3 inches of circumference is 1 gear

Good to know. Thanks. Right now I am getting the fine splined carrier installed along with the new clutch. When I get it back, I'll install the underdrive. That should do me pretty well this season while I am waiting to rebuild the engine.

OK, the new clutch, driveshaft, fine splined rear end, and 20% underdrive is in. The three puck clutch really grabs. Any tips for slipping it at the start? The guy set it up to easily slip at the end of the pull.

Also thinking about getting a Lakota governed carb to add a couple of hp. Is it worth the money?

Thanks

To slip the clutch at the start just let the clutch out slowly as you would with any other clutch. You only have to move the plate about .020 of an inch to fully disengage it.

As far as the Lakota governor carb without additional mods I am not sure you are going to bolt it on and add two HP. Don may have a different opinion on this though. I'm going to be sending them a core to be modified soon. I hope to talk to Don Samples when he gets it.

I have tried slipping it at the start but it just grabs and goes no matter how slowly I let it out. Maybe it will loosen up a bit over time. Once engaged, it is very easy to slip.

My understanding is that the Lakota carb flows gas from the and jet and idle jet so more fuel is provided.

What clutch disc are you using?

All the carbs do that even in stock form. Lakota reworks them to flow more. But again without the correct cam and RPM it may very well be a waste of money.

What I'm getting at is..... If you are bolting it on a 4,000 rpm engine that has a stock cam and you are expecting a 2hp gain you may very well be disappointed.

OK, point taken on the carb. I am using a Zach Kerber, three puck with a red spring.

Without being hooked up to a sled it may not slip. You need some force acting against the tractor.

I'd say you pretty well nailed it

I guess I've learned a few things reading your posts over the years then Don. Thanks again.

Lakota agreed with you. The new pulling season starts in two weeks. The wait is killing me. Planning to convert back to a puller this weekend.

I hope to have my carb from them in a few weeks. Then I'm going to test it on the dyno.

Just got back from the local pull. Took first place in both classes I pulled in. No trophy this round, but I did win a few bucks. It was a good day.

good job....

Your gear advice helped the most. The competition either pulled in first gear and spun out early or tried to pull in second and bogged the engine down. The 20% underdrive I used worked just right pulling in second gear.

all the power in the world don't do you any good without the correct gear.

Well done!:IH Trusted Hand:

Here are a couple of pics. All dressed up and ready to pull. Those are one of the last pair of new super lugs on the planet.

The rain finally let up and we pulled this weekend. Two more wins. I managed to increase my distance by 30 feet this time. The At101 tires worked really well. That and the tractor is well balanced now. Learning to ride the wheelie and steer with my weight. People are starting to fish to find out what I am doing right. Several came by to complement my tractor for running so well.

The last run was a lot of fun. Towards the end, the front end was up in the air and ground speed had slowed to almost nothing. I was ready to shut it down but I was still moving forward, barely. Rode it out and got at least two more feet out of the ride. It was a good day.

Keep the updates coming

Didn't do so well today. Got a second and third place finish. The track is a clay track. Progressive pulls have created a gravely consistency to the surface. As a result, you start digging trenches early on. I am thinking about reversing my tires. Does anyone think this will help?

And pull the loose dirt to the center of tire? Bad idea.

no, you don't want to do that. you need to find a way to deal with it. try to hook it in better right away, better balance. tire psi, draw bar distance from the center of the rear axle (that's a touchy one), gearing. no matter how long you've been pulling you always get those tracks you struggle on. just have to try to make the best of it

Spinout
 

Watching other drivers, I have noticed that sometimes they spinout early in the pull. The tire I am watching almost stops but the engine is still revving. That means the tire on the other side is spinning. Short of welding the differential, is there any way to prevent this?

What axle and carrier are you running? It's easy to shim the spider gears tighter but, if you are running the stock axle and carrier I'm not sure I would waste my time doing that. Your other option is to shift your weight to the side that is spinning. Make sure your air pressure is the same on each side too. Make sure you are using a good low pressure gauge to check the pressure too.

My problem is, I have a habit of wanting to look at my tires. This shifts my weight to the tire I am watching and the other side spins. Think I'll practice not watching them or figure out how to watch them both at the same time without shifting my weight.

you don't want to watch tires. you want to sit square in the seat. if you lean back, lean straight back unless 1 tire is an issue. most people when they lean back tend to transfer weight to the arm they are holding on with.

Another thing that I believe helps it is to get all of the weight that you can inside of the frame.

inside and low to the ground

Agreed I now fill our belly boxes up first and forget about the weight in there.

they handle so much nicer set up like that

It has definitely helped my kids.

We had a test-n-tune at a new track last week. Made about 6 pulls. The sled was set up to let you pull over 100 feet. Planted my but firmly in the seat, leaned back as far as I could and kept both hands on the steering wheel to avoid shifting my weight to one side or the other. I could tell a difference. The tractor tracked mostly straight. When it didn't, I could lean to one side or the other to straighten it out. The track was a hard track so no digging holes this time. It was a good day.

Tried different tires. The 23" super lugs did great and pulled 157 feet. The AT101s also did good at 159 feet. My 26" tires didn't do well, 134 feet. I don't have the gears to run them properly.

Our club lost it insurance and had to cancel the last pull. Hoping they straighten it out before the trophy pull in October.

Here is a pic of the offending tire watching habit. You can see the gravel texture of the track.

your supposed to be looking down track to where you want to go, you don't want to hit ruts from someone else. I usually have my run planned before I ever hook to the sled. unless some one takes the line I want to run . I pick an object at the end of the track or keep track of how far off the side line I want to be. I might watch a tire on the starting line as I slip the clutch but even that's is pretty rare. you don't get to where you want to be not looking where you're going

Do you have fluid in your tires or just the rear weight in the back?

I have 70 lbs. of weight in the back. No fluid.

We had a club meeting last night. They found some insurance we can live with.

Thinking about changing the head on my tractor. Would it be better to run an LP head, or one with the heart shaped combustion chamber milled 0.05? As far as I know, every thing in the K301 is stock.

its hard to beat an LP head

Will I have problems starting the engine with a starter/generator because of the extra compression?

It shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure your S/G has top notch bearings in it.