KART ENGINE COOLING: 6 QUIZZES ON DIFFERENCES, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES BETWEEN AIR COOLED AND LIQUID COOLED ENGINES

The cooling of the kart engine can be done in two ways: through air that directly invests the cylinder or through a more complex water circuit, which delegates to the radiator the task of exchanging heat with the air (for more, read “Tech Talk | Cooling the cylinder”). The first type of cooling system is the simplest, and the main expedient is to finning the cylinder to increase the exchange surface area with the air. The second type, on the other hand, is a more complex and expensive, but also more effective, system that achieves better performance, especially throughout the race. For this reason, since the early 2000s, liquid cooling has rapidly replaced air cooling in most kart racing engines. The air-cooled engines that remain in use today are mainly the MINIs, some engines used in one-make championships (such as the Easykart Trophy and an IAME factory powerplant, the KA100), and those in Rental karts. However, we still often wonder about the differences, especially in terms of management and operation, between the two types of engines: which is easier to handle, which is lighter, and how they behave at low and high temperatures. To settle some of these doubts, we interviewed Mauro Villa, a historic karting engine tuner with a long experience in the field. Also recalling his early career, in which he worked with air-cooled engines, Mauro answered six questions with great precision and detail.