gocart building

[tkwetzel]

Originally Posted by greencactus3

what are those modifications you mention? is it something to be done in a garage? or do i have to take it somewhere and have it professionally done?
so seems everyones against the 50cc engines. how about pricing? is a lawnmower engine worth the money over the small engine?

The modifications can get exspensive, but our stock 6 HP Tecumseh 4-stroke engine cost $225 brand new and we did not modify it. I am unsure about how much each modification affects the power and RPM range, but I know that 7,000 RPM can be achieved (it will probably cost you at least $500 to do it though).

Modifications range from putting a high-lift camshaft in, to boring the cylinder out, to changing the timing. Many of these things can be done in a home garage, but boring the cylinder out would require the use of a machine that I doubt anyone has in thier home garage. These small 4-stroke engines are very simple and easy to take apart and could be rebuilt with new parts within a day if you spent the whole day working on it.

Some people that use the 5 HP B&S engines for go-kart racing end up spending up to (if not more than) $1000 on them, but those are all out racing engines, which is more than you are looking for. A stock engine would suit you well for a home-made go-kart just to fool around with (unless you really want to hear the thing wind out several thousand RPM's).