Free Kart Plans...Not Illegal!
- Thread starter redsox985
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Imbo
Young Mechanical Genius
WOW! thats just like a smack in the face. i paid for them. really....really. well good for others
gokartmozart
New member
You have the link!?
Rustydog2010
NZ Nutta :|
rgvkid
Charlie Don't Surf!
Whats up with that! I downloaded both plans. Im not really a fan or need them but its always good to get different ideas from different karts. I have a few engines that i could use on another small kart, the itzy bitzy, for the kids.
I think they figure they can make more money maybe selling parts and get more traffic with the forum rather then selling the plans. I like the speedo and jack plans that come with the free download.
Thanks Spider Karts for the New Years gift.
I think they figure they can make more money maybe selling parts and get more traffic with the forum rather then selling the plans. I like the speedo and jack plans that come with the free download.
Thanks Spider Karts for the New Years gift.
gokartmozart
New member
What the heck? They have a detailed list of parts and prices, and it came to like $600. Are they crazy? Understood you can source many parts for less, but I dislike the directions mentioning this or that is so cheap why bother making it. Call me cheap, but go karting is about, or was about, tossing something together and making it work. I get most of my parts from HD or Lowes, with salvaged motors.
Dont get me wrong, the kart plans are nice, but I am all about homemade spindles, my trusty black iron pipe for frames, and HF wheels!!!
Dont get me wrong, the kart plans are nice, but I am all about homemade spindles, my trusty black iron pipe for frames, and HF wheels!!!
rgvkid
Charlie Don't Surf!
Yah, even budget parts for a go kart can add up to $400+. people don't realize how much it cost until its to late. Unfortunatly alot of people can't make their own parts so they have to buy them online or source them out locally.
maxpower49
Member
You still have to register for a account like you were going to pay for them but you just don't have to pay. when it asks for a payment just select none required and use a real e-mail too they send you a link to download them in the e-mail. you also get a free welding guide, instructions to add a speedometer, and instructions for a quick jack.
Imbo
Young Mechanical Genius
The plans do say $600....but thats only if you buy what they say. the engine is 250....so thats off. the tire take up like 120, the axle set up is like 80...so most of the stuff you may already have. most of it is just a matter of the frame which i think would be around $100 give or take 50
Doc Sprocket
*********
Thanks for bringing that to our attention! I may never build either one, but it's nice to have reference material. Bummer that you paid for it.
It's also nice to have a basic set of plans that we can legally hand out when people ask. I know the topic's come up before, and I know we all basically feel the same way.
I wonder if there's any legal/moral issues with DIYGK archiving and publishing the plans as a site feature? I'll have to spin this past Robert. Meanwhile, I'm downloading them!
I know TS. Now when people come asking for plans, as many have, we can PM over a .pdf and set them loose. No more legal BS about how hard they worked and what not. Those plans also fail to include many small parts. I'm ok with paying for them because a bunch of people in my tech class gave me $5 to reimburse my purchase since we all built Black Widows, I may have even made $5 off of it! (SHHHH!) I won't even say how I stumbled upon these plans...
sideways
Unfinished projects king.
Good to see you dropped in, you've been lurking for quite a while now. 
I don't mean to be too harsh but I don't recommend your plans to people because from what I've heard and seen, they are well, crap. There are lots of basic mistakes, so much so that if you followed the plans word for word, it simply wouldn't fit together and drive. As Redsox says, the arachnid is nick named the ah-crap-nid. There is pretty much a "DIY go karts" formula for making your plans work properly.
The 2 free plans you have listed show karts with no Ackerman, also, the way you run the tie rods out the front means it can be very difficult to incorporate Ackerman with out spacing the wheel way out on the spindle creating KPI problems, but you didn't incorporate KPI anyway. The tie rods hanging out the front, unprotected, is quite a bad design, what if you hit something at speed? Then your tie rod will bend(or snap), possibly ripping the steering wheel out of your hands, if the object you hit didn't stop you then you've got to front wheels pointing different ways and very limited steering, not to mention a broken kart.
None or your karts have a floor, that is a basic safety failure right there. I'm sure my balls have literally been saved many times by having a floor. I wouldn't ride a kart without one. Extremely dangerous.
One thing I really question of your karts, they seem to very much employ form over function. There are some engineering faults made IMO in the quest for style.
Check out Edge products plans, their plans are very professional, they also simply make sense and don't need the paragraph long notes you include about every piece of metal. Also, Edge shows you how to make every component that goes into the kart, with your plans you get the design for an incomplete chassis and you have to buy dozens of components.
Here are some things from the "Itzy Bitzy" parts to buys list that should IMO be shown how to be made in the plans.
Of course, still say where you can buy them.
