Drive chain and steering

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Mikel

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Whats the best way to setup steering and the drive chain.


1st
My friend has a go kart with the steering that just push and pull the wheels. he says that's not good for fast go karts because the wheels can insta turn to the side.

I heard that rack and pinion is better but I believe its more $$

2nd

Whats the most common and better way to setup rear drive chain.

There are many options
but I seen commonly on ebay are the straight shaft with bearings
and the other is the kind that can have suspension.

Going to build a kart, trying to get it all planned out so I don't build something bad and ugly and possible not working well. Wouldnt want to waste tons of material tooo
 
anickode

anickode

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If your steering geometry is set up right, push/pull steering as you call it is better for small karts (racing karts never use rack and pinion steering) because it's simple, light, and extremely quick. Camber, caster, Ackerman angle and toe angle all affect your steering.

They will all affect rack and pinion steering equally, as well. It's just a little easier to fight a crappy alignment with rack and pinion, that's all.

Rack and pinion steering takes up more space, weighs more, costs more, and is much slower to use. It does offer a higher mechanical advantage, which is handy on heavy karts (ie buggies) with big wheels.

As for chain setup, it's all pretty much the same. Even suspension vs no suspension is about the same, since the whole rear subframe is typically sprung, so the engine moves with the axle, leaving the chain unaffected. There are other (more complicated and expensive) ways of doing it, but the sprung rear subframe is the simplest to design. It has handling benefits too. Since the rear wheels can't articulate independently of each other, it acts as a sort of sway bar, minimizing body roll on hard cornering.
 
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