ACTIVE FILTER. AN INNOVATION BY RIGHETTI RIDOLFI

TKART Staff

11 February 2016

The suction filter plays a fundamental role in optimisation of two-stroke engine performance. Righetti Ridolfi has pulled a new filter that is remarkable for its quality and innovative solutions “out of the hat”. Let’s find out about it.

As has been emphasised on other occasions, the air filters are important accessories for the performance of 2T engines such as those on karts. There are three main functions: getting the highest possible airflow to the carburetor; reducing noise emissions; protecting the engine and carburetor inlet from external bodies.
For the 2016-2021 approval, Righetti Ridolfi has developed the new Active filter, divided into two separable shells with several innovative solutions.

THE PROJECT

The realisation of the new component took many hours of research and development. No less than 54 prototypes were built from the first basic theoretical ideas, including the upper and lower casings! Among these, after exhaustive testing on the track, a lower casing, two upper casings and several silencer tubes were selected. The next step was therefore the flow bench, in order to get a better understanding the air flow caused by the different solutions. Having selected the most efficient components, it was back on track for a final confirmation. Two filters were produced at the end: Active 23 and Active 30, the only difference being the diameter of the intake silencer tubes: 23 mm for the OK and OKJ classes and 30 for the KZ class.

RIGHETTI RIDOLFI IS AMONG THE MOST RENOWNED MANUFACTURERS OF KARTING ACCESSORIES IN THE WORLD. IT HAS OVER 1,100 STORES IN 87 COUNTRIES AND OFFERS A CATALOGUE WITH MORE THAN 2,700 ITEMS, MOST OF WHICH ARE MANUFACTURED DIRECTLY BY THE COMPANY.

FILTER CAPACITY

Although it is experimental (not necessarily perfect during actual use on the track), some of the findings from the tests carried on Active are interesting compared with the already excellent Nox filter. The data on the flowmeter indicates an improvement of 2.05% in the air flow, due, in part, to the new rectangular dust filter positioned between the two casings. Its amplitude facilitates the passage of air and does not affect performance when its starts attracting dust. Another important result comes from the suction test, where the initial efficiency was 99.3%.