Clutch questions for the predators

M

millington17

Member
Looking for some help with my clutch setup for my predator kart. I currently have a vortex single disk clutch with silver springs in the second hole and I seem to be struggling on the restarts a bit trying to find out of my setup is wrong or I should look into a diffrent clutch???

kart weight race ready is 395 and driver weight is 165
 
I'm not a fan of the single disk for adult .
What's the issue slipping , slow take off ?
Is it wore out ?
What rpm is it coming in at ?
Have you changed the spring settings ?
 
Here is what holes my springs are in yall would go to the next hole in and remove 2 opposing springs?

also does anyone happen to know exactly what model clutch this is I know it’s a vortex single disk that’s all I know on it
BC453CCA-8F88-485C-A8CD-E6FF038B3822.jpeg
 

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Do you have a tachometer? Is it slipping too much or too little? Do you know the difference?

Personally, I see no reason in the world to run a single disk clutch, especially with a high torque 4 cycle.
 
What is the reason you say you would not run a single disc clutch? I’m kind of new to the whole karting thing and don’t really understand the difference between a one, two, and three disc clutch

and yes I have a mychron 4 on the kart I am loosing about 1 kart length every restart just seems to be the wrong RPM range this clutch kept up just fine running clone stuff just don’t know with the predator stuff
 
Not durable enough . To suit me . Others like them .
Two disc is two discs and a floater to take more load . 3 discs 2 floaters . More yet .
 
108EABF5-FA8B-4D59-9989-69D3F252F171.jpeg

remove the two springs I have marked. Let those arms fall dead. Move the remaining springs to the hole I have the arrow pointed to.
 
millington17 said:
What is the reason you say you would not run a single disc clutch? I’m kind of new to the whole karting thing and don’t really understand the difference between a one, two, and three disc clutch

and yes I have a mychron 4 on the kart I am loosing about 1 kart length every restart just seems to be the wrong RPM range this clutch kept up just fine running clone stuff just don’t know with the predator stuff
Click to expand...
My opinion, one disc has to work twice as hard as 2 discs, more heat, heat is a power loss, less power going to the rear wheels.

I'd like to see some comparative testing done between the 2 disc and the 3 disc.

On the restarts, the clutch should be holding the engine at peak torque. If it's not, that could contribute to your losing positions on the start and restarts. Just less torque getting to the rear axle. Less torque means less HP.
 
I'm
I'm confused, why can't you simply adjust the spring height? Turn the adjuster screws clockwise for more slip and counterclockwise for less slip. With our KT100 and a Horstman 4 spring DXL, we could adjust our clutch very easily when we went from an expansion chamber to a can exhaust. There's a big difference in horsepower between the two.
 
alvin l nunley said:
I'm
I'm confused, why can't you simply adjust the spring height? Turn the adjuster screws clockwise for more slip and counterclockwise for less slip. With our KT100 and a Horstman 4 spring DXL, we could adjust our clutch very easily when we went from an expansion chamber to a can exhaust. There's a big difference in horsepower between the two.
Click to expand...
Those torsion style springs even on the single disc clutch using the silver springs simply can’t get low enough in tension for stock low horsepower stuff. So you drop two or every other and lower the overall spring tension being fought by the levers and adjust your stall per the holes the spring pin falls into. It will hold more than enough to do the job and get ya down near 2,500 rpm lockup. I use that same clutch and setup on my predator heavy 400 kart with a 16 driver.
 
alvin l nunley said:
I'm
I'm confused, why can't you simply adjust the spring height? Turn the adjuster screws clockwise for more slip and counterclockwise for less slip. With our KT100 and a Horstman 4 spring DXL, we could adjust our clutch very easily when we went from an expansion chamber to a can exhaust. There's a big difference in horsepower between the two.
Click to expand...

Wrong clutch, Al. Please look at the pictures that he has posted in this thread.
 
millington17 said:
Here is what holes my springs are in yall would go to the next hole in and remove 2 opposing springs?

also does anyone happen to know exactly what model clutch this is I know it’s a vortex single disk that’s all I know on it
View attachment 11293
Click to expand...
You have an SMC Vortex Black clutch.
It'll work just fine for your application if it is set up correctly.
You need to lower the engagement, so turn the spring settings to have less tension (that is, one pin hole to the left.)
You probably still won't get a low enough engagement, so disconnecting two opposing springs will help get it lower yet. Try it and let us know if you are satisfied with that engagement.
 
alvin l nunley said:
Do you have a tachometer? Is it slipping too much or too little? Do you know the difference?

Personally, I see no reason in the world to run a single disk clutch, especially with a high torque 4 cycle.
Click to expand...
This is hardly a "high torque" 4 cycle. It is a box stock Predator engine ($100) from Harbor Freight. It was started to be an introductory slower class for beginners and those on a tighter budget as opposed to running the blueprinted engine classes.
If a single disc clutch is adequate, then I see no reason to run a 2 disc (or 3 or 4 disc.)
With a Chinese $100 engine using a cast crank and cast aluminum rod, using an overkill clutch can cause the crank to flex and seize a rod journal, or break the crank. Seen it too many times already. That is one reason most everyone is using the forged cranks in the BP clones now.
 
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