07-16-2020, 01:24 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-27-2020, 03:50 AM by Terry Bentley.)
Chapter 50
Yet another day and getting closer to finishing this typing class. I made a point to bring the aluminum flywheels and get their weights recorded. No reason to fumble along with just part of the information when I go deep in to the math realm.
Cruising back home at a good speed on the bike since this payload is a much lighter box, my mind is trying to wrap around the idea of building the fastest Clinton in the world. Ok, maybe just a fast one to race at the track. I am sure it can be done. Just dont know if it can by me. What do I know that others dont? Nothing at all. I am so in the dark right now, it would take a super nova to break thru.
In the garage I see Steve is already there and cleaning some parts. What are you doing here? Uh, I dont know. Just standing around with a brush in my hand and dirty carburetors in the parts cleaner. You have a keen perception of the obvious. Why you ask?
I looked around the garage. It was almost spotless. Someone had swept and done a remarkable job in here. Even the engines I had torn down and pushed aside were boxed and sitting under the work bench.
Gee, Steve you feeling guilty about something? Hey, man, sorry about the fan thingy. I guess stuff got a little bit out of control. Steve is that why you cleaned up in here? Well, yea, no, not really. Mom is on one of those cleaning rampages again. Thought I should sneak away for the afternoon till she chills out. I was bored and you were not back from school yet.
Hey, I laughed my butt off after you left. After the fan motor locked up I tried to yank the plug out and caused a small fireworks show. Well not really. But it did trip a breaker. It went totally dark after that. You know how dark it gets in here without windows? It was really narely. Should have stuck around a few more minutes. Well at least the garage looks nice for a change and your place will be spotless when you go home.
Yea right. Mom doesnt usually let me back in the house after coming over here. I have to strip down and throw my dirties in the hamper. Did you know I have my very own personal clothes hamper? How many guys our age can brag about that? Kind of embarrassing. My clothes are washed by themselves. Mom has a cow when I go home dirty. Today she will completely go bonkers. You know how she gets sometimes.
Hey Steve, you up to doing some math? Naw man, not me. School is out until September. Its all yours. Ok, then. I will leave you over there with your misery. I finally got all of the weights to the different flywheels and gonna convert over the figures.
The conversion is 1 gram equals 0.03527396 ounces. Gotta keep this is my head or write it down here somewhere. Maybe write it on the wall, duh! I did luck out and found another flywheel in our junk that is the same casting as one from Cates kart engine. Except it has not been cut down yet. So now I find out the before weight of this flywheel. It is something that has really been bugging me too. Serious stuff.
Flywheels
(1)A-200L 5711 2316grams/5.10lbs CI 5 7/8" dia
(2)VS200L 5753A 878grams/1.93lbs Al
(3)A-400L A* 2177grams/4.80lbs CI 1813grams/4.00lbs 6 1/8" dia
(4)A-490L 5752 2618grams/5.77lbs CI 2215grams/4.88lbs 6 1/8" dia Cates engine
(5)D-2R 402801 897grams/1.98lbs Al
(6)D-35R 402800 882grams/1.94lbs Al
(7)E-65L 402799 879grams/1.93lbs Al
This one cut down flywheel from Cates kart weighed in at 2215 grams. That worked out to 4.88 pounds. Sure seems heavy to me. The same uncut flywheel weighs 2618 grams. Now that feels really heavy comparing to all of the others. Converting grams comes to 5.77 pounds. Wow that sure is a tank.
*Now the other flywheel that I made the mistake of thinking it was the same, before weighed in at 2177 grams converting to 4.80 pounds. I had already done the crunching on these two earlier. But now I have the weight of this same flywheel after being cut down to look like the one from Cates kart. It has no number cast like a few of the others. There is only the letter A stamped inside. But very hard to see on a dirty rusted one.
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=4710]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/attachment.php?aid=4710)
Top are the cut down flywheels Bottom are before, Left from Cates engine, Right original stock stamped *A
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=4711]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/attachment.php?aid=4711)
The left shows Cates kart flywheel compared to stock Right show the same with the *A flywheel before and after
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=4712]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/attachment.php?aid=4712)
Three stock flywheels All are different castings
The lawn mower flywheel was originally at 4.80 pounds, is now cut down to 1813 grams or 4.00 pounds. Holy smokes what a difference! From 5.77 pounds on the real heavy stock flywheel, to 4.88 after being lightened. This is the way we found it on the Cates engine. Now that other flywheel goes from 4.80 down to 4.00 pounds.
These lightened flywheels, if put on the Cates motor might help it run better if used on a kart. Who knows tho. It could make things worse. Stock one at 5.77 down to 4.88 then to 4.00 pounds. A little bit more than 1 3/4 pounds difference from an early stock one to a newer cut down flywheel. What could go wrong?
If my 7th grade mathing skills are accurate, there was 364 grams removed from flywheel A, 403 removed from Cates flywheel. There is 441 grams difference between the two stock flywheels. Now there is 302 grams difference after being cut down.If only I had a better grasp of centrifugal force and rotating mass, then maybe apply it somehow to all of this. Time to search thru the Machinerys Handbook. Might find something. Seems everything else is in there.
