looking for a prefab frame for an e-kart

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foobar510

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Hi all, I'm looking to build a kart for my son. His upgraded power wheels is great, but I think he wants something with a little more grip and handling/braking ability. I reverse engineered the hoverboard motors last year and I'm looking to make a kart with them (see my blog post: http://drewspewsmuse.blogspot.com/2016/06/how-i-hacked-self-balancing-scooter.html). Anyways I am decent with electronics but not so good with mechanical stuff like kart frames etc. so I come to you folks for advice.

So the tires are 10" in diameter and about 2-3" wide, and the motor shafts are fixed and about 1/2 - 5/8 in diameter (I can't find my calipers), and have a flat edge (pic related)

I would like to find a frame that I can attach 4 of these wheels to, with steering, seat, etc. The frame doesn't have to be too fancy, I prefer under a few hundred bucks if possible, but it should have good balance for good handling.

Anyways folks I love seeing pockets of enthusiasts like this online, communities like this is why the internet was a great idea.

foobar510
 
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foobar510

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Hey, thanks, I have been keeping an eye on Craigslist for something that fits the bill but haven't seen something yet, I guess patience is a virtue!

I think my big challenge is that most steering spindles out there have a threaded shaft to mount the wheel, but I need the opposite, my wheel motors have that shaft on them and I need to find a steering spindle that will accept and secure that shaft. I guess that means no pivot pin going all the way thru the steering spindle.

Anyways thanks for the welcome, I will lurk and see if I can find some discussions related to my goals
 
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itsid

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you will not find ANY kart that has different spindles really.
you will need to make your own if you want to mount the motorized wheels.

I'm not exactly a fan of your endeavour to be honest.
Since motors will need to be controlled properly, and the more motors you introduce, the more control you need (to level the power)
Two is -if made correctly- quite a task to achieve, four is INSANE
the two rears run at different speeds (and must do so) in every turn,
the fronts do that too, but not necessarily at the same speeds as the rears (at least not all the time)

After all, fabbing the frame is the least difficult part of your task.

Anyways, I saw your blogpost and it seems like you know what you're up to;
if that includes making a new controller that's able to calculate the needed wheel rpms
for all possible cornering situations I can't tell.

Anywhoo...
I suggest thinking about getting a "standard" kartframe of your chice (maybe a razor ground force or 'real' race kart or some fun kart you/your son likes)
doesn't really matter much;
making a mount for the axle stubs you have should be fairly trivial really

You will not find any kart chassis that's specifically made for those wheels anyways;
you would have to find the one person that tried before and sells the chassis since he failed
later on.
(what's your chances to find that ?)

So.. DIY and be warned: the mechanical side is the least difficult thing in the end.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you though, since I'd really love to see you building such thing.

'sid
 
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foobar510

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Thanks for your feedback! It won't be hard at all to sync the motor speeds, they are digitally controlled 3-phase DC motors with hall effect and current sense feedback, pretty much like a modern electric car.

It's kind of reassuring to hear that what I'm looking for almost certainly doesn't exist - makes the work of fabbing it more purposeful, you always want to reuse something if it already exists rather than make it yourself..

I'll start a thread if/when I make progress..
 
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mckutzy

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I'm glad your confident in your abilities, but typically when Sid says it'll be difficult, we all tend to listen...

Electric cars are expensive and really complicated... So not easy...
 
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