New to racing karts

[wayneseelig]

I'm trying to fix-up and older racing kart for my son (13) but the tire-to-wheel sizing isn't as simple as I hoped.

To race SCCA karting requires specific wheel-tire sizes and composition so I have to change the wheels and tires that came on this kart.
I don't want to buy stuff that that doesn't fit together (wheel and tire). Haven't had much luck at finding a chart showing which tire size(width) fits which wheel size (width).

Can anyone shed some light?
Wayne in MAhttp://www.diygokarts.com/vb/images/smilies/confused.gif

 

[landuse]

Welcome to the forum. Wait for Anderkart to give you some help. He is the racing kart guy

 

[anderkart]

I found the SCCA karting tire rules here at this link:
http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Rules/kart.html#Wheels
Their tire rules seem fairly standard for Sprintkart racing except your limited to the narrower 7.10" rear tire width instead of slightly wider 800 width some other kart sanctioning rules allow.


You'll find a chart with tire/rim sizing info here:--> http://www.russellkarting.com/range.htm

You'll notice these Sprintkart tires can use various rim widths, this link explains how using wider/narrower rim widths can help tune handling characteristics: http://www.russellkarting.com/settings.htm

There may be one certain brand/compound tire (and rim-width) combonations that tends to work best at your track, I'd suggest you research this before buying anything. Your track might have a website with a forum you could search, or you could go to the races and talk to the some of the top drivers in the class your kid will be entering, or if you have a local racekart shop, they'll probably stock whatever works best. Then you could shop around online to possibly find a lower cost if desired.


Something else to be aware of is new (or used) racekart tires dry out and get harder with age. Some shops have brand new tires that have been sitting on the shelf for years. These tires could never hook up as well as fresh stock. Many (if not all) racekart tire brands have a date of manufacture code. So wherever you buy your tires, ask how long ago they were manufactured, some shops tend to push their old unsold tires off on newby's that aren't aware of this...

Whats wrong with your old rims?
If you need new ones, you'll find info about the various bolt patterns used here: http://www.cometkartsales.com/store/wheels/wheels.htm

I might be able to find some helpful setup info online, I'd just need to know what track you'll be racing at, and what brand/year/model kart you have, and a little info about your engine.