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=4713]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/attachment.php?aid=4713)
Right and left aluminum flywheels. Both are nearly identical in weight. Less than half the weight of the lightest cast iron flywheel after being cut down
What I found even more surprising is the aluminum flywheels are less than half the weight of the lightest cut down cast iron flywheel. Not even 2 pounds. So much difference. Why all the variations? But will any of them make a noticeable difference on the kart? Is just removing the weight enough of a difference or decreasing the drag from cooling fins be the bigger change? Inquiring minds want to know. Well one mind does. Mine that is.
Now back to square one. What if I remove the fins from an aluminum flywheel same as on the cast iron? With less than half the weight and very little drag, seems it would make a huge difference now. Guess there is only one way to find out. Time to get something together and running.
Still another thought to process. Does the engine even need the cooling fins at all. If I set the engine up to catch air while in motion, will it be enough? Sometimes you just gotta think outside the box to confirm one way or another. Maybe just leave the sheet metal shroud off the engine if I remove all of the fins from flywheel.
I understand stationary motors need some type of cooling. The design covers most any application it may be used for. Now with karts it doesnt necessarily need to have any forced air cooling at all. Should I take the risk with one of these engines we have now? Go overboard and see for myself what does or does not work out?
I am definitely not scared of failure. That is just one way to confirm something doesnt work as you might have first thought. Quick way to eliminate one idea. What I am afraid of, is loosing one of these engines if it self destructs from something that gets proven ineffective.
Reminds me of some old proverb about straw and the camel. How much straw can a camel carry? If you add one more piece of straw will it break the camels back? I gotta scratch my head on this one for a little while. Not even sure how it relates to anything.
Me and Steve have been very fortunate so far without spending much money to have the kart and extra engines. I just hate to think of loosing any of them by finding out how far we can go before it self destructs. Seems really wasteful.
For now I should start out with the basics before going crazy doing certain modifications to these engines. Try to learn what I can by swapping some parts with ones that have been altered. All this is useless if I dont have any experience driving or a kart that doesnt handle well.
With experience I get consistency. With consistency I get reliable lap times. Human error can kill any chance of confirming these modifications will even make some difference or noticeable improvements.
So back to the flywheels. I am completely on the fence about either sticking with the heavier cast iron or going the other direction will the extremely lightweight aluminum ones. Will either of these prove an advantage over the other? Will the lightweight aluminum be faster on short or tight tracks? Will the heavy one help maintain speed on the long straightaways?
I dont even know anyone to ask about this stuff. Its just gonna come down to trial and error. Maybe spend a day at the track just swapping out these flywheels. Then find out for sure which ones make any difference. Do I rely on a stopwatch or by having two karts run against each other while swapping parts between the them? So much to consider.
Yet another day and getting closer to finishing this typing class. I made a point to bring the aluminum flywheels and get their weights recorded. No reason to fumble along with just part of the information when I go deep in to the math realm.
Cruising back home at a good speed on the bike since this payload is a much lighter box, my mind is trying to wrap around the idea of building the fastest Clinton in the world. Ok, maybe just a fast one to race at the track. I am sure it can be done. Just dont know if it can by me. What do I know that others dont? Nothing at all. I am so in the dark right now, it would take a super nova to break thru.
In the garage I see Steve is already there and cleaning some parts. What are you doing here? Uh, I dont know. Just standing around with a brush in my hand and dirty carburetors in the parts cleaner. You have a keen perception of the obvious. Why you ask?
I looked around the garage. It was almost spotless. Someone had swept and done a remarkable job in here. Even the engines I had torn down and pushed aside were boxed and sitting under the work bench.
Gee, Steve you feeling guilty about something? Hey, man, sorry about the fan thingy. I guess stuff got a little bit out of control. Steve is that why you cleaned up in here? Well, yea, no, not really. Mom is on one of those cleaning rampages again. Thought I should sneak away for the afternoon till she chills out. I was bored and you were not back from school yet.
Hey, I laughed my butt off after you left. After the fan motor locked up I tried to yank the plug out and caused a small fireworks show. Well not really. But it did trip a breaker. It went totally dark after that. You know how dark it gets in here without windows? It was really narely. Should have stuck around a few more minutes. Well at least the garage looks nice for a change and your place will be spotless when you go home.
Yea right. Mom doesnt usually let me back in the house after coming over here. I have to strip down and throw my dirties in the hamper. Did you know I have my very own personal clothes hamper? How many guys our age can brag about that? Kind of embarrassing. My clothes are washed by themselves. Mom has a cow when I go home dirty. Today she will completely go bonkers. You know how she gets sometimes.
Hey Steve, you up to doing some math? Naw man, not me. School is out until September. Its all yours. Ok, then. I will leave you over there with your misery. I finally got all of the weights to the different flywheels and gonna convert over the figures.
The conversion is 1 gram equals 0.03527396 ounces. Gotta keep this is my head or write it down here somewhere. Maybe write it on the wall, duh! I did luck out and found another flywheel in our junk that is the same casting as one from Cates kart engine. Except it has not been cut down yet. So now I find out the before weight of this flywheel. It is something that has really been bugging me too. Serious stuff.
