Can the PRD fireball be competitive locally? I have been out of karting for a while and my old package is a new/old 08 crg road rebel with brand new box stock prd fireball. I have been doing rental karts in the winters so am still familiar with how karts drive but been wondering how much of a handicap is my setup going to be with all these new engines i have never heard of before, X30, Rotax evo etc
1 Like
All other things being equal, it’s going to be hard to keep up.
But things are rarely equal. Run what you have and see how it goes.
I ran the Fireball for years and you’ll have a hard time competing. You may consider doing the PRD Galaxy upgrade, they’ve been running up here in the NW and have been as good as any other engine package power wise. @DavinRS runs with the team using them and has run one himself.
1 Like
I ran a Fireball in club road racing early this year. WKA handicaps them pretty well compared to other TAGs. If I could have made the min weight (360) I would have done better but fatty here couldn’t get below about 373#, which is X30 min weight territory. I was mid pack for most races.
1 Like
Long story, short. Unless you’re super super light, running the Fireball will be difficult against X30, Rotaxs and etc sprint racing.
The Galaxy is a totally different story though. Much more power, especially in the top end and with a power valve. No issues there.
Link here for more info. https://prdfireball.com/collections/prd-galaxy-full-packages/products/prd-galaxy-full-package
EDIT: Now, I will say that with the control carb, it will run competitively with other 100cc engines like the KA100, if you have an open class like that.
This year I bought several PRD Fireball engines and all their parts from a couple race teams. My whole deal is driving as much as I can during a year (not racing)without spending too much money and I’ve been averaging between around 10-12 hours of seat time for the past 3 years this way. I moved up from piston port engines, so it was definitely a net gain in terms of the fun factor and lap times (meaning my lap time went down quite a bit from what my HPV/KT were turning).
That said, my experience with the Fireball vs other TAGs has been definitive. Given two drivers of equal abilities, and let’s stick to ‘local racing’ not national level equipment and/or drivers - the PRD would stay close enough to non-Rok GP TAG karts (e.g., Leopard, X30) to at least make you feel like your were in the same game, though a bit out gunned. Now as far as the ROK GP (not the ‘normal’ ROK, those are more similar to the X30) - if those are legal in your local TAG classes don’t even bother (34 horsepower vs 26 for the Fireball, X30 has 30hp). I’ve driven with a couple ROK GPs at different tracks and they drop my PRD about the same way a 125 shifter does (instantly and with force). To go even further, a race-prepped KA100 with fresh tires is one heck of a match for a less than race-prepped PRD Fireball with older tires, probably even slightly faster.
1 Like
@DavinRS If you mean the smaller spec carb for the PRD - that makes the PRD competitive with piston port engines, NOT the KA100. At many tracks a fresh KA100 with fresh tires will be running times not far off 80 and TAG karts.
So…assuming I can get to 360# (not hard…I had to add weight to mkae 330# for KA100), can I be competitive in WKA Roadracing with a Fireball 125? I’d be in the market for one, if so…with the rod and ignition updates. I seem to recall the dyno chart being almost the same as the MY07 Leopards… And I don’t think the Galaxy has been recognized for competition with WKA…though if they saw PRD I assume they’d think it was a Fireball…LOL Thoughts? It would be going on a 1998 Birel, so… LOL
I tried looking for that chart showing the hp curve similar to the 07 leopard. Can you pull it up?
Couldn’t find it, though there’s some video on youtube w/ no chart, and some discussion on other boards from 10 yrs. ago. You can get 'em for a song these days…