Unboxing the Hilliard Inferno Flame Clutch

The most common clutch used for Briggs 206 racers nationwide is the Hilliard Inferno Flame. With a durable yet simple design, the Flame is tried-and-true in competition with racers across the country, and provides consistent performance when paired with the LO206 engine, regardless of the exact category or driver weight.
Point Karting's Eric Gunderson walks you through the unboxing of the clutch, illustrating how each component fits together to prepare you for what you'll get when you order yours for your kart engine.
Want to see more of the Hilliard Inferno Clutch? Check it out here:
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[@kzeeso]

Hi Eric, I am just getting into karting and learning a lot through your videos. Your knowledge, professionalism, drive, and precise descriptions/explanations are bar none!! Also, I was very impressed that you went straight to the source by calling Hilliard Clutches to figure out answers to the question of why there is so much end float and what can be done to address it. Although they gave what sounds a bit like a walk around the issues response, it may be that call that starts a design fix in the engineering department. Because, if companies don't get calls saying there are issues with their products from their customers, then they may not know there are real issues that need to be fixed or improved upon. So great job following up on Daniel Gomez's concerns. It will be interesting to see what happens and if you get any further feedback from the engineering department. Have you created and posted the clutch installation video you mentioned in this Inferno flame unboxing video? I have not been able to find it, but definitely looking forward to watching it. I could have used the video this evening while I am working on my kart for sure. Anyway, I am back off to the garage for now. Do well and Continue the exceptional work! I look forward to watching many of your videos and supporting your company. -Karl

[@PointKarting]

@kzeeso thank you for the positive notes! Welcome to karting - we aim to have close descriptions so racers understand the products we work with and how to work on them! We are proud to work with Hilliard and they have been very responsive to our technical questions when a viewer or client has a question. We tend to agree - the racers are the best test for a racing product - seems pretty intuitive to us! Our responsibility is to communicate these questions and work to find solutions, it also helps us learn more about the products we sell. Regarding an installation video, we have a couple more clutch videos in the can on the Hilliard Flame that we haven't published just yet. We just moved to a new facility so have been back-logged with work due to that. We will have some new content for you soon! Have fun in the garage in the mean time and happy karting! -Eric, Point Karting

[@TheSpeedracer1982]

Where’s the video series for clutches?

[@PointKarting]

Hey Jason! We definitely need to do more of these! We have had a lot happen since shooting this video - moving to a new shop, expanding our product lines, and more! We will have much more content in 2021! In the meantime, reach out to us here or via email ([e-mail]) anytime if you have questions on the Hilliard line of clutches!

[@theracerdude]

i can't wait for the video on how to tune these

[@PointKarting]

Thanks Shawn0087! We are actually hoping to work on some video work this weekend time permitting on some more 206 clutch items.

[@petertodd24]

Great videos - I am looking to get into Briggs karting and you have the best youtube series by far - great for a newbie looking to learn the basic mechanics, maintenance and tuning of the L0206. I'm sure if you keep building out this video series you will attract a sizable following as there is a distinct lack of content on such a popular class engine. Thanks!

[@PointKarting]

Thanks Peter! We are proud of our 206 videos and associated content on our KZbin page. We are glad you’re getting into 206 racing! If you have any questions or need components, reach out to us, we are happy to assist you in the best way we can. We have some more videos in the pipeline!

[@petertodd24]

@@PointKarting Well I bought a Birel with a L0206 engine since my last message and it's great how relevant your videos become once you have all the same components out in front of you! You mention at the end of the video that there is a follow up on how to mount the clutch onto the kart, I couldn't see it in the library, can you share the link? Thanks!

[@PointKarting]

@@petertodd24 Thanks for the update! We mentioned that video, but we haven't edited it or uploaded it yet - we need to! I'll get on that. In the meantime, reach out to us directly via phone or email if you have questions on how to install your Hilliard clutch, and we will be happy to walk you through the process.

[@teter129]

Hilliard Clutches: 1.) Inferno 2.) Flame 3.) Fire. What are the differences exactly . . . Good, Beter, Best? Need a follow up vid to explore what we are buying.