Flywheels
(1)A-200L 5711 2316grams/5.10lbs CI 5 7/8" dia
(2)VS200L 5753A 878grams/1.93lbs Al
(3)A-400L A* 2177grams/4.80lbs CI 1813grams/4.00lbs 6 1/8" dia
(4)A-490L 5752 2618grams/5.77lbs CI 2215grams/4.88lbs 6 1/8" dia Cates engine
(5)D-2R 402801 897grams/1.98lbs Al
(6)D-35R 402800 882grams/1.94lbs Al
(7)E-65L 402799 879grams/1.93lbs Al
This one cut down flywheel from Cates kart weighed in at 2215 grams. That worked out to 4.88 pounds. Sure seems heavy to me. The same uncut flywheel weighs 2618 grams. Now that feels really heavy comparing to all of the others. Converting grams comes to 5.77 pounds. Wow that sure is a tank.
*Now the other flywheel that I made the mistake of thinking it was the same, before weighed in at 2177 grams converting to 4.80 pounds. I had already done the crunching on these two earlier. But now I have the weight of this same flywheel after being cut down to look like the one from Cates kart. It has no number cast like a few of the others. There is only the letter A stamped inside. But very hard to see on a dirty rusted one.
Top are the cut down flywheels Bottom are before, Left from Cates engine, Right original stock stamped *A
The left shows Cates kart flywheel compared to stock Right show the same with the *A flywheel before and after
Three stock flywheels All are different castings
The lawn mower flywheel was originally at 4.80 pounds, is now cut down to 1813 grams or 4.00 pounds. Holy smokes what a difference! From 5.77 pounds on the real heavy stock flywheel, to 4.88 after being lightened. This is the way we found it on the Cates engine. Now that other flywheel goes from 4.80 down to 4.00 pounds.
These lightened flywheels, if put on the Cates motor might help it run better if used on a kart. Who knows tho. It could make things worse. Stock one at 5.77 down to 4.88 then to 4.00 pounds. A little bit more than 1 3/4 pounds difference from an early stock one to a newer cut down flywheel. What could go wrong?
If my 7th grade mathing skills are accurate, there was 364 grams removed from flywheel A, 403 removed from Cates flywheel. There is 441 grams difference between the two stock flywheels. Now there is 302 grams difference after being cut down.If only I had a better grasp of centrifugal force and rotating mass, then maybe apply it somehow to all of this. Time to search thru the Machinerys Handbook. Might find something. Seems everything else is in there.
Right and left aluminum flywheels. Both are nearly identical in weight. Less than half the weight of the lightest cast iron flywheel after being cut down
What I found even more surprising is the aluminum flywheels are less than half the weight of the lightest cut down cast iron flywheel. Not even 2 pounds. So much difference. Why all the variations? But will any of them make a noticeable difference on the kart? Is just removing the weight enough of a difference or decreasing the drag from cooling fins be the bigger change? Inquiring minds want to know. Well one mind does. Mine that is.
Now back to square one. What if I remove the fins from an aluminum flywheel same as on the cast iron? With less than half the weight and very little drag, seems it would make a huge difference now. Guess there is only one way to find out. Time to get something together and running.
Still another thought to process. Does the engine even need the cooling fins at all. If I set the engine up to catch air while in motion, will it be enough? Sometimes you just gotta think outside the box to confirm one way or another. Maybe just leave the sheet metal shroud off the engine if I remove all of the fins from flywheel.
I understand stationary motors need some type of cooling. The design covers most any application it may be used for. Now with karts it doesnt necessarily need to have any forced air cooling at all. Should I take the risk with one of these engines we have now? Go overboard and see for myself what does or does not work out?
I am definitely not scared of failure. That is just one way to confirm something doesnt work as you might have first thought. Quick way to eliminate one idea. What I am afraid of, is loosing one of these engines if it self destructs from something that gets proven ineffective.
Reminds me of some old proverb about straw and the camel. How much straw can a camel carry? If you add one more piece of straw will it break the camels back? I gotta scratch my head on this one for a little while. Not even sure how it relates to anything.
Me and Steve have been very fortunate so far without spending much money to have the kart and extra engines. I just hate to think of loosing any of them by finding out how far we can go before it self destructs. Seems really wasteful.
For now I should start out with the basics before going crazy doing certain modifications to these engines. Try to learn what I can by swapping some parts with ones that have been altered. All this is useless if I dont have any experience driving or a kart that doesnt handle well.
With experience I get consistency. With consistency I get reliable lap times. Human error can kill any chance of confirming these modifications will even make some difference or noticeable improvements.
So back to the flywheels. I am completely on the fence about either sticking with the heavier cast iron or going the other direction will the extremely lightweight aluminum ones. Will either of these prove an advantage over the other? Will the lightweight aluminum be faster on short or tight tracks? Will the heavy one help maintain speed on the long straightaways?
I dont even know anyone to ask about this stuff. Its just gonna come down to trial and error. Maybe spend a day at the track just swapping out these flywheels. Then find out for sure which ones make any difference. Do I rely on a stopwatch or by having two karts run against each other while swapping parts between the them? So much to consider.