Having a mind freak moment...

[ONE-EYE]

Ok guys I'm stumped. Took the kart on a few test rides (an hour or 2 each time) and somehow I've DEMOLISHED 2 belts. First off, I know I need to use comet belts only but I want everything to check out before I try to get one on. GPS says my setup is near perfect and seems aligned. The TAV is getting extremely hot and the belts are wanting to flip inside out and tear apart after awhile. I've been driving fast and hard but pretty sure they're not supposed to break that fast. They're the correct belts, I'm putting them on correctly (beveled out and flat nearest engine), and I'm still getting jacked. Are my rpms just too high? Is my driven opening too much? Do I need a different TAV? Is there a better suggested setup that'll suit my hard driving?

 

[Barîb]

I’m no expert and I understand you said you know you need comet belts, but I’m almost certain that’s the problem. Those Chinese belts are basically made from chewing gum. Your setup alignment looks good to me, it’s just those things aren’t meant to last. Get yourself a comet belt.

 

[landuse]

Wat is your gearing like? Give us the tooth counts on your sprockets. If you are geared too high, this type of thing can happen

 

[ONE-EYE]

I’m no expert and I understand you said you know you need comet belts, but I’m almost certain that’s the problem. Those Chinese belts are basically made from chewing gum. Your setup alignment looks good to me, it’s just those things aren’t meant to last. Get yourself a comet belt.

But only an hour or two? I figured at least a few days lol

 

[ONE-EYE]

Wat is your gearing like? Give us the tooth counts on your sprockets. If you are geared too high, this type of thing can happen

I'm running a 10T on the jackshaft and a 60T on the axle.

 

[madprofessor]

Don't waste any more cheap belts just guessing. The only thing that looks wrong at this point is the quality of the belts themselves, so go ahead and shell out the $30 or whatever for a genuine Comet belt (carefully measured to fit before ordering). Shred that too and you can go back to guessing. If it fixes the problem, voila.
Use the charts in this link to get the right belt, read all the text at the top and all the way down at the bottom of the page as well.
Comet Drive Belts | Comet Torque Converter Belts | Go Kart Belts (gokartsupply.com)

 

[ONE-EYE]

Don't waste any more cheap belts just guessing. The only thing that looks wrong at this point is the quality of the belts themselves, so go ahead and shell out the $30 or whatever for a genuine Comet belt (carefully measured to fit before ordering). Shred that too and you can go back to guessing. If it fixes the problem, voila.
Use the charts in this link to get the right belt, read all the text at the top and all the way down at the bottom of the page as well.
Comet Drive Belts | Comet Torque Converter Belts | Go Kart Belts (gokartsupply.com)

I've got one on the way but it's not here yet. I'd just hate to ruin a good belt. What's got me so puzzled isn't just the belt but the amount of heat it's generating. I'm talking this thing is getting so hot that I can't even touch the plastic cover without wearing gloves when I first shut it off. Makes me wonder if it's sinking too far into the driven, hitting the rivets, shredding, and then getting hung up. Also wondering if switching out the springs on the driven would help. I mean, I figured even a cheap chinese belt would at least last a day of testing lol.

 

[Denny]

No a cheap Chinese belt will not last but an hour. We tried to tell you. You don’t want to listen. We can’t make you. I’m out.

 

[jmaack]

I have beat on multiple bikes with chinese belts and converters. I've never had one do that. Buy a comet is what i was told also. Maybe one day I'll buy and keep as a spare till I need it.

fwiw what size tires are you running? what is your gear ratio?

 

[ONE-EYE]

I have beat on multiple bikes with chinese belts and converters. I've never had one do that. Buy a comet is what i was told also. Maybe one day I'll buy and keep as a spare till I need it.

fwiw what size tires are you running? what is your gear ratio?

20x10-8 on the rear with a 6:1 gear ratio

 

[ONE-EYE]

No a cheap Chinese belt will not last but an hour. We tried to tell you. You don’t want to listen. We can’t make you. I’m out.

Dude it's on the way. I can't make them ship it any faster lol. I'm just doing some test runs before it gets here and got worried by the results I was getting. If there is another issue I'm missing, wouldn't it be better if I fixed it before putting my good belt on when it arrives? The way I see it, it's better to get other eyes and opinions on the issue just in case it's not just the belt. Might as well try it out if I already have the cheaper belts already here laying around...

 

[madprofessor]

getting so hot that I can't even touch the plastic cover without wearing gloves when I first shut it off.

