Drift Kart - Tire Sizes to fit inside 10" PVC

Mudstomper

New member
Messages
18
Reaction score
1
Location
Vancouver, Canada
Hello everyone! I'm building a drift trike and I'm ready to order my axle parts but I'm having difficulty finding the right answers for tire/wheel sizes.
I want to use the white or green 10" PVC pipe that can be easily bought at hardware stores.

My question...
What tire/wheel(rim) size combo will fit inside the 10" pvc?

Or...
What do other people use on their drift trikes?

Thanks in advance!
 

anickode

Active member
Messages
2,296
Reaction score
70
Location
S.E. Michigan
10" pvc is actually slightly under 10" ID, so a 10" diameter tire should fit inside deflated, then snug up when you inflate it.

The issue may be keeping the PVC aligned. You need a pretty wide tire to ensure the PVC rolls evenly, which is why you generally see it sleeved over race kart tires.

If using skinny tires, you could potentially rig up a dually setup of some sort to keep the pvc straight.
 

WunTon

New member
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
I'm running an 11x7.10-5 tire and using 10" green schedule 40 pvc. I to went through a ton of time looking for the same answer to your question and ultimately took a chance and just ordered the pipe since I already had the wheels/tires. After watching people struggle to get the pvc over the tires in several videos I was dreading putting them on but I just deflated the tire as much as possible without removing the valve core and set the pvc on the ground. Then I just kinda squeezed, pushed, folded and pulled the tire into the pvc. In all honesty it took about 3 minutes per tire and was way easier than any of the videos I had seen online using soapy water or other lubricant. I did find that I needed to inflate and reinflate the tire a few times to get the rubber to balance out better inside the pvc but overall it was very easy and so far no slipping issues.

I also bought some schedule 80 pvc that is WAY thicker than the schedule 40 so it has a slightly smaller ID that I will be trying after I wear out the current set I'm running.

I would caution you at assuming the 10" pvc can be easily purchased at hardware stores unless you go to a plumbing supply store and then be prepared to buy at least 10' of it. I had no idea how hard it would be to find around her or how expensive it was going to be but I eventually found the green stuff from an online drift trike store that I can't really recommend because they took almost a month to ship and would not respond to calls, texts or emails in that month about when they would be shipping so although they were the cheapest price I could find I likely won't ever order from them again but I don't want to post the company name incase mine was an isolated incident. The schedule 80 I got from ebay and arrived 2 days after I ordered it!

These sleeves are 7" wide for reference.


 

Mudstomper

New member
Messages
18
Reaction score
1
Location
Vancouver, Canada
Thank you WunTon!! I've been hesitating to order in case I get the wrong parts. I'm going to make a YouTube video later to help other people because I've been searching everywhere. I even sent e-mails to suppliers but I don't think they really know anything about drift trikes and sleeves.
Thanks again!!!
Oh, and sweet trike!!! I hope mine turns out as good.
 

anickode

Active member
Messages
2,296
Reaction score
70
Location
S.E. Michigan
Yeah, most hardware and big box stores won't stick 10" PVC. Plumbing and pipe supply places do, but you'll often have to buy a full 20' stick.

Precut lengths on eBay are a good way to go.
 
Top