Engine Prices WOW !!!!!

Little know how you can build an clone to be competitive with the big name builder. If a builder say he can get you a tenth more out of his engine for the big money then go buy the big price engine that tenth don't bother me because I'll make that tenth in driving,tires,chassis set up. If you don't have that extra tenth in the engine you can make it up other ways. If seen home built engine win races they had everything together while the guy running the big name engine builder didn't have his driving down, seen another had trouble with tire. I build engines for local racer dont charge an arm and a leg because I don't have that big overhead, employees, etc. I don't have a promblem with somebody bringing me an kit motor and building it for him and don't charge alot just enough to cover some labor and machining.

2013 jr. 1 Limerock Speedway track champion Jack Lathen Running a Voodoo Race Engines
most exciting thing about building engine is seeing the little kids smile after they win a race.
 
engine builders will do whatever the customer wants. you want that extra .1 horsepower? it's going to cost due to time and labor. everything an engine builder does is according to the rules and according to the wishes and desires of the customer. i don't think that there is one engine builder out there in karting land that will risk thier rep on building an illegal engine, knowing that if caught, they will never live it down. nuff......

rules have to change according to what comes up (and down) in the racing arena. i don't think that anyone has a lock on calling the shots when it comes to making rules. i don't think that any kart company has the necessary cajones to influence the organizations to the point that they control what happens....just doesn't seem logical or realistic. changes for the sake of changing should be avoided at all costs. changes to accommodate a select few are likewise avoided. although i disagree with some things about wka and akra (the two major sanctioning bodies in the U.S.), i don't think that when joe smuck walks in with a new widget that they are going to rewrite the rules just so he can make a buck. a lot of the rules are left open so that tracks can alter them to fit thier particular racing venue. this is where too many inconsistencies are happening....not from wka/akra, but from the interpretation of the rules. disagree all you want, i don't think that any of the companies or sanctioning bodies are going to stick thier necks out to ruin it for everyone.

looking at it from my perspective, i had to make a call on the rules we run under. i read an article in speedway illustrated that really drove a point home and helped me decide on what rules we would have. the author made a point of saying that rules shouldn't be changed to accommodate one person or a small group. instead he said that you should tell them what the rules will be and if they yell, holler and scream that they aren't going to and won't race unless....then too bad, so sad...hope you will race with us, but then again, if you won't abide by our rules, then please show yourself to the door. creating or changing rules for the sake of change or to appease a group jsut doens't and will never work. those that you lose from not cowing down to thier wishes will be replaced by those that want to race.

it was spoke about the carbs and a rules change....stop for a second and look at what might have happened behind the scenes. it may not have been a rules change to benefit someone or some group. it could have been a rules change based on what is being produced....based on new technologies in fuel....based on what the fuel industry is doing....there are just too many factors that go into creating and implementing rules to argue that someone or some group got the rules changed just for them. that's stretching things a bit far.

and money and politics will always be in racing. you will never have one without the other showing up. but again, 95 percent of all kart racing is happening in your back yard....or the small dirt oval out in the country. you don't see karting on the level of NASCAR or ARCA or even some of the regional touring series.....you have a few national level events yes.....but we don't have anything on the same level as INDY or NHRA.....face it...wka/akra have been good to all of us and even if you disagree with the rules that they have or rules that are proposed, THEY STILL HAVE HELPED EVERYONE enjoy the sport.....

say what you want, the sport is growing and it's up to all of us....young, old, ancient and dinosaur racers like me....to promote it and to encourage growth.

so...getting off the soap box.....put your jacket on, grab a helmet, sit your butt down right there and let me give this rope a tug...and get ready to smile.....

i'm done....i'm outta here....i have a new motor calling me.....and i wanna race!!!
 
i don't think that there is one engine builder out there in karting land that will risk thier rep on building an illegal engine, knowing that if caught, they will never live it down. nuff......
Sorry Mikey but that is a naive statement,
 
Um no its not, I was racing the clone when they were still stock, the clones now are the way motor builders want them, they saw a decline in profit's from flatheads so they moved to the next engine in line
Interesting concept . But can any business really make it if the DEMAND isn't there ? I don't think engine builders since 1972 have had that kinda power to create a market that doesn't exist yet ? Except maybe Tod Miller...lol
 
Originally Posted by XXX#40 View Post
Um no its not, I was racing the clone when they were still stock, the clones now are the way motor builders want them, they saw a decline in profit's from flatheads so they moved to the next engine in line

The clone engine rules are the way they are because of the racers. You cannot blame the importer, the sanctioning body, the engine builder, the distributor or even DynoDon. Just think about it you go and plunk down your $99 at harbor freight and want to race Stock Class at your track, I go put my $99 dollars at Pep Boys and get a different engine, I handily clean the track up with you, I run circles around all of the locals and get run out of town, next week Cleatus and Bubba do the same thing to all their buddies. Everyone cries foul, their cheating we have to level the playing field. Guess what rules are made.