Only thing you can be sure of in that statement is that the heat source is not convection, conduction, induction, or radiation, so the hot engine isn't doing it. That only leaves creation. Creating the heat via friction between the rubber of the belt and the metal of the pulleys.
The friction creating the heat is caused by sliding the two materials against each other while they are being compressed together. They have to be compressed together, that's how the CVT works, and the friction of that is supposed to be great enough to prevent slippage of one material past the other. Since your setup is therefore obviously slipping, then what's wrong with it?
You've got a brand new-looking CVT, and you're putting on brand new belts. That should all work, but since it isn't you can suppose a factory defect. Metal is metal, and yours is not oil-impregnated so toss that particular thought. That leaves the belt. The cheap Chinese belt. The factory belt that's been proven thousands of times to do exactly what yours is doing.
For an immediate repair, I recommend "Grimm's Fairy Tales". It's a good read, and you can obviously relate. For a permanent repair, I recommend the "Book of Job", King James Bible version. It teaches patience. Like waiting patiently for a genuine Comet belt.

 

[ONE-EYE]

Only thing you can be sure of in that statement is that the heat source is not convection, conduction, induction, or radiation, so the hot engine isn't doing it. That only leaves creation. Creating the heat via friction between the rubber of the belt and the metal of the pulleys.
The friction creating the heat is caused by sliding the two materials against each other while they are being compressed together. They have to be compressed together, that's how the CVT works, and the friction of that is supposed to be great enough to prevent slippage of one material past the other. Since your setup is therefore obviously slipping, then what's wrong with it?
You've got a brand new-looking CVT, and you're putting on brand new belts. That should all work, but since it isn't you can suppose a factory defect. Metal is metal, and yours is not oil-impregnated so toss that particular thought. That leaves the belt. The cheap Chinese belt. The factory belt that's been proven thousands of times to do exactly what yours is doing.
For an immediate repair, I recommend "Grimm's Fairy Tales". It's a good read, and you can obviously relate. For a permanent repair, I recommend the "Book of Job", King James Bible version. It teaches patience. Like waiting patiently for a genuine Comet belt.

Ok I get it. We'll see how it goes when it gets here. Hoping it doesn't ruin a good belt. I have been wondering about the grade of the yard too because it may be too much. I thought it was less than 15-20% but I could be mistaken.

 

[ONE-EYE]

This hill is the one that I think I might be over-doing it on.

 

[madprofessor]

This hill is the one that I think I might be over-doing it on.

Think of a hill's effect on a driver-only gokart as being very like flat ground with 2 people in the kart. The resisting forces opposing the kart only cause it to take longer to build up speed. Incline or extra weight doesn't increase the torque you're putting out (if giving it full throttle), they just make you keep it floored for a longer period of time.
BTW: Dying to know what that little building is............Little front porch with a slant roof, off-grade with a piece of skirting in front, what could be a real size chimney surround on top, can't be a chimney like that with windows on both sides of corner, what looks like the fattest hitching post ever made, but behind the place, etc.............. So spill, what is it?

 

[Denny]

Old smoke house?

 

[ONE-EYE]

Think of a hill's effect on a driver-only gokart as being very like flat ground with 2 people in the kart. The resisting forces opposing the kart only cause it to take longer to build up speed. Incline or extra weight doesn't increase the torque you're putting out (if giving it full throttle), they just make you keep it floored for a longer period of time.
BTW: Dying to know what that little building is............Little front porch with a slant roof, off-grade with a piece of skirting in front, what could be a real size chimney surround on top, can't be a chimney like that with windows on both sides of corner, what looks like the fattest hitching post ever made, but behind the place, etc.............. So spill, what is it?

Haha that's my daughter's club house that I made from a bunch of scraps laying around. There's a ramp/ladder inside and the top is a lookout loft with a large window for looking at the sky.

 

[madprofessor]

Old smoke house?

Good guess. Riser chimney-looking thing is well sealed halfway up across the back, and at the slanted roof cap line in front. Like you were trying to seal in smoke. Lack of a big fireplace in that corner, evidenced by the windows, makes sense if the fire/smoke origin is just anywhere else inside in a chiminea or firepit that wouldn't burn through the floor.

 

[madprofessor]

Haha that's my daughter's club house

Takes a good Daddy for that. How old/tall is she? Looks like those sealed non-opening windows are at adult height.

 

[ONE-EYE]

Takes a good Daddy for that. How old/tall is she? Looks like those sealed non-opening windows are at adult height.

Thank you for that. She's going to be 6 in January but she's only about 45" tall. She can see out of all of them but they're fairly large. I wanted to make it big enough so she could use it for a few extra years. Behind where the dirt is dug up is where I've been digging to lay the foundation for the addition lol