Matt Mikka has shared his insane engineering projects with millions of viewers around the world through his YouTube channel Warped Perception. Mikka has showcased various unique components, from miniature combustion engines meant to a see-through intercooler. Mikka’s ambitious projects have to be the ones involving jet engines. He has mounted jets to a scooter and a go-kart, and even constructed an entire jet propulsion system for a Tesla.
Mikka’s jet-powered go-kart was how I became aware of the YouTube personality. He has attached a few novel motors to his kart, like a liquid hydrogen-fuelled rotary engine. However, the turbojet has to be the least traditional method Mikka used to power his kart. The new jet engine was mounted off the back behind the rear axle. He completely removed the conventional drive chain. Thrust was the only thing pushing the kart forward. Mikka stated that the small turbojet produces around 70 to 80 pounds of thrust.
The kart’s performance was significantly boosted by the jet engine. Without any mechanic linkages between an engine and the wheels, acceleration was smooth and efficient. Mikka noted that the kart’s braking performance was also better because there was no drive chain to resist the brakes. The controller interface for the jet was a bit sketchy, but the kart was an awesome creation.
The jet-powered Tesla was the kart project massively scaled up. Mikka designed and built a system with three jets mounted to the rear of a Tesla. He even created a centre console control interface that wouldn’t look out of place in the cockpit of a commercial airliner. He also had to fit the electric car with a fuel tank in the trunk, leading to the strange situation of pouring kerosene into a Tesla.
If you want to see even more crazy engineering ideas brought to life, be sure to check out Warped Perception on YouTube.