they can “work on plastics” are probably adequate – give a pass using 320-grit sand paper and a de-wax/de-grease.  Then you should be good to go!

[Matt Martin]

Have you removed the seals and measured them?  is their cross-sectional shape square?

 

is it these calipers?

 

There seems to be a lot of cross-over between brake parts, so the measurements can help.  The other critical thing to know is which brake fluid is recommended in the master cylinder so you can match the rubber to the brake fluid type.

If that fails, there are a number of other rear calipers you can run.  There have been a bunch of affordable WildKart calipers that have come up on ebay with mounting brackets.

[Matt Martin]

if the brakes are binding, i’d check the bore of the master cylinders, and bore of the brake calipers – make sure they’re not terribly scored up.

I would also call the manufacturer/distributor for the parts you have, and see what they say to run.

 

Remember DOT5.1 =/= DOT5.

DOT5.1 and DOT4 are gylcol-based fluids.

DOT5 is Silicone.

 

What that means is that you usually don’t find rubber seals compatible with both – it’s one or the other.

 

 

 

EDIT: it seems OTK uses DOT5 (silicone-based fluids).

My intrepid with Righetti Ridolfi Master cylinders runs DOT4 or gylcol-based fluids.

If you ran the wrong fluids, you’ll need to replace all the seals in the brake system – both master cylinders, and front and rear calipers.

 

[Author]

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