Harbor Freight wheels...

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cheapskatekarting

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I bought a go kart last summer as a project. I got it up and running and everything an ran it around a good little bit. I came back to it this year to find that one of the tires had gone flat. When I bought it, only one tire was bad. I had replaced it with a typical, higher quality one. But when this one went flat, I wanted to see if I could get a better price. So I hopped on the Internet and one of the first options to show up was Harbor Freight. Lol. I know. The good 'ol dollar store of all things hardware. But they had a wheel that was the right size, and I could get it dirt cheap. I figured that if it didn't work, it was no loss as the thing only cost $4 with a coupon. So I bought one, brought it home and put it up against the tires already there. I noticed they were incredibly similar. In fact, it turned out that the previous owner had actually put this very same tire on this kart (minus the rims; the kart came with some really nice aluminum ones). And they had held up against the wear I had put on them all last summer. So now I am somewhat of a fan of these wheels (I still prefer higher quality driving wheels because they agree better with a live axle; as for steering, though, I'm all for them!). Now I am looking to modify the rims to be more usable, because as they are, I wouldn't dare. They are made of thin, cheap metal and have awful bearings. Any suggestions as to how I might be able to make these rims worthwhile?
 

Texan

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There was a thread on here by member named Poboy awhile back modifying them. Don't remember the results tho. What size are the tires? Got any pics of the kart?
 

cheapskatekarting

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The tires according to the Harbor Freight website are 10" wheels by Haulmaster. Size I believe is 4.10-3.5/? just off the top of my head.
 

anickode

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The hubs are just pressed together, not welded. They will break apart eventually, sometimes within minutes depending on terrain and driving style.

You could weld the hubs together, put some 1⅜" go kart bearings in them, and they'd hold up for a bit, but still not terribly long.

The tubes never hold air for more than a day or two (at best) and the foam/vinyl/God knows what tires will scrub bald in no time.

But if you have a set and you're stuck with them, a few tack welds connecting the hub tube to the hub flange, plus some go kart bearings will at least make them not fall apart as fast.
 
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