Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum - View Single Post - 1986 Marathon. No power unless muffler removed

CP241 · 10-16-2021, 04:58 PM

You are correct, and technically you “can” even run a 2 stroke with a straight pipe.

These small engines are not your typical small engines, however. They are tuned very specifically and even the smallest little air leak, airbox missing, or even a Chinese carb that looks just like a real carb can make or break it. I’m not saying you won’t be able to make it work with a different muffler, but it’s going to take a lot of tweaking given the finicky nature of these little motors. The stock muffler is designed for these to work with the stock carb and stock airbox and etc. even the slightest change in any of the makeup results in huge tuning problems, and again I’m not saying you can’t or won’t be able to make it work. But it’s gonna take some tweaking. I’d start by putting a fresh plug in it, run it, and then pull and read the plug. Then adjust accordingly.

10-16-2021, 04:58 PM	#8
CP241 Nincompoop village idiot Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Michigan Posts: 9,673	Re: 1986 Marathon. No power unless muffler removed You are correct, and technically you “can” even run a 2 stroke with a straight pipe. These small engines are not your typical small engines, however. They are tuned very specifically and even the smallest little air leak, airbox missing, or even a Chinese carb that looks just like a real carb can make or break it. I’m not saying you won’t be able to make it work with a different muffler, but it’s going to take a lot of tweaking given the finicky nature of these little motors. The stock muffler is designed for these to work with the stock carb and stock airbox and etc. even the slightest change in any of the makeup results in huge tuning problems, and again I’m not saying you can’t or won’t be able to make it work. But it’s gonna take some tweaking. I’d start by putting a fresh plug in it, run it, and then pull and read the plug. Then adjust accordingly.