1st Time Off Road Kart

[r97]

they shipped a huge 50lb box to me for like 50 bucks, i didn't think it was that bad, but trust me australia is gonna be expensive at the least, this is go kart galexys sister site, http://gokartnminibikeparts.com/

 

[redsox985]

Try to find them in Aus. That'll be your best option. There are quite a few active members from Aus. on here and they all can point you in the right direction.

 

[Shane284]

We'll they still haven't emailed me back after asking them how much shipping would cost. I'm expecting it to be pretty expensive but wasn't sure if it would still be worth it.

It would be great if I knew of some sites and places to get parts. I'm tempted to make a new thread and ask even tho there's that existing thread on go kart part shops.

Good news btw! I have half finished one of my A-arms. It looks promising, and now I have a rough idea of where I'm gonna mount my shocks. I need to make a trip to bunnings and buy me a stack of nuts and bolts

Another noob question, When bolting my A-Arm where should my washer go? should it be (in order) Bolt, washer, steel arm, steel frame, washer, nut ?

Thanks guys,

Shane

 

[fowler]

if i was u id go bolt, washer, mount, nilon washer a frame, nilon washer, mount, washer nut.
notice i added anoughter mount and nilon washers.

 

[Shane284]

ah k, whats a mount lol? is it the ring thing that looks similar to a washer but doesn't have the flat part. Nylon washers are what I've used so far.

 

[fowler]

a mount is the place that holds the a arms onto the frame.
it is the metal bit that the bolt goes though

 

[Shane284]

hmmm getting a bit confused, Here's a picture of what I've done so far. Maybe you can refer to that. Btw I completed the arm Ill put pictures of those up as well. Let me know what you guys thing

The setup in that pictures is Bolt Washer Frame Washer Steel arm Bolt. Took these pictures and all the other pictures on this forum with my phone
Cheers,

Shane

 

[sideways]

Not meaning dampen your spirits but that A arm set up looks quite unsafe. First off, I doubt the flat bar you have used is strong enough, it will twist and bend quite easily. Secondly, your set up has no bushing in it, there will be lots of play in very little time and the suspension will be very rough and rattle and knock a lot. Also, the movement of the suspension will undo the bolts, you need at least another washer between the suspension arm and the bolt. How thick are the bolts? And what grade are they? Also, your mountings look a bit weak. Make some tubular A arms, with that much power your current suspension wont last. You should incorporate some bushes into it too. I can provide diagrams tomorrow if you would like? Your suspension also incorporates no geometries, that's not important enough to worry about though.

Thanks

Hayden

 

[fowler]

http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8113
this is a better a arm system, more like what sideways said.
i agree with sideways being as most of the force is coming from the front of the kart (the wheels hitting bumps and stuff) those will not last.
also u will need nilon bushes like i said

 

[Shane284]

hmmmm........... Well that is a bit of a pickle then ay. Its good to get feedback so now I have a few questions, what are these brushing that your talking about? I have no idea of what kind of load different types of steel would be good so I thought what I had would be alright :S, They seemed good at the time. They are 3mm thick 20mm wide, each arm. The C channel piece of steel its bolted to is 3mm thick and 65mm wide. The bolts I believe are zinc and they are 1" by 3/8" thick, not sure about the grade. Mind you after completing the arms I did bash them a bit (step on them, twist them) to see if they would do anything unexpected and they seemed fine, just the bolts undoing when the suspension moves about was a problem but wouldn't this be fixed by just putting some lock tight on the bolts? I'm tempted to keep the suspension I got for now and fix it up later.

Nilon bushes? you said nilon washers before, unless its the same thing?

I can see how that arm system is a much better design. I would probably have gone for that kind of setup but I don't have a lot of spare time and money for steel.

If its no trouble that would be great if I could have those diagrams sideways.

Thanks for the input guys, Still got lots to learn, at least this is my first kart so I'm expecting to have mistakes.

Shane.

 

[fowler]

i could never design somthing like that sucesfully, they came from a quad
i said nilon washers but i meant bushes

 

[Shane284]

Oh lol and here I was thinking you built that from scratch!
I'm sure you could, given enough time and the right tools. I went shopping around for nilon bushes and had no luck. Funnily enough I came across a stash of nilon nuts that fit the bolts I was using. They prove to be a very tight nut on the bolt I very much doubt the nuts will undo them selves using these.

I also scored 4 wheels today, only problem is one of them is missing half a rim. Its from a rover mower, the rims are 2 halves put together for 1 wheel. They also need tubes, other than that they are great!

I'm now going to start on the spindles, The design I'm using is from the sites go kart plans section, Looks simple and good.

Shane

 

[theo]

Poly bushings

http://www.polybushings.com/pages/bushingsbysize.html

 

[fowler]

go to a motorbike shop or an off road shop
u say u used 3 mm bar well u still need pipe a arms due to the angle of the preasure

 

[Shane284]

I'll go take a look, thanks Fowler. I'll make some changes to the arms add a few bits to strengthen them. But I'm not gonna replace them unless they break just cause I'm to lazy lol....

As soon as they start to give way I'll work on a whole new front end since the frame at the front is pretty limiting :/

Nice site Theo, I'll add it to the list of sites I use to get parts

almost finished one of the spindles
Thanks,

Shane

 

[Shane284]

Scored two 5" wheels for the front, for $10 each! Found em at the local Wednesday Markets lol and also grabbed a steering wheel for $30 at pick 'n pay less, pretty nice looking one too.
Picture Below!

Shane

 

[Cam]

Hey, on a different note, did ya manage to get ya engine running?

Cheers, Cam.

 

[Shane284]

Haven't yet, but not giving up. I think a new CDI should get it running.... having said that I thought before that it didn't need one so I bought the stator thinking that would be the last thing I would need to get it to run lol... But I'm pretty sure that's the last part I would need. Just waiting for a deal to come up on ebay.

 

[sideways]

Scored two 5" wheels for the front, for $10 each! Found em at the local Wednesday Markets lol and also grabbed a steering wheel for $30 at pick 'n pay less, pretty nice looking one too.
Picture Below!

Shane

I hate to be a dampener (once again) but those wheels wont stand up to the abuse, a few people on the forum have used them and they snap off at the hub really easily. You will also need to replace the bearings in them with some high speed ones, the bearings that come with those wheels are absolutely horrible, you might of lucked out and got a set with decent bearings though. You could probably weld up some plates to strengthen them, I've got a set or those that I'm putting on a pedal car I've put an engine on, I'l see If I can find a way to strengthen them. The tires also wear out really quickly, my uncle bought about 20 hand trolleys with these wheels on them(he runs his own business) and they wore the tires down to the cords in a few months and that was on a hand trolley!

Thanks

Hayden

 

[gokart14]

is there a way to strengthen these wheels so you can use them?