In search of the powerhouse....

The search for the engine for the kart lead to dead ends till date.. But things took a U-turn today and we finally got ourself a engine today..  During the past 2 weeks we discuseed a lot about what engine to buy and finally we short listed the following engines, yamaha 100cc (2 stroke), yamaha 135cc (2 stroke), suzuki 100cc (2 stroke). The next part was to find any one of these engines for a cheap price and thats when trouble started .. the yamaha engine prices started from Rs.5000 and the suzuki engine price was around Rs.3500.. all these prices were negotiated through local mechanics who owned the engine or knew people who owned the engine.. but the world changed on the day when we went to the great 'UKKADAM OLD MARKET' in coimbatore.. so, this place is the graveyard of almost all the vehicles which were either stolen, broken or seized in and around coimbatore.. after 2 days of frequent visits and contacts which balaji had inside the market, we came across one vehicle which caught our eyes right away (like love @ first sight!!!!!).. the vehicle was SUZUKI SAMURAI 96 model, which supposedly met with an accident and was ditched in the market.. Balaji started to work his magic with words, bargaining, negotiating and finally the price came to Rs.2200(complete with air filter and carburetor).. the deal was sealed right away and so we have ourself a engine..

The specs are as follows,

ENGINE:

Type            :  2 stroke, air cooled

Intake sys.  :  Reed value

Bore             :  50.0 mm

Stroke      :  50.0 mm

Piston disp. : 98.2 cc

Compression ratio  :  6.7:1

PERFORMANCE:

Maximum horsepower @5500 rpm :  5.74 KW (7.8 BHP)

TRANSMISSION:

Clutch           :  Wet multi-plate type

Transmission   :  4 speed constant mesh

Gear shift pattern :  All down, heel-toe shift

ELECTRICALS:

System            :  AC & DC type

Ignition timing :  24° ± 2° B.T.D.C. @3000 RPM

Battery            :  12V 2.5 Ah / 10HR

Generator    :  Flywheel Magneto 60 W

Fuse            :  10 A

Getting the paper work out of the way .

Project definition:

To design and fabricate a go-kart using a motorcycle engine.

Scope:

* Incorporate Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
* Design a paddle shift gear system
* Design analysis using ANSYS
* Commercial feasibility analysis

Timeline:

3 months

Modules:

* Chassis structure (Mitanshu, Bharat)
* Engine Mounting and Transmission system (Sudhir, Siva)
* Steering and brake systems (Arees, Balaji)


Resources:

* Engine (2 stroke, 100cc)
* Warehouse
* Lathe
* Welding equipment

change my photo

Arees, you better change my photo before I start posting photos of you getting drunk and holding cigarette...

25th of May , 2009

Team Infinity decides its time to get a hands-on feel of what it really feels like to drive a Go-kart . Accompanied by a guest member Laxshmi Narayanan , the group visited Kart Attack , Coimbatore on the 25th of May . After a couple of laps around the track during which we discovered that none of the karts had a working brake pedal , we decided to quiz the owners on their interesting standards of safety . We learnt that the brakes were set the way they were because otherwise the owner would have had to meet the rising costs of the worn out brake pads and on the rare occasion the blown up tire . We were jublient because the implementation of the ABS system would solve both problems . Add to this the 5-speed gear box , and we would get a fun ride that could scare the wits out of the driver .

The Purpose

Lets start off with a story . The story that explains the reason why 6 guys decided to call their new formed coalition ‘Team Infinity” is no ordinary story but is fraught with incidents that shows them to be brave ,gentile and knowledgeable . Na, there’s no story really ! If it wasn’t for the twisted rod we found at PSG Tech’s junkyard , we wouldn’t have settled on the name ‘infinity’ . We would have probably decided on a name like Zephyrus ( Father of a horse and sister impregnator ) .
Now to meet the 6 protagonists and their ever optimistic coordinator , listed in an order which was convenient for me ,

Arees
Balaji
Mitanshu
Siva
Sudhir
Bharat
Arun ( Coordinator )

Now that the ice is broken , lets get on to the more important part of the blog . The purpose of the blog , is to keep track of the progress of the Team as they embark on a trip of self-discovery as they put into work their ever depleting brain cells , so as to construct an ATV . Well that was the initial plan anyway , now it seems we would rather build a Go-Kart with an Anti Lock braking System complemented with a Paddle gear shift mechanism . I call this a trip of self-discovery because after 4 years of learning in an educational institution , that should ( in my personal opinion ) be listed under the finest examples of ‘ engineering colleges you shouldn’t join ’, we need to prove to our selves that the two letters (B.E.) that will precede our name in our marriage invitation actually signifies something .

are we waiting for the world to change?

sudhir, have you finished the spreadsheet?