Buy a set of the Edge plans, you should learn a bit from them. I know Edge plans are a lot more expensive than yours but IMO it's certainly worth it. Their basic "Fun Kart 3" has KPI, Ackerman, camber, a roll bar and harness. The plans also include a large section on safety, a glossary of terms, a unit conversion table, metals ID page(mm to gauge, decimal to inch, colour ID ect), a very in depth tools required page, several pages stating all the nuts, bolts, washers, grubscrews ect you will need, several pages stating what kinds of metal, the over all length of metal you will need and the dimensions for every frame component, a how to page on chassis fabrication, a contents list with the page that every different component in the plans is on, plans that are very well set out and make brilliant sense, a page on motor selection, a page on gearing and all the theory behind it, several pages of parts lists (Edge make and sell their own parts), tyre lists and recommendations, a page on how the comet Torq-A-Verter works and then ads for their other buggies and trailers.
You should be including a lot of that.
I do commend you for including a PDF on welding, the quick jack is cool too. I'm sure many people will appreciate those. Also, thanks for taking the effort to make the plans and sell them, I'm sure a lot of people will be really thankful for that.
Thanks
Hayden
I don't mean to be too harsh but I don't recommend your plans to people because from what I've heard and seen, they are well, crap. There are lots of basic mistakes, so much so that if you followed the plans word for word, it simply wouldn't fit together and drive. As Redsox says, the arachnid is nick named the ah-crap-nid. There is pretty much a "DIY go karts" formula for making your plans work properly.
The 2 free plans you have listed show karts with no Ackerman, also, the way you run the tie rods out the front means it can be very difficult to incorporate Ackerman with out spacing the wheel way out on the spindle creating KPI problems, but you didn't incorporate KPI anyway. The tie rods hanging out the front, unprotected, is quite a bad design, what if you hit something at speed? Then your tie rod will bend(or snap), possibly ripping the steering wheel out of your hands, if the object you hit didn't stop you then you've got to front wheels pointing different ways and very limited steering, not to mention a broken kart.
None or your karts have a floor, that is a basic safety failure right there. I'm sure my balls have literally been saved many times by having a floor. I wouldn't ride a kart without one. Extremely dangerous.
One thing I really question of your karts, they seem to very much employ form over function. There are some engineering faults made IMO in the quest for style.
Check out Edge products plans, their plans are very professional, they also simply make sense and don't need the paragraph long notes you include about every piece of metal. Also, Edge shows you how to make every component that goes into the kart, with your plans you get the design for an incomplete chassis and you have to buy dozens of components.
Here are some things from the "Itzy Bitzy" parts to buys list that should IMO be shown how to be made in the plans.
- Foot pedals
- "shock mounting tab" aka steering bracket
- Brake rod
- Throttle kit
- Tie rods
- Spindles
- Spindle mounts
- Steering shaft
- Steering wheel hub
- Motor mount plate
Of course, still say where you can buy them.
Buy a set of the Edge plans, you should learn a bit from them. I know Edge plans are a lot more expensive than yours but IMO it's certainly worth it. Their basic "Fun Kart 3" has KPI, Ackerman, camber, a roll bar and harness. The plans also include a large section on safety, a glossary of terms, a unit conversion table, metals ID page(mm to gauge, decimal to inch, colour ID ect), a very in depth tools required page, several pages stating all the nuts, bolts, washers, grubscrews ect you will need, several pages stating what kinds of metal, the over all length of metal you will need and the dimensions for every frame component, a how to page on chassis fabrication, a contents list with the page that every different component in the plans is on, plans that are very well set out and make brilliant sense, a page on motor selection, a page on gearing and all the theory behind it, several pages of parts lists (Edge make and sell their own parts), tyre lists and recommendations, a page on how the comet Torq-A-Verter works and then ads for their other buggies and trailers.
You should be including a lot of that.
I do commend you for including a PDF on welding, the quick jack is cool too. I'm sure many people will appreciate those. Also, thanks for taking the effort to make the plans and sell them, I'm sure a lot of people will be really thankful for that.
Thanks
Hayden
sideways
Unfinished projects king.
Uh guys, I think we have a glitch in this thread!
T-man
New member
ya I just contacted them and asked what is going on. Matt contacted me back and said that they were going to keep offering them for free for ever, so I asked them if it would be ok if I could mention it in a video to help get the word out. He said "sure thanks" but I had to make sure the they were going to stay free. So I'll be mentioning it in an up comming video most likely sometime around Tax return season.1-2 months away. I let him know that also.
wow I think there is a glitch I just tryed to post this and it got put someplace in the middle of the thread.
wow I think there is a glitch I just tryed to post this and it got put someplace in the middle of the thread.
fowler
New member
could someone please post the pdf or something because i am too terrible with computers to work it out
iv signed up i added the carts the the cart and went though the ceckout and iv failed
where did i fail
please
iv signed up i added the carts the the cart and went though the ceckout and iv failed
where did i fail
please
sideways
Unfinished projects king.
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