[@PointKarting]

@IRQVET thank you for your comment! The next video is going to be coming soon! Anyway, in the meantime, to your question - the Inferno is the 'line' of clutches offered by Hilliard, and includes the Flame, Fire, Fury, etc., basically several clutches. The Flame is the clutch shown in this video. The Fire clutch is the same clutch, except for the drum and the clutch shoes, which have added pad material and a slightly larger diameter drum. In our experience, except for the true national-level kart racer the Flame clutch is the best all-rounder, as the fire shoes wear faster than the flame. The pro is that they grip harder when new, but require more routine maintenance than the flame. Hopefully this is helpful to you!

[@bradcarpenter2396]

What do you have for mini bikes❓

[@PointKarting]

Hi Brad! Thanks for reaching out! Currently we don't have a lot of Mini Bike parts on the site, if any really, but we would recommend BMI Karts for those components. Our Hilliard clutch shown here is likely the best option out of all of them for a Mini Bike as well!

[@danielcgomez]

I wish the clutch kit came with some thrust washers to help reduce the clutch drum end-float. I'm talking about thrust washers that have an ID large enough to fit over the Bearing sleeve , which would be stacked up against the clutch retainer washer inside the drum assembly. I've never been able to reduce the clutch drum end-float because the kit just doesn't supply washers to deal with this specifically.

[@PointKarting]

Hi Daniel, thank you for your reply! I'll reach out to Hilliard with your comment, and see if they have any thoughts. I agree, the kits do not have a washer that specifically fits over the drum bushing race. The amount of play that is standard with the Hilliard clutch has not seemed to cause our customers any issues so far, but I can sympathize with your concern.

[@danielcgomez]

@@PointKarting agreed, I have not experienced outright failures, but it does make setting the chain sprocket alignment more challenging. Much appreciated on your response, and I hope Hilliard can lend some insight. Cheers!

[@PointKarting]

@@danielcgomez So, Hilliard has received your feedback. At the moment, they are closed to operations due to COVID-19. But, their main receptionist has passed along the message to their engineering team. I hope to hear more from them soon!

[@danielcgomez]

@@PointKarting Absolute Great news! Thanks for passing it along! Looking forward to hearing back from them. Keep the great content coming guys!

[@PointKarting]

@@danielcgomez Ok, we've gotten a response back from Hilliard! Basically, they responded as follows: The Hilliard clutch is designed to float slightly for most racing applications. Hilliard utilizes their clutch on a lot of oval racing karts, where side-loading of the engine assembly is sustained and a more prevalent issue (think of the drive train twisting sort of like an airplane wing flexes). When this happens, if the drum and assembly can't float slightly, damage and binding can occur to the clutch and crankshaft. On a sprint-karting application, the clutch still floats, but now of course can float in a more random manner on the straights etc. Their engineering team recommends turning the black bushing (that the needle bearing spins on) down slightly or trimming the end slightly to reduce end play. With Briggs' current regulations in place, Hilliard feels they are unable to really add or subtract components from their clutch assemblies at this time due to the mandate to keep them consistent. I did inquire specifically about washers that fit over the bushing in the space between the main clutch pack and the drum, and they didn't seem to really have a part for that. When I asked why not, their response was again referring to the Briggs 206 clutch assembly freeze. Not necessarily an incorrect statement, but not necessarily the most helpful either. So, ultimately at the moment your choices are essentially to gently trim down the bushing yourself, or live and learn to love the end play on your clutch. Our customers have utilize the Hilliard clutch continuously for years with little issues other than standard parts replacement with the normal amount of end-play. So, while it isn't necessarily the tightest-running clutch package, it is reliable in current configuration. What are your thoughts on all of this? Hopefully this was helpful feed back. --Eric Gunderson

[@SynsytyCustoms]

Do I really need to watch a video of someone unboxing a clutch? If someone is in need of this they don’t need to be working on a race kart…

[@josephpastore9672]

You need to get a better camera angle for us to see the parts and not you so much. No offense