Interesting find this weekend about drum clutches...

1fasttiller

1fasttiller

Member
So this past weekend my son and I attended our first big Vega Series State race here in Florida. We're a low budget team and our regular track rules require a drum clutch for Jr classes. Of course, this is not the case for the big dogs and out of 10 karts we were the ONLY one not on a hard-hitting disc clutch but guess what?? Our starts all day were every bit as good, if not better than many of these $250-300 clutches! I have to say I was impressed with this little Stinger! One restart in the Pro Main my son came from 6th to 2nd! Why all the fuss about needing a disc clutch to be competitive?
 
1fasttiller said:
So this past weekend my son and I attended our first big Vega Series State race here in Florida. We're a low budget team and our regular track rules require a drum clutch for Jr classes. Of course, this is not the case for the big dogs and out of 10 karts we were the ONLY one not on a hard-hitting disc clutch but guess what?? Our starts all day were every bit as good, if not better than many of these $250-300 clutches! I have to say I was impressed with this little Stinger! One restart in the Pro Main my son came from 6th to 2nd! Why all the fuss about needing a disc clutch to be competitive?
Click to expand...

A drum clutch works fine when the mechanics of it are all the same.

When it comes to longevity and consistency, thats there the disc clutch is a much better application.
 
1fasttiller said:
So this past weekend my son and I attended our first big Vega Series State race here in Florida. We're a low budget team and our regular track rules require a drum clutch for Jr classes. Of course, this is not the case for the big dogs and out of 10 karts we were the ONLY one not on a hard-hitting disc clutch but guess what?? Our starts all day were every bit as good, if not better than many of these $250-300 clutches! I have to say I was impressed with this little Stinger! One restart in the Pro Main my son came from 6th to 2nd! Why all the fuss about needing a disc clutch to be competitive?
Click to expand...


That's great to hear. Certainly not the norm, but just the same, it sounds like you had your ducks in a row and knocked them down. Congrats!
How did y'all finish?
The advantage goes to the disc clutch in a heads up comparison (both properly set-up, etc.)
There's a reason 9 out of 10 were on disc clutches - that's likely their reasoning.
Adjustability, consistency, etc are all good reasons for choosing a disc clutch over a drum clutch, but also consider that most of our rolling starts and restarts, the clutch is already engaged before the green flag ever drops.


-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
31 years of service to the karting industry
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
CarlsonMotorsports said:
That's great to hear. Certainly not the norm, but just the same, it sounds like you had your ducks in a row and knocked them down. Congrats!
How did y'all finish?
The advantage goes to the disc clutch in a heads up comparison (both properly set-up, etc.)
There's a reason 9 out of 10 were on disc clutches - that's likely their reasoning.
Adjustability, consistency, etc are all good reasons for choosing a disc clutch over a drum clutch, but also consider that most of our rolling starts and restarts, the clutch is already engaged before the green flag ever drops.


-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
31 years of service to the karting industry
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
Click to expand...

Thanks Brian, we ended up 4th. For a low budget team with only 2 sets of tires I was impressed!!! My little guy drove his butt off! It was dads fault he didn't do better. He was in a strong 2nd and running the leader down the first half of the race but it stayed green and the RF fell off creating a push. We missed the tires but given all the other teams showed up with a dedicated tire guy on the payroll, I'm not ashamed!!!
 
CarlsonMotorsports said:
Don't ever knock your ability based on the number of tires you own.
You can only bolt 4 on the car at a time. :)
Click to expand...
Yes sir, thank you! I threw 2 half washers of cross in it just before the pro main and I think that hurt more than helped. We chased the track all day, it went from hot, hard and fast to getting soaked with the water truck and then sunset. He with the best tire knowledge won that one!
 
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