In hopes to finish up this kart build a little quicker, I decided to try our local Northern Tool to get my axle and wheels. They are local and they advertise go kart parts so what could go wrong right? Initially my experience was ok. The guy there wasn't completely ignorant to go kart verbiage. He seemed super willing to sell me go kart stuff. Unfortunately he didn't have any axles in-stock. He did have some rims but not the Tri-Stars I was looking for. But I decided to take a chance and let him order the items for me. I spent a few hundred bucks on everything and left with anticipation of the parts coming in and getting this project wrapped up within days. I ordered a set of 6" live axle rear Tri-Star wheels and a 5" set of fronts, a 1" step down axle, new axle bearings, locking collars, and a bunch of other stuff. It took 7 days before he finally called and said the items had arrived. I immediately drove the 30 minutes it takes to get there in anticipation of my goodies. As soon as he started bringing the stuff out I saw a problem. I said "Hey man that looks like 4 front wheels and I needed two front rims and two keyed live axle rear rims." He goes "Oh man looks like you are right. I must have ordered the wrong thing. Hey no problem I can order the correct ones." I go "Um no I don't think I want to wait another 7 more days." I was super ****ed but held it in trying to be polite. People make mistakes! Lord knows I do!!! So I looked at the other wheels he had. I didn't like them very much but I was desperate at this point. I asked him what size they were and he said 6"x5". They were plain jane white rims but I said lemme get em. I picked out some 13x6-5 tires and took them up to the guy and said "So you think these tires will fit those rims?" He said "Oh yea man those will be perfect!". I got the tires and tubes I needed and took everything home. