Kart at Mooresville Motorplex (GoPro Motorplex)

After the build, I decided the kart needed some serious track testing. We ended up driving from Raleigh, NC to Mooresville, NC to get to GoPro Motorplex. We were there on the 3rd of January 2014. No one was there due to the cold weather (below freezing). For those who live in the South, I would check this place out. Incredible, world-class track with a great staff. here is the link to the track: http://www.gopromotorplex.com/index.cfm

We ended up driving the kart quite hard the entire day. The only problem was the tire traction. I was using Dunlop DCM kart slicks. These tires are great on coarse surfaces such as parking lots. However, with the extreme cold and slick surface, steering was difficult. Luckily, MMX had a bunch of free slightly used tires SPECIALLY made for the track. We were able to put on a pair of Hoosier fronts. This compound was awesome. I was able to shave my track time down by 6 seconds. However, the rears were still a bit slick. Spin-outs were common. My best lap time was 70 seconds. Many Rotax karts will run around 50 seconds. I still need to get the gear ratio right… more torque is needed in the tight turns. I was maxing out around 7200 rpm (8400 max). So a larger rear sprocket would be appropriate. After this new 440cc engine swap, sub-60 seconds should be easy.

Here are a few pics from the track:

Me at MMX

Kart at MMX

MMX Raceway

MMX Raceway

MMX Raceway

FREE TIRES

New Race Kart as of January 2014

Check out: “NEW Tony Kart Replica: The Ultimate Racing Machine” for the entire build.

Finished kart

Finished Kart

Race parts on Kart

A week ago, I was able to install multiple racing components. In a previous post, I included all the upgrades I bought and planned to add to the kart. Here they are:

Rear view of the kart. Notice the wide rear. 47.5.” Azusa karts have a 36″ axle for comparison.

New Racing hubs on the axle. Very good anodized aluminum hubs. American bolt pattern (2.5″)

Front brake set-up. Rotors are excluded in this picture. The rotors are mounted with spacers on the free holes in the hub.

Vintage style steering wheel with quick release mount. Very comfortable steering wheel.

Front hub and wheel configuration. Calipers have not been installed yet.

Complete kart with Douglas racing wheels and Dunlop DCM/DCS tires (soft compound).

8540 max RPM. This is under no load. I was able to reach 8200 rpm at max speed (65 mph).

New Raceseng Rev Rockers. Expensive, but incredibly efficient and smooth rockers. I also bought chrome-moly push rods as insurance.

Front and upgraded brake system

New front brake system is in. Now waiting to be installed.

Full front system with 34″ stainless steel braided lines

Master Cylinder. Used on large off-road karts

Large caliper with line and rotor

New RACING Parts

17 November 2013-Here are the new parts:

Race Hubs

New hubs and rotor set-up. Rotor will be on one side and rim on the other.

New rotors and brake calipers. These are from a Hammerhead buggy. Massive brakes on a small kart.

Douglas rims and Dunlop Tires

Tires on new rims

Douglas rims and Dunlop Tires

SolidWorks model of the entire updated kart

SolidWorks model of the front brake system

Race Kart as of October 2013.

Kart without side skirts

New and improved since crash. Interchangeable exhaust pipes

New and improved since crash. Interchangeable exhaust pipes. Includes decaled side skirts.

Me driving

The new and improved. This is my current kart set-up. This includes a new blue frame, wider rear axle, racing fiberglass seat, improved steering, and side skirts.

I will be adding many more mods in the future. They should be up by early December. I am getting serious about karting. Here are the upcoming mods:

-.276 racing camshaft from DynoCams
-1:2 ratio REV Rockers from Raceseng
-Chrome-Moly push rods
-Douglas black aluminum race rims (5×5 in front and 5×6 in rear)
-Dunlop Racing slicks (11x5x5 front and 11x6x5) in rear
-Aluminum tri-hole racing hubs (2.5 inch bolt circle)
-new steering wheel
-quick release steering hub
-Large kart master brake cylinder
-front disc rotors
-front hydraulic disc brakes
-upgraded pedals (I decided to use vintage pedals as they are quite nice and ergonomic)
-RPM tachometer

Mods as of July 2013

Mods include:
-14cc ported head
-26lb valve springs
-upgraded valve train with 1:2 ratio rockers
-.265 lift Dyno Cam
-ARC Billet rod and flywheel
-Flat top piston
-22mm Mikuni
-Stainless Steel valves
-advanced timing 8*
-Running almost 60mph

This is my new frame. The frame was made and also destroyed July 2013. Check out the accident page for more info. I have rebuilt the kart and still working on many upgrades. I will soon make another post about it.

Current Mods Video

This is the current set up. I used an HD Hero Go Pro attached to my helmet.

Max speed is 46mph. The kart is geared for torque so the acceleration is good. You will hear the kart rev pretty high quick. A smaller sprocket would increase the speed but keep a good acceleration.

Background

Karting on a private rural road

I have been a hobby “go-karter” for many years now. The simplicity of the design gives a significant advantage over full size vehicles. It is easy to work on them and even make them. Throughout this blog I will reveal all of my projects.

I currently own only one kart. However, I have worked on and even made multiple karts. I will go indepth on these designs. My current kart is by far my greatest creation. It showes the transformation of a simple kard kart that I bought for under $200 to a powerful machine.

I hope to inspire those interested in home kart building and modifications! I work with honda gx series engines. So for those with questions ask me!