Governor Removal Safety Reality Check

[Doc Sprocket]

it not going to be spinning any faster, the blades will just have more cuting power.

Let me see if I got this right-

You get into heavy grass, the engine bogs, and you want to "tickle" the governor for more cutting power, right?

Wrong! If the engine is bogging, the governor is already setting WOT. You cannot get "WidER Open Throttle! Furthermore, the cutting deck is mechanically connected to the engine. If you were to increase engine RPM, you WOULD increase blade RPM.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I do not suggest or endorse bypassing the governor via string or similar manual method, except for the following test, and a very short duration:

This test will determine whether you would benefit from a governor removal at your current gearing- Tie a string directly to your carb's throttle butterfly, or to the governor arm that actuates it. Without pulling the string, drive at full throttle in a long straightaway. Now- pull the string to override the governor action. IF you do not get an increase in speed, you are already at WOT and your engine cannot spin any faster. The load is already too great on the engine for the available amount of power. For more speed, you will have to make other alterations to your kart such as gearing lower, or gearing lower and then repeating test, or other modifications to increase the power output of the engine. If you begin to accelerate, you are in a good position to perform a governor removal and gain top speed. Do not continue to pull the string for more than a second or two, and if you do begin to accelerate (especially if it's a lot), do not let it wind out. You are risking your engine.

 

[matman55]

I get hella accel when i pull that string back mabe y 15 mph boost, i can also pop whellies pretty good too, but i cant burn rubber

 

[CaptCanadia]

I'm not sure if this is posted but what is the big downfall of just bypassing the gov? Does it shred the gov gear or something?

EDIT: Toystory I also wanted to bring something up about your hand throttle RPM increase trick. I've tried it on both my karts and it does absolutely nothing. My engine will max out at 3850 and after that the gov will rev it up and down regardless of the screw being present or not. Defiantly not 4200.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I'm not sure if this is posted but what is the big downfall of just bypassing the gov? Does it shred the gov gear or something?

EDIT: Toystory I also wanted to bring something up about your hand throttle RPM increase trick. I've tried it on both my karts and it does absolutely nothing. My engine will max out at 3850 and after that the gov will rev it up and down regardless of the screw being present or not. Defiantly not 4200.

Yes, it can very well shred the internals! I've written about this many times.

4200? That's called a ballpark. Individual results may vary. I achieved 4250-ish on my GX340 by removing the screw. Measured with an IR tach, and verified with GPS and speedo reads combined with reverse calcs.

 

[matman55]

so if i took out the governor alltogether what speed are we lookin at? currently speeds are 1st- 2mph 2nd- 4 mph 3rd- 6-7 mph 4th- 8 mph- 5th- 10mph-
6thgear- 11 mph. those are rough estimates. edit- Some should really make a tut. on governor removal for common lawn mower engines.

 

[CaptCanadia]

Yes, it can very well shred the internals! I've written about this many times.

4200? That's called a ballpark. Individual results may vary. I achieved 4250-ish on my GX340 by removing the screw. Measured with an IR tach, and verified with GPS and speedo reads combined with reverse calcs.

I dont think it does anything because with or without it the rpm doesnt change. I think that screw is just to restrict rpm if needed or increase rpm if its not hitting 3600 for whatever reason.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I dont think it does anything because with or without it the rpm doesnt change. I think that screw is just to restrict rpm if needed or increase rpm if its not hitting 3600 for whatever reason.

You're free to think whatever you like. A service manual will tell you otherwise.

 

[CaptCanadia]

Prove it

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Prove it

I have. Service manuals, and wrenching experience.

 

[Orange Krate]

1) I always advise people that IF they are going to run well above governed RPM, to do it by fully removing the governor's internal mechanisms, and NOT simply bypassing it externally. Many governors are designed in such a way that if over-revved, can suffer component interference inside the crankcase, and/or have internal parts forced right off the shaft and bounce around loose inside the crankcase. Either case can cause severe engine damage. NOT an "explosion", just largely F'd up internals.

And here's what it looks like when those internal components suddenly become externals. If you'll note, that's the governor rod sticking out through a self made hole

PS. I didn't do this...bought it this way

 

[exenos]

Dam, reading this is just the thing I needed, I've been looking over at omb a bit more lately and they had me wondering about my 6.5K clone that's on my minibike. I didn't like the thought of having only one nut due to an exploding flywheel.

 

[matman55]

if i do remove the govornor off my briggs, i dont want to encounter valve flutter as a result of high rpm and weak stock springs. So my question is where do i find stronger spring(or anything else to eliminate valve flutter).
and while im here, how would i set up the linkage?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

if i do remove the govornor off my briggs, i dont want to encounter valve flutter as a result of high rpm and weak stock springs. So my question is where do i find stronger spring(or anything else to eliminate valve flutter).
and while im here, how would i set up the linkage?

Then get your wallet. Now you're needing the race parts.

 

[r_chez_08]

if i do remove the govornor off my briggs, i dont want to encounter valve flutter as a result of high rpm and weak stock springs. So my question is where do i find stronger spring(or anything else to eliminate valve flutter).
and while im here, how would i set up the linkage?

Valve flutter helps to limit the RPM. Not the best of ways, admittedly, because the valves can mushroom a little, but better than blowing a con rod or flywheel.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

the valves can mushroom a little,

that may be the case if you continually hammer it wide open. The idea here, is to use the valve flutter as an audio "alarm" and back off the throttle a wee bit.

Getting back to the meat of the matter, if valve flutter is something you wish to avoid, Matman, then it's all or nothing for you. Either upgrade your internals, or put down the wrench and come out with your hands up.

 

[slimonster1]

you guys got me thinking about removing the governor on my predator 212 thinking about the flywheel failing issue , logically if the engine is going to be running non stop for years even at say 3600 to 4000 rpms they would design the flywheel to last and take alot of crud before it fails now then if you add a set of valve springs and a port job then that might cause a higher likely hood of detonation but again rod warp or cam failures are more likely to happen had a 5.5 hp b and s flathead with no gov and it lasted like 20 years according to the previous owner so idk about that ohhh its gunna explode lol myth however race parts are a great idea for that just in case scenario