I have zero idea if this is true, so I was curious if anyone here has heard any creditable rumors that Briggs & Stratton is in the process of developing a new race engine platform, based on the success of the Lo206 series, but possibably a larger cc to complete with Tillotson and the Clones.
My gut tells me this is just a rumor, unless they are looking to update their World Formula which they already produce that already has more cc’s than the Lo206. Also considering that B&S seems to be struggling to keep pace with lo206 demand from a production standpoint.
Just curious if anyone here has connections (as many of you seem to have) that could confirm or deny these rumors . . . because to me this is just a rumor.
The WF isn’t any bigger of an engine displacement wise compared to the 206. It uses the exact same crank and block. It does have more compression by way of a different head and piston, and does utilize a billet connecting rod. There’s various other differences like carb, cam, ignition, pipe, etc.
Nope, just a rumor. It always has been, but Briggs has no reason to develop a new engine platform even if they were concerned about the 225.
They have plenty of parts already available to up the speed on the 206 block. The Animal class (the unlimited version of the 206 with no rev limiter, higher compression, etc.) is already almost 2 seconds quicker than the 206 at my local track, although I’m not sure what the real upper limit of speed for those would be.
Disregarding that, though, right now there is no reason to even worry about the 225 from Briggs standpoint. They have a program pulling 500 entries at the biggest national 206 event of the season, and strong club presence across the US. The last thing the club guys are going to want is to have to buy a new engine package when the old one is working just fine, so they’re going to stick with the 206.
All that being said, Briggs has been battle testing sealed WF in off road racing for a number of years.
I do agree that the 206 has created some of the biggest classes and races in Karting and it would be hard to change that up, but I would really like to see a step up in power.
In today’s world, the animal, pro gas and super stock type isn’t the best option. Racers don’t want to deal with the methanol, racing gas, tuning etc. No matter how minimal of an issue it is. It’s the wrong direction for the perception.
Now, a sealed WF with an Animal coil…
Local Option — World Option
It’s cold out and snow on the ground. Gives us northerners something to talk about
While I agree with this sentiment most of the time, in this case I don’t think it would be a bad thing. Something with more power would be a good thing to complement 206, which was supposed to be an entry level class to begin with.
If you’re a 4-stroke sprint racer, I’m sure there is demand for something faster.
I drove the World Formula years ago when it came out and thought it was a decent package.
Yes, I’ve had talks with multiple people about a faster alternative to the 206 for the “Pro” drivers in 206. I used the Animal as an example since it uses the same base as the 206, so if Briggs (or any race organizer) wanted to, they could create a new 206 package with, say, a new coil to rev higher and some other changes available, and still have a sealed package like the 206 is but faster for the drivers that want it. Since the rumor was about developing an all new engine, there’s no need since they have plenty of speed to draw from the current setup.
Fun fact: one of my friends at Briggs said the standard 206 package, without a rev limiter, can go to about 20k RPM before the flywheel explodes. That’s why the parity of the 206 is so good, they’re never actually pushing the engine to get hp.
Sealed world formula lap times are about 2 to 2.5 seconds faster on the two regular track layouts we run with NHKA. Both tracks lap times are in 40-50 second range. On the full 1.3 mile Canaan road course, with much longer straights, the 206 laps at around 1:13 and world formula is about 4.5 seconds faster than the 206 and tag sr about 13-14 seconds faster than 206.
Having raced 206 out in Illinois then world formula when I moved back east, I’d say they are pretty similar. Biggest difference is the world formula keeps pulling a bit longer down the straights and has a faster top speed.
Both great engines, but if rumors were to come true and they were developing another engine I’d like to see a sealed world formula type engine that at least doubles what the 206 makes. A little bit better quicker than the middle lap time wise between a tag and 206 would be perfect. Keep 206 reliability and affordability, but with more speed and I think the class could do well and still allow 206 to thrive.
World Formula is a well-subscribed to class in Quarter Midgets (where our kids ran before we moved to karts). They provide a faster class for the older/heavier kids that want to move up from the Honda GX120 and 160 based classes. From what I could tell, the Brigs WF was almost as bulletproof as the Hondas our kids ran in their cars before they aged out. The concept of giving drivers a somewhat faster package while still leveraging their investment in and knowledge of the Briggs motors has some value IMO. I would think twice about the 2 stroke learning curve and cost to build a spares inventory if there was a faster four stroke class available that let me use most of my current spare parts collection. My two cents worth…
Stock a WF is identical to the 206 displacement wise. On a WF you can get a little extra displacement by going to an oversize piston. The same was true back when the Animal builder class was a thing.
Something around KA speed maybe? the WF can make 20hp with little work, so I think its possible to have a sealed WF thats just a little bit more powerful.
I heard someone actually made 22hp by blueprinting, dyno tuning, and having a higher compression. Still hardly pushing the engine at that point
In regards to competing with 206, we havent had any problems here. Our two most popular classes are 206 and WF
