Engine suggestions

beastman315

New member
Looking to build a kart to run in uas, recently ran a yfz450 powered kart overall the power felt good but I could certainly feel the weight of the kart in comparison to the stock class I ran... My weight is 160 and I'm looking for suggestions on motor options easily obtainable and maintainable thank you for any input
 
I went across the scales at 450lbs
you say you weigh 160, depending on what kind of kart you have, most of the newer ones weigh approximately 160-180, so your engine package by itself must be in the 100 to 110lb total range...so if those numbers are correct, i'd say you could easily drop 50-60lbs total weight by going to a 2 or 4 cycle set up, of course, youre gonna be giving up HP and torque as well, so it may be something of a trade off....
 
I should add this kart did utilize the electric start system and had a small battery onboard so there is some weight as well...I was leaning towards a 2 stroke 250mx motor setup because I can obtain one easily and would imagine parts being easy to find
 
I've been looking at craigslist/FB marketplace wanting to do an open/outlaw kart at some point. What is the most economical option on a motorcycle engine to put on karts? I see guys talking about sudams pretty often did they come out on any motorcycles?
 
No , sudam is kart specific engine .
Most inexpensive motorcycle engine would be a 125 -250 cc single 2 stroke .
 
don't rule out a good sudam and a chassis with a good setup, at your weight it can be a potent combination
I put a dual carb open sudam on my kart this year, i could only wish to weigh even close to 160, even with my big butt in the seat, it takes off like a rocket ship unlike anything ive ever driven....😉
 
Kermit buller or kevin birky build some really stout sudams. kevin did mine. it has been pretty much bullet proof
 
Is money no object? Iame makes a Super X30 175cc, stroke it and hang on I would think. Haven't seen anyone do it yet but I think its cheaper than a BRC.
 
Is money no object? Iame makes a Super X30 175cc, stroke it and hang on I would think. Haven't seen anyone do it yet but I think its cheaper than a BRC.

I was asking different builders in Europe last summer and nobody could give me any good info on the 175cc engine. but I found out some tests that shows it wasn't faster than a good 125 cc KZ so I am not sure if that would be a good option. Might have potential though.
 
SKUSA ran the 125KZ's and the 175 SuperX30's head to head, and there were mixed reviews on which was faster. I'm guessing the 175er had more torque, but was RPM limited compared to the KZ's, hence why it wasn't faster. I'd want more torque. I weigh 160 as well, and am searching for a good MX 144 setup with killer mid-top porting.
 
How much does the 450 set up weigh? An open 2 cycle parilla sudam 131 with dual carb set up on a jackshaft weighs about the same as a 4 cycle animal and motor mount...the sudam will give about 50-55 hp...
Very true, and consider this, the 2 cycle has 2 to 3 times the operating RPM range of the 4 cycle. That means you can gear almost twice as low, on a given track, as a 4 cycle. This compresses that horsepower into a much shorter period of time.
 
Al, We run both Jawa 500's and YZ250's (actually 270cc) Yamaha's and believe it or not, there is only about 500 - 800 RPM max difference between them. The RPM power range for both of them is very close. Also, the ROA is close.

Beastman, just get either type engine and go have fun.
 
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