Three Great Reasons To Add A Mini Starter To Your Build
If you have a classic custom, hot rod, or purpose-built race car, the starter motor can sometimes become a bit of an afterthought. Thankfully with modern designs and technology, mini starters and “high torque” starters have become a great way to provide starting power while saving a bit of weight. Read on to learn the reasons for choosing a mini starter, a few of our favorites, and the benefits they offer.
Why Use A Mini Starter?
There are plenty of reasons you may need to use a mini starter in your build.
- Fitment: One of the most common reasons for using a mini starter is fitment. When you’ve heavily modified an engine or completed an engine swap, you often crowd your actual useable engine bay area. This is one of the best cases for a mini starter. As the name implies, they are physically smaller than a standard starter. So they can often solve clearance issues.
- Weight: Another huge benefit behind mini starters is their reduced weight compared to a standard starter. If you’ve ever held a standard-sized starter (especially in a classic car), you know they can sometimes weigh nearly 20lbs in a relatively small housing. With mini starters, you reduce the actual size of the starter housing and the weight by about half. For those who are racing, the weight savings from the mini starter can be a considerable benefit and help get those top times out on the track.
- Gearing: A third reason for replacing your standard starter with one of our mini starters is the reduced gearing in the mini starters. This reduced gearing allows the starter motor to spin much more quickly than a standard starter. This will reduce battery draw when attempting to start the vehicle. For many applications, a mini starter can help reduce your vehicle’s weight and electrical draw, and save some space.
Mini Starters From Karl Kustoms
Check out the list below to find links to some of our most popular mini starters and a few specialized benefits of each model.
- Stagger Mount V8 Starter: This small 1.9HP unit is for V8 Chevy applications with a 163 tooth setup and a 4.0:1 gear reduction ratio.
- Chevy LS1 – LSx High Torque mini starter: This LS-specific mini starter is clockable for added clearance and includes all the hardware to mount to your LS engine.
- Hitachi PSL100 Super Lite – Mini Starter: This mini starter features a 6:1 gear reduction and 360degree clocking to ensure the correct fit. This is also one of the lightest mini starters available today.
- Chevy Black 3HP High-Torque Mini Starter: This Mini starter fits both 153 & 168 tooth applications and is designed to fit SBC and BBC engines.
- Chevy High-Torque Mini Starter: This starter is designed for all 90-degree Chevy V6 engines and all V8s from 1958-1996. With a 3.75:1 gear reduction, you can be confident in less stress on your electrical system.
If you’d like to learn more about our many mini starters, you can check them out here.
When it comes to your custom build, look no further than Karl Kustoms. With the custom and dealer side of our shop, you can be confident in factory OEM level builds and parts for whatever your application. We offer free shipping on orders over $99 to the lower 48 and offer a price match guarantee. You can contact us here with any questions, or give us a call at 888-697-8615.