KA100 upgrades

Yep. At a track you’re new to, an extra day of driving and a set of takeoffs worn from “almost new” to “corded” is worth more than any upgrade you’d get.

I think folks have said that the KA and other newer engines get limited benefits from the blueprinting they used to do on those yamaha 100s. I guess the tolerances are pretty close already.

[quote=“Bimodal_Rocket, post:22, topic:6883, full:true”]emphasized text
*I think folks have said that the KA and other newer engines get limited benefits from the blueprinting they used to do
[quote=“Bimodal_Rocket, post:22, topic:6883, full:true”]
I think folks have said that the KA and other newer engines get limited benefits from the blueprinting they used to do on those yamaha 100s. I guess the tolerances are pretty close already.
[/quote]

on those yamaha 100s. I guess the tolerances are pretty close already.*
[/quote]

It’s been a while, mid-90s, I purchased a HPV 100. Me and an engine building fan of mine tore it down just to check everything out. Not one tolerance was off even .0001. Crank was straight, ports were at the right height, cc were right and everything else we checked.

Still, there were engine builders in Southern California advertising blueprinted HPV’s and charging the same price that they charge for the Yamaha. Dishonest dealers for sure.

I’m not saying a thorough “look over” wouldn’t be prudent, but that’s hardly a blueprint.

A little psychological fix for that: Jeremy Iglesias is the World KZ Kart Champion, driving a Formula K. It should be as fast as every other chassis if it’s straight.

I believe we covered this in another thread Al and that the term “blueprint” is being used by builders as it’s been used in the industry for so long. For the KA it really should be “setup the motor for maximum performance within the rule set” but that just doesn’t sound as nice. None of the builders I’ve seen are price gouging for this work as speculated.

1 Like

I suppose, if you want to redefine the term that has been used for 60 years, you can do that, it’s a new generation after all.

I’ll contact you when my season starts, I’ve been convinced to do this by Dom and warren now. Ive never had coaching in a performance kart (even from video) so I think I could learn a lot

I think a KA “blueprint” is like $400 maybe, and it’s not super necessary if you know what you’re doing as TJ has shown.

You could just call it “race prepping” the engine but since a lot of KA drivers came from Yamaha where blueprinting was used, the term was understood to basically mean fine tuning the engine for its best performance. Less about any specific processes done and more about ensuring the engine runs properly.

The meaning of the term and the desired outcome hasn’t changed… The body of work has, in line with how manufacturing tolerances have improved.

1 Like

Blueprinting on a Yamaha meant; square the cases, square the barrel, cut the barrel for port height, cut the head for cc, hone the cylinder, fit the piston and rings. Plus a few other details, some legal, some not. Oh, and if you can, it’s not easy, not cheap, eliminate the run out in the crankshaft! Usually requires a large stock of crank parts.

I’ve heard some places charge about 450 for all that work. Now tell me how much they do on a KA.

I understand I’m talking almost ancient history, but have things changed that much?

Comet charges over $1,000 for a Yamaha blueprint, $600 for a KA blueprint and that’s on the higher side compared to other builders I’ve talked to. Like I said, most are $400 or so.

The work on the KA is much simpler than the Yamaha work, but I would still say that blueprinting is an appropriate term for what they do to the engine.

what would you like to call it so that we can stop having this commentary in every single KA100 thread that gets posted on this site.

we’ll just call it whatever makes you happy so that you quit telling us we’re using the wrong word.

4 Likes

What your problem? Why you trying to talk down to me like that?

I know what blueprinting is, you think of a new name for your procedures.

I don’t want to get into a pissing match, but Al you’re the one who has a tendency to talk down to people. And Chris and Andy are correct, you bring up these same points in every thread about the KA and try to correct us every time.

As long as I’ve been in karting, “blueprinting” has always meant “bringing an engine to the factory specs (and then some if the rules allow)”. As James pointed out, tolerances and manufacturing processes have gotten much better, to the point where a bone stock KA is damn close to where it needs to be out of the box. That’s why you don’t really need to blueprint it. A Yamaha was always made with much older technology, less accurate molds etc., so there was a lot of variance in the end product, meaning more room to machine and hone and tinker to get it to where it was “supposed” to be from the factory.

Every engine builder out there refers to this process as “blueprinting”.

Here’s Comet selling their “blueprinted” KA package.
I could go collect this same terminology from ten engine builders websites, but I don’t feel like do so for yet another argument over semantics.

2 Likes

This mention reminds me something my dad told me once. He worked for Yamaha for almost 30 years, but mostly in the marine department with outboard motors. However, he said he went to the warehouse one day, and there was a giant shipping crate full of cylinders. When he asked about them, someone told him that they were KT100 cylinders that were out of spec and were not race legal, so they had to dump/destroy/get rid of them. He now wishes we were karting at the time so he could have grabbed a few to “play” with. His term of play would be modify and make faster.

Its interesting that every thread on the KA100 always brings up the topic of “blueprinting” or whatever you want to call it! Is this a required process now? I have also seen it mentioned in these threads how TJ was successful campaigning a stock KA in 2018. However, would that still hold true today? Could a top notch driver and a good handling kart with a box stock KA compete against a good driver with a decent kart and “blueprinted” motor? TJ I have watched your self analyzed race at GoPro and there is no doubt you and your kart were dialed in about as good as you could ask for, would that be enough to go against a “blueprinted” motor?

I can attest to how even these motors are box stock form, it will be interesting to see how even they are once guys have them worked on.

While I would believe that a box stock motor is as good as a “blueprinted” motor, I am sure that there are builders that have found tricks to get a little more power out of them. We had a box stock motor in 2019, and the first few races against some of our normal competitors were close, once we got to the first regional race, they were much faster down the straight than we, or another racer with a box stock KA, were. My daughter would have a run on one of them coming out of the last corner, and then after 1/4 of the straight, that other motor would come on and just pull away. We sent our motor off to get it looked over and a new top end done, and we haven’t been pulled down the straight again.
While, it’s very possible that I had the tuning off the few times we raced that group that pulled us, they haven’t done it since.

My personal theory on “blueprinting” or having a builder setup a KA for you is more around continued support and setup for the motor. When they setup the motor they are typically doing a new piston with break in. They will run it on the dyno and give you suggested carb settings along with tuning suggestions. If you have questions during use you can call and they’ll support you. That’s the service you’re paying for and way worth the money.

If you’re the DIY type you can remove the head gasket to minimize squish, advance timing to the rules limit, and figure out carb tuning on your own and you’ll be very close in performance if you get it right.

If you need a rebuild anyway, you’re paying a very small additional amount to have a builder go thru the motor setup and can attain the additional support benefits. Choose a builder you feel can give you the best support.

I can attest to this. I know the builder I send my motors to is always available to help me. I’ve literally been on the grid and sent him a text asking a question, and he was back to me in time for me to make an adjustment before my daughter left the grid. He’s answered so much for me, that I really appreciate having his help and assistance just a text, call, or email away.

My opinion is that carb setup is likely the biggest benefit of having a shop setup a motor for you. They have learned what does and does not work best for power and proven it on both the dyno and race track.

Other than that, in general, if you can read the rule book and measure things you can do the rest of the setup on your own.

That said, there is some continued evolution of what was a data point in time for what might be best for engine setup. Savy shops have started to realize benefits of different timing settings based on track type and size. The evolution of these setups continues to improve and develop even if these developments are in small increments.