Electric spin kart, build off idea

[trialsmaniac]

I have recently re-watched a popular Japanese movie called Initial D. It involves a bunch of young drifters that drive JDM cars like GTR's and RX7's. But most importantly there is a Trueno/Toyota AE86 sprinter that is driven by a guy called Takumi. he beats every body and wins all of his races.
I was at my local supermarket and i saw these kids with shopping carts drifting them around the isles, this gave me a great idea.

Anyway here's my pitch;
Use the base of a shopping cart(the part that has the wheels on it)as a chassis for a razor crazy kart inspired AE86 shaped spin/drift kart!

Due to the rarity of wild shopping carts in Australia, i will have to build my own chassis, attach swivel castors in each corner then make a steering system to control the front wheels.

Because the build off requires it to be powered i was thinking of using electric motors on the front wheels to pull the cart around, leaving the rear castors to move freely. And as you can probably guess as soon as you drive round a corner the rear end will side out as if your drifting.

And for the body, i am thinking of making multiple karts to use in a fan inspired film, meaning i will need to make multiple bodies of several different cars. for now i think i will probably use MDF or core flute.

it would be great if i could get some tips from the rest of you on how to go about the build. I made this post to see if the kart is a good idea, before i enter the build off.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Front driven casters won't work simply because of their design and mounting system. It sounds like a very fun idea, but I would think it would be a handful around corners without stops on the rear wheels. Go ahead and try to build it! We'd love to see what happens!
Also we're too lazy to try it...

 

[Joe-405]

Somebody has been building a crazy kart in here somewhere. I don’t remember who tho.

 

[itsid]

No, casters all around work if you take great care about positioning the powered wheel and the steering (ideally at the powered wheel)

IIRC crazy karts also use four swivel casters and one driven and steered wheel *headscratch*

It's actually straight forward drive
a 7" or so belt driven wheel directly beneath the motor both mounted to a kid's bike fork essentially
you only need to take care to mount it as vertical as possible
(to be able to quickly change direction, enough so to kick the casters off course)
and wiring (you do not want to ripp a 20+Amp wire and have it short out )

But truth is..
A three wheeler (driven front.. say from a 20" powered bike wheel) and casters on the back,
sound much more fun and easy to build to me personally..
but that's personal preference more than anything else.

However.. you should NOT try to attach your steering to swivel casters,
that is likely going to fail .. and if you once tried to win an office chair race,
you might know that a misaligned swivel causes inadvertent faceplant

'sid

 

[Budget GoKart]

This will be a good build but hasnt hoonigan done a simular thing with a power wheel?

 

[txluke]

Those things give me motion sickness just watching them!

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

No, casters all around work if you take great care about positioning the powered wheel and the steering (ideally at the powered wheel)
But truth is..
A three wheeler (driven front.. say from a 20" powered bike wheel) and casters on the back,
sound much more fun and easy to build to me personally..
but that's personal preference more than anything else.

'sid

But that makes for a crazy fifth wheeler.
Sooo, if you want a true four wheeler, you're going to need two wheels to NOT be casters. Or you could use 'sid's solution and make a fifth wheeler.
But I would just build a drift trike.
Try it! We wanna see what happens!

 

[Quinc]

Might be able to use something like these for your drive wheel(s)
https://www.surpluscenter.com/Elect...ve-Motor-Only-Good-Tire-JD-HUB-24-13-1516.axd

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

12 VDC at 180 W? That thing will be a snail on wheels! Another problem: it specifies "intermittent duty".
Sooo, no.

 

[itsid]

But that makes for a crazy fifth wheeler.
Sooo, if you want a true four wheeler, you're going to need two wheels to NOT be casters. Or you could use 'sid's solution and make a fifth wheeler.
But I would just build a drift trike.
Try it! We wanna see what happens!

yes technically a five wheeler.. just as Razors' Crazy Cart (look it up...)

And once a wheel is driven it's not a caster
but true: you neither want the driven wheels nor the steered ones to be swiveling..
otherwise there is 100% no control over driving direction...
And the easiest way to prevent that is to have either one or two steered AND powered wheels (one is easier than two... )
and go with as many casters as you like

following the proven concept of Razors CrazyCart with four
or the as proven concept of the Razor RipRider with two
swivel casters are both viable options, I'd say any even number should do
both have one (additional) powered & steered wheel btw..
(yes, the riprider is pedal powered but powered )

'sid

 

[trialsmaniac]

razors kart has a hinged bar that the castors are atatched to, which can be rotated so that the castors on the rear are vertical(for drifting and zero directional stability) or rotated back so that the castors drag behind the kart at about 45 degries. the bar can be moved by a linkege connected to a leaver. theleaver is sorta like a hand brake, except it moves castors not brakes.

thanks for all the help, i think i will make an unpowered version then ad a motor. then for next years build off make another one

 

[JoelR]

@trialsmaniac I too was recently inspired by (re)watching Initial D (actually my wife, kids and I were). We have 2 Razor Ground Force Drifter karts that work quite well for my kids (7 and 9), and a Crazy Kart, but I'm thinking about converting an old gas kart into an adult-sized "Ground Force Drifter" using PVC sleeves on the rear tires like drift trikes use. I'll post a separate thread w/my full plan.

 

[Budget GoKart]

My yard kart with a 212 drifts great but burns some serious rubber itll drift great though