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Honda Kart Engine Tuning Tips and Tricks - Top Karts

MORE POWER!! Even F1 drivers wish for it, the fact is that with a few simple engine modifications you too could turn your go kart engine from a shrinking violet into a burbling beast.

This guide is generalised around the Honda series GX160, GX200 Go Kart engines, however the principles remain the same for any type of engine you own or have on the wish list.

 

Broken down, the steps to better performance and increased horsepower involve:

De-restricting the engine
Increasing air intake
Higher compression
Better exhaust flow
Reducing drag
Lightening components
 
go kart govener heading

The Govener

The very 1st and perhaps one of the cheapest engine upgrades to carry out is to de-restrict the engine by removing the rev limiter known as a governor.

With the governor removed your engine will jump from a mere 3600 RPM up to a whopping 5200 RPM  dramatically increasing the rev range and therefore improving overall performance.

A complete step-by-step guide to this procedure will be coming soon.

go kart valve springs heading

Valve Springs

With the newly found increase in the rev range of your engine the next problem that you will need to tackle is to install stiffer valve springs, standard springs were never designed to handle the dizzy heights of 5200 RPM and therefore your weedy springs could suffer from a phenomenon referred to as valve float.

Valve float is where the engines valves don’t stay in complete contact with the lobes of the camshaft during the closing cycle of the valve which is detrimental to engine performance and efficiency.

Stiffer valve springs will eliminate this potential problem.

Performance Exhaust & Air filter

As any boy racer can testify to the faster you get air in and exhaust gasses out of an engine the better your engine will perform.

Exhaust :
The standard Honda exhaust is extremely restrictive and therefore not conducive to this process, a high flow exhaust system will lead to a nice power increase.
Bear in mind though, some go kart tracks do have noise limits placed on them, as an increase in gas flow is likely to lead to a increase in engine noise its best to check with your local track if any such restrictions are in place and then match your exhaust accordingly.

Air :
Along with getting exhaust out, you will also need to think about getting clean air in, much like the standard Honda exhaust system, the standard air filter isn’t particularly suited to speed either. Honda engines like clean air, and lots of it! A performance air filter will again yield a nice leg up the horsepower ladder.

Carb Re Jetting

For those of us old enough to remember and before modern fuel injection systems car engines we fitted with carburettors, a handy performance upgrade to our much-loved Escort XR3’s back in the day would have been to re-jet the carb, thus increasing the amount of fuel able to reach the engine which in turn provided us with an increase in performance.

The same principle is true with the Honda go kart engine – bigger jets = better performance.

Increase the Engine compression

Another big gain in performance can be obtained by increasing your engines compression. This process involves either getting your cylinder head skimmed professionally  (a wood plain and a sheet of 80 grit sandpaper wont cut the mustard here!)

Or for those fortunate enough to be in possession of a GX200 engine then a GX160 cylinder head bolted on will reap the same rewards.

Adjusting Plug Gap

A bigger spark plug gap means a bigger spark, therefore a bigger bang and better combustion of the fuel / air mixture.

There is no hard and fast rule as to how far a the spark plug gap can be increased; a lot depends on what engine you are working on and also what other steps have been carried out. An engine without a skimmed cylinder head should (in theory) be able to carry a bigger gap than one that has.

The trick is to increase plug  gap in very small increments until eventually you find the ideal setting for your engine, a word of caution though, you can increase the gap too far and crash your plug into the cylinder – you have been warned!

Reduce Engine Drag

Ever wondered about that plastic fan hidden behind the recoil starter of your Honda go kart engine? no, neither have I, but some bright spark has, and the conclusion was that if you cut off every other blade on the cooling fan you reduce drag and increase power.

Hacksaw anyone?

 

There you have it! A step-by-step guide to engine increases

However if you don’t know your big end from your emulsion tube and all the above seems a little too daunting then help is at hand. Why not let Top Karts do the work for you.

Our trusty mechanic knows all the tips and tricks when in comes to performance gains on the Honda GX series engines.

We are able to carry out all types of engine performance upgrades depending on your budget. Why not drop us an email at info@topkarts.co.uk & tell us what youve got in mind.

     
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