Front spindle extension

[danchiz]

Hi All, new to the forum here. I purchased my son an older Manco Phoenix with a 420 CC predator motor.! That said the wheel base is to narrow to handle this karts speed (its governed now) but can basically flip itself.

I purchased some 6 inch spindles and a 44 solid axle to held widen her a bit but its just not wide enough up front.

That said, does anyone know of a product to extend the spindles even further? like a Female to male 5/8 extensions? Thinking like something below.

Otc Threaded Adapter, Spread 5/8-11(Ex.) In 8010 | Zoro

Order Otc Threaded Adapter, Spread 5/8-11(Ex.) In, 8010 at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.

www.zoro.com

The only other option I would have is to cut off the spindle brackets and extend the pipe by about 3 inches on each side... Not something I want to do if a simple bolt on is available. other option would be to chop her in half and just extend the kart a bit as well.


Thanks for any info!

Dan

 

[7thofa2nd]

Welcome to the forum... There are a lot of smart guys here. (not necessarily me)

Extending the spindles doesn't sound like a good and lasting solution. I'd say you'd be better off with entirely new spindles to solve your problem.

Photo shots of what you have would be helpful.

 

[Denny]

Widen the axle or the kart but not the spindles. They will just bend or break.

 

[madprofessor]

Spindle axles shouldn't be any longer than what's necessary for the inside of the front tires to not rub on the frame in a turn. The farther out they are, the more leverage there is trying to bend the axles. My current spindle axles for example (3/4", NOT 5/8") are 4.5" long when my choices were 3", 4.5", and 6".
If you had some nice wide tires mounted on offset rims up front they would stick out further while the rim centers would still be in close to the spindles where they belong and keep that excess leverage off of the axles.
Track width for stability really needs to be designed into the frame at the beginning of a build, because it's a lot of work to split or add on to the front end for more track width and extend the tierods etc. after the fact. Lots of fun though for those of us who just love to modify things.
Do you have a 40 series torque converter (CVT) on that kart? You really should. Beyond that CVT's output sprocket though, you can increase the gear ratio from for example a 5:1 ratio of a 12-tooth CVT sprocket running a 60-tooth axle sprocket, to a 7.2:1 ratio of a 10-tooth to a 72-tooth. That would reduce top end speed while greatly increasing acceleration.
How about posting some pictures of the front end so we can more accurately gauge your best course of action.

 

[7thofa2nd]

danchiz​

See, I told you: "There are a lot of smart guys here."
-->> madprofessor <<--