A lot has changed in the go kart engines over the last 50 years. When go karts were invented in 1956 the typical go kart engines were stripped off an old lawnmower. While these types of go kart engines are still very popular there also many available to someone looking for new go kart engines.
The typical amusement parks go kart engines are either powered by a four stroke or an electric motor. The typical racing go kart engines are a two stroke however some racing Go karts feature a quieter four stroke go kart engine.
Electric go kart engines are low maintenance requiring only that batteries be plugged in after each run. Electric go kart engines are a pretty expensive endeavor and unless you’re an amusement park with the ability to purchase a rotating fleet of electric Go Karts than electric go kart engines are probably not the best choice for you.
Four stroke go kart engines can be standard air cooled industrial-based engines that may or may not have small modifications to make it a go kart engine. The typical horsepower range for, four stroke go kart engines is 5 to 30 hp. Four stroke go kart engines are acceptable for both racing and fun applications however if you are looking for truly high performance and don’t mind the extra noise, tuning and maintenance two-stroke go kart engines are probably going to give you more performance.
Two-stroke go kart engines are typically going to be built, developed and tested by very specific racing engine manufacturers. Two-stroke go kart engines tend to be expensive and require a lot more tuning and maintenance however the horsepower is a lot higher on these type of go kart engines. Go karts with these go kart engines have been known to do well over 100 mph. And turn over 16,000 RPMs.
So if you have a project in mind and you are looking for specific go kart engines, do your homework before ordering these engines. You want to make sure you buy the right engines for your application, and most of all you want to make sure the engines will fit on your go kart and if you plan on driving in your neighborhood that the noise is not so loud that the neighbors call the police because of your loud go kart engines.