A New Breed of Superkart - T.A.G. 450cc 4Stroke V-twin

An innovative and enterprising company, NLR system s, is developing a new superkart package which poromises to revolutionize the sport.

The Superkart which features an Anderson Chassis, uses an Aprilia V-twin 450 four stroke motor with on-board electric start and - get this - will feature an intercooled turbo charger.

The stock Aprilia 450F makes only 50HP hence the need for a turbo to bring power inline with the 250cc 2stroke F/E Twins which typically make around 90BHP.

The on-board start is meant to eliminate the need to push start these $30k just to get started.

For details of the project see:
http://www.nlrsystems.com/superKarts.htm
http://www.ekartingnews.com/viewtopic.php?t=70812

If this succeeds I might consider getting into Superkarting myself...

/FFJ

Dirty 2 Strokes: An environmental Report

CONVENTIONAL DIRTY TWO-STROKE ENGINES

Carbureted two-stroke engines are typically used as the power source for "two-wheelers" (i.e. motorcycles, mopeds, etc.)..The high hydrocarbon emissions from carbureted two-stroke engines result from the scavenging process used. Scavenging refers to the process by which the burned exhaust gasses are flushed from the engine. In a conventional "carbureted" two-stroke engine the fuel is entrained in the intake air stream before the combustion air enters the crankcase.

The charge is compressed in the crankcase by the underside of the piston, and enters the cylinder when the piston uncovers the transfer ports. Combustion products from the previous cycle are forced or "scavenged" from the cylinder with this new air/fuel charge. Unfortunately, the exhaust ports are also open at this time, allowing 30%-40% of the fuel to be lost directly into the exhaust stream. At idle conditions the losses can be as high as 70%. ..

Click here for full article

A Direct Injection Solution?

DIRECT IN-CYLINDER FUEL INJECTION

Direct injection (DI) is a technology that has shown the ability to greatly reduce emissions from two-stroke engines. In a DI system the carburetor is eliminated, and the fuel is introduced into the combustion chamber via an injector mounted in the top of the chamber’s cylinder head. This allows exhaust products to be scavenged from the cylinder using air only.

Fuel is injected into the cylinder later in the cycle, greatly reducing the amount of unburned fuel that is allowed to escape during scavenging. Scavenging losses of unburned fuel are virtually eliminated, resulting in much lower hydrocarbon emissions and more efficient fuel consumpt.

Full article..

Click here for details on RETROFIT KIT

FIELD TESTING

...The converted vehicles all contained Kawasaki 125cc (9 KW) carbureted engines..

Envirofit's field tests prove that our retrofit kit reduces hydrocarbon emissions by 89%, carbon monoxide emissions by 76%, carbon dioxide emissions by 26%, increases fuel efficiency by 34.8%, and decreases oil usage by 50%..

Full Article...

(Copyright 2008 Envirofit International)

/FFJ

Yamaha's WR250FK 4 Stroke Shifter Kart

For the longest while I have been increasingly convince that Karting is sorely lackking the backing of a major auto manufacturer. For many years the only major manufacturer to have a purpose built engine has been Yamaha with the KT100 series 100cc 2 strokes.

Now it turns out that in addition to that venerable machine Yamaha has added not only a pair of 2 stroke shifters:

i) A 12cc 2stroke - the YZ125K

ii) A 85cc 2stroke - the YZ85K

But also a 250 4stroke shifter - WR250FK

This Kart is being promoted in Mexico as part of its 250F Superkart Series

But for some strange reason the engine is not listed on any English speaking Yamaha Web site or apparently being made available in Canada or the US. I only hope more people will find this package about this and this situation will soon change. For this could be the first step in moving (shifter) karting into the modern 4 stroke era.

Incidentally Memo Gidley Recently won in the Mexican 250F Superkart Series

/FFj