You cannot dictate what the Chinese engine will look like, unless you mandate one supplier, there can be multiple distributors but all the engines must come from the same manufacturer. It is funny when you see postings here that say the yellow is faster than the blue, that is simple I want all my tins painted yellow in the next containor I import. You have to have clear well written rules otherwise it never ends.
 
precaite it kart43...naive? i'll agree to that...i haven't been around karting long enough to really see how "store bought" engines compared to what we do in the back yard shops. your right in one respect....rules do get changed based on what happens week in and week out. although a lot of it is knee jerk reaction; meaning that not a lot of thought goes into the rules...more just to to prevent bubba and cleatus from runnin away again.

oh and i do like to see through rose colored glasses....i prefer to smile and see the good in people...heaven knows, as a retired cop, i've seen the worst in some.....and some images that i've seen will be with me until the day meet the Lord...and they weren't pretty......
 
The clone engine rules are the way they are because of the racers. You cannot blame the importer, the sanctioning body, the engine builder, the distributor or even DynoDon. Just think about it you go and plunk down your $99 at harbor freight and want to race Stock Class at your track, I go put my $99 dollars at Pep Boys and get a different engine, I handily clean the track up with you, I run circles around all of the locals and get run out of town, next week Cleatus and Bubba do the same thing to all their buddies. Everyone cries foul, their cheating we have to level the playing field. Guess what rules are made.

You cannot dictate what the Chinese engine will look like, unless you mandate one supplier, there can be multiple distributors but all the engines must come from the same manufacturer. It is funny when you see postings here that say the yellow is faster than the blue, that is simple I want all my tins painted yellow in the next containor I import. You have to have clear well written rules otherwise it never ends.
I disagree...You can blame DynoDon. I do all the time. lol.
 
oh you in trouble now sneakers!!! no decal, no sponsorship money....no sponsorship money, no racin....no racin, momma's gonna have you washin dishes and cleanin potties!!!
 
building a cheap clone is easy.find a good head, a good cam , modify carb, machine block and head,machine components,asemble, dyno, and then start tuning and sometimes start changing components to make it better.This takes a lot of labor and if you figure it at 20.00 per hour you are not getting rich.
 
building a cheap clone is easy.find a good head, a good cam , modify carb, machine block and head,machine components,asemble, dyno, and then start tuning and sometimes start changing components to make it better.This takes a lot of labor and if you figure it at 20.00 per hour you are not getting rich.

You're not describing a box stock motor. No machining of parts in BS.
 
A bunch of people racing an out of the box motor...one guy is getting waxed. Probably because of style, setup or tires. The "builder" at the track goes up to this guy and pulls him to the side and says, "I know some engine secrets to get you up front. Give me $100 and I'll make it happen." The driver, desperate, gives him the money. Next week he's showing significant improvement. People start to wonder why the dramatic change. The same builder overhears their gossip and pulls one of the drivers aside and says, "I know that driver's secret. Give me $200 and I'll keep you in the front". And the cycle goes on.

BUT WAIT!!!

It's also that driver getting waxed that starts to look for solutions and calls the same builder...asks, maybe even begs, for help and the builder charges a premium and does what the racer wants. And that cycle goes on as well.

My point it, it's not the racer that created this stink...and it's not the builder. It's EVERYONE involved in the sport. And it's like that for every form of racing and always will be.
 
building a cheap clone is easy.find a good head, a good cam , modify carb, machine block and head,machine components,asemble, dyno, and then start tuning and sometimes start changing components to make it better.This takes a lot of labor and if you figure it at 20.00 per hour you are not getting rich.
The biggest thing that people don't realize is it's not all about labor its about what you know and where you apply the labor. You just don't fall off a rock and find something it's R&D and lots of time learning what works in each application. I don't like paying taxes and if I contacted my Congressman about it its unlikely he would do anything about it. Same as rules and racing we don't make them we just try to run by them or just sit on the sidelines and watch.
JMO
 
That's cool. I know they are are rubbing me as if they like me!!! If I didn't know better. I'd think we were on a race track together. lol
 
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