Author Topic: Search function not turning up answers for this noob  (Read 2202 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline ironman

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: 0
    • View Profile
Search function not turning up answers for this noob
« on: July 20, 2013, 12:34:20 am »
     Hey, so, I got an MTD Yardman riding lawnmower for free (no, I will NOT be racing this one, I need it to mow my lawn, it has a hydrostatic, and a 18.5 intek) which sparked the idea of building a racing lawn mower. I want to race in the IMOW class.

     From what I can tell by reading the rules, the motor has to be a single cylinder 17HP max stock engine of lawnmower origins, my question is, how many horses do I need to be competitive? Obviously an 8 HP engine will only cause me to see the race leader's rear end at least twice lol. Is torque more important? How does one find the torque of a motor? I know on many mower engines (my current one included) have a problem with gasoline getting into the crankcase due to a faulty solenoid and/or needle valve, how do you get around that when racing. Can you port and polish the engine and carb, or is that considered an engine modification. Also, can you remove the choke mechanism from the carb? Can you remove the crankcase breather tube, throw a crankcase vent filter on, and plug up the breather hole in the carb? How about running a pipe to your intake before the stock air cleaner to get colder air into the engine.

     What transmissions would be suitable, I know the Peerless 7, 8, and 3 series are all good, but do those of us running governed engines really need one of those? I've found some hints that lesser transmissions, ones that tend to blow in the non-governed classes, may work just fine for governed classes. I don't quite understand how manual transmissions work on a lawnmower, do we need to shift during the race, or is it just throw it in the gear you are "pullyed" for and floor it?

     Is it necessary/ beneficial to strengthen the chassis for the IMOW class, or do you lose speed and acceleration due to the weight increase? What's up with the deck, for clarification, I can and should bolt it in place, does it have to be the entire deck? Or can I do portions of the deck so it looks like a deck to the casual observer? Also, if I must do the full deck, does it have to have the spindles attached, and does it matter if it is horribly rusted out? Can I cut the deck down so it is thinner (say 1.5" tall ;D). Are aluminum wheels such as these http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/lgpages/azusa8astro.php suitable, or are go-kart aluminum wheels better? What tires do people prefer to run? I have read a lot about chassis, brakes, and steering, but not a peep about tires. do wide or skinny tires work best? If you run lawn tractor tires (and it would seem we don't have a choice) can we modify the tires, IE, cut deeper grooves in them, they are still lawn tractor tires after all.

Thanks for you help, I'm sure I will come up with more questions as I get further into this.

Offline birdman_express

  • I'm not fast...but man I can eat! INTEKS RULE THE PITS!!
  • Global Moderator
  • Highly Mowtivated
  • *****
  • Posts: 3941
  • Karma: 31
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Search function not turning up answers for this noob
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2013, 08:29:28 am »
IMOW is a pure stock motor, so a Billet Flywheel is ilegal.
Marc Baker

ARC Dealer

Marc from ARC.... "Billet Billet"

Powered by a Full Bug E.C. 20HP Vanguard!!!!

Offline ironman

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Search function not turning up answers for this noob
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2013, 10:54:31 am »
IMOW is a pure stock motor, so a Billet Flywheel is ilegal.
Wow...I didn't even think of that. It's a bit of a relief in a way. No need to worry about buying or making a billit flywheel. Thanks for the info.

Offline Darkviper

  • Turf Warrior
  • **
  • Posts: 590
  • Karma: 0
  • Gender: Male
  • Sponsored by vegascarts
    • View Profile
Re: Search function not turning up answers for this noob
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2013, 11:47:59 am »
for best engine for imow and gp is the Kawaski 540 or 17hp it has most torq out of all stock engines.
Jonathon Kaup
Sponsored by vegascarts

Offline ironman

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Search function not turning up answers for this noob
« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2013, 12:40:18 pm »
for best engine for imow and gp is the Kawaski 540 or 17hp it has most torq out of all stock engines.

Sweet, thanks for that info, I'll have to keep an eye out for one. I actually just called a guy about a lawn tractor (looks to be an older John Deere) with a 16hp tecumsey and a blown tranny. With a proper transmission I figure it should have sufficient power to keep up with the big boys.

EDIT: deal fell through, back to the hunt lol.