Track Tac

alcohol or gas,

foreverfaster

foreverfaster

Site Supporter
new to karting... gas 110 or alcohol
starting with an education before I spend the money..
once I get a kart it will be running on an undersized 1/4 mile fairly flat paved track

any advise is welcome
 
right now I don't think there are any rules. a near by track has started letting karts race there. moving to karts so I can race with my kids.. more fun less crash and rebuild every week or so. Ran 110 oct in my race cars. i'm still looking for some karts... going to the track this weekend to see what there karts look like.
 
Most kart engines run better on lower octane gas, because the C.R.'s aren't high enough to need anything higher, or just plain Methanol.
 
Most people don't understand that octane is a measure of the fuels ability to resist detonation. You only need high-octane if you have high compression. That's the reason there are three grades of gasoline at most stations. The great majority of the cars made in the USA today have low compression, thus they can use the low octane fuel. The stock clone classes are in this category. If you have low compression, and can run the low octane fuel without detonation, it's going to be a little faster than the high-octane fuel.

From the desk of Al Nunley
Comments compliments criticisms and questions always welcome.
If the data does not support the theory, get a new theory.(Al Nunley
 
i run 110 octane Sunoco (open fuel rule).....but we've shaved the heads, use flat top pistons and run the 356 cams. they will run on pump gas, but do have a tendency toward detonation with the higher combustion chamber pressures....so we spend the extra and run race fuel.....
 
foreverfaster said:
right now I don't think there are any rules. a near by track has started letting karts race there. moving to karts so I can race with my kids.. more fun less crash and rebuild every week or so. Ran 110 oct in my race cars. i'm still looking for some karts... going to the track this weekend to see what there karts look like.
Click to expand...
My advice...."KISS"! If your track(s) allows it, it's 'convenient' too get and your C/R exceeds 12.0 (min)....ur-good-2go!
 
mikey56 said:
i run 110 octane Sunoco (open fuel rule).....but we've shaved the heads, use flat top pistons and run the 356 cams. they will run on pump gas, but do have a tendency toward detonation with the higher combustion chamber pressures....so we spend the extra and run race fuel.....
Click to expand...
when you say pump gas what are you talking about, low medium high octane? How many CC's in your combustion chamber? With the bore and stroke I could give you some recommendations. Or; bore, stroke, head CC's, gasket thickness and in the hole on the piston.

From the desk of Al Nunley
Comments compliments criticisms and questions always welcome.
If the data does not support the theory, get a new theory.(Al Nunley
 
ok, so I take it that most of the karts are 10:1 or lower in the compression ratio C/R (did I get that right) so pump fuel it is... beats the hell out of $7** / gallon race fuel.. thanks all for the advise.. looking forward to our first real race kart and getting the kids in them..
 
We run SA class, no meth allowed running 10.5-12.5 comp ratio... Using pump gas 94 octane.
Sometimes when needed we add a 10-20% Xylene.
 
foreverfaster said:
ok, so I take it that most of the karts are 10:1 or lower in the compression ratio C/R (did I get that right) so pump fuel it is... beats the hell out of $7** / gallon race fuel.. thanks all for the advise.. looking forward to our first real race kart and getting the kids in them..
Click to expand...

More like 8.5:1 if i remember right, which is why most of us run 87 pump gas, anything higher than that hurts more than it helps....unless your running stock appearing or open where you can build the engines a little more for higher compression.
 
foreverfaster said:
ok, so I take it that most of the karts are 10:1 or lower in the compression ratio C/R (did I get that right) so pump fuel it is... beats the hell out of $7** / gallon race fuel.. thanks all for the advise.. looking forward to our first real race kart and getting the kids in them..
Click to expand...
"Correct" and....have fun!
 
foreverfaster said:
ok, so I take it that most of the karts are 10:1 or lower in the compression ratio C/R (did I get that right) so pump fuel it is... beats the hell out of $7** / gallon race fuel.. thanks all for the advise.. looking forward to our first real race kart and getting the kids in them..
Click to expand...

It varies a lot. It will depend on exactly what motor you buy/pick. You can go as low as a 5HP 200cc four stroke or as high as a 90HP 250cc twin cylinder two stroke or anything in between. They all have different fuel and maintenance needs. So at this point dont make any assumptions. In any case, even if you do use racing fuel (you can get 87 racing fuel incidentally) you'll be using a lot less!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top