First Time Go Kart Build

[gaspipegokart]

Here is the progress on my go kart build. If you could give some feedback, that would be great!

 

[mysteryboy28]

click edit, go advanced, manage attachments, and delete it. simple.

meanwhile, i see a lot of structural weak spots on your kart. and your tires will last about 2 seconds of hard riding. nice clean looking kart though!

if you're at all interested in your safety, and you don't have a problem taking advice (and actually using it!) from guys that have been around the block a few times, all you have to do is ask.

 

[gaspipegokart]

Well getting advice is the whole point I joined this forum, I'd be interested to know about those weak spots that you're talking about. I'm trying my best to make it safe.

 

[mysteryboy28]

those kinds of tires have been mentioned many times on the forum about how weak and unsaffe they are. It looks like you have your seat bolted to the floor pan, which is a no-no. The rear axle looks like its only 5/8" thick. You want a 1" solid axle with 1/4" keyway. Get some real tires for the back at the very least, with 1" hubs. Then mount the rear axle with pillow block bearings.

Also, the front spindles look a little iffy. I see them bending quite quickly. I would run a second rail on both sides of the kart, for stength.

 

[gaspipegokart]

Thanks for the info. I actually do plan on adding on some stronger metal for the seat to bolt on to. It's not actually mounted to anything right now. I just had it there for show and all of the axles and spindles are actually quite strong, but I love your idea of putting a second rail on both sides of the kart, I will definitely do that. I'll also look into getting better wheels.

 

[mysteryboy28]

First big bump you hit will bend the rear axle. But ok...

Also, do you plan to have ANY steering geometry? Ackerman and some caster are quite important. King pin inclination and camber will assist with turning/cornering (if done right).

 

[landuse]

I agree about the thicker axle. What you have there has the potential to bend really fast

 

[OzFab]

Everything should be ok if you don't go faster that 10mph, any faster & you'll have real problems...

We don't mean to put you or your work down, we just know what works & what doesn't. There's a lot of thought & work goes into building a go kart sucessfully; perhaps you should have a look at some other home made karts to draw inspiration

 

[mysteryboy28]

can we get a close-up of your spindles? maybe from a couple different angles...

 

[gaspipegokart]

Sure, I'll post those later.

 

[gaspipegokart]

It has a little bit of caster.

 

[gaspipegokart]

Spindle pics

I hope these pictures of the spindles is what you were looking for.

 

[Kelly Wood]

I guess the only questions I'd ask when thinking of sitting in that ride would be:

1. Where do you plan on driving this thing when done?
2. How fast do you envision going?

As one pointed out, what you have would be fine for a little tiny motor & 10mph.

You want to get faster, build it up a bit. Better wheels and as for your spindles... well, they're gonna bend somewhere would be a guess.

You going with one wheel drive or 2 wheel drive?

Kelly Wood
www.kartrods.com/drivers.htm

 

[OzFab]

Gaspipegokart, How old are you? Would I be close if I said somewhere in the vicinity of 15?

You seem to have some basic understanding of engineering but, if you intend to move at any great speed, this thing is grossly underengineered...

 

[DaiSan76]

The weld holding that spindle to the frame looks really scary from this angle. Can you get some more pictures of that? You may need to grind it out and reweld it.

 

[gaspipegokart]

You're just one year off, I'm 14. Looking at the pictures, I understand why the kart looks weak, but I used grade 8 bolts for the axles and spindles. I can stomp on it and jump on it and nothing bends or breaks. I've read over all of the comments several times and I've checked those things out on the go kart, and they just don't seem to be issues. I do greatly appreciate all of the knowledge that I'm getting from everyone, but maybe I should have put the pictures along side a better description.

 

[gaspipegokart]

I'm doing the best I can with the welder that is available to me right now. Our current house is not wired up for the way more powerful stick welder and those spindles are what I've been worried about from the beginning, but they seem to be doing alright.

 

[gaspipegokart]

I plan on driving it on the road and my driveway which is very smooth, but there is plenty of room, so I'd like it to go a little over 30 mph. Also, it will be driven by one wheel.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Well, then, good luck to ya. Keep us posted on how it all goes.

Kelly

 

[itsid]

Now, is this the right time to ask about a health insurance?

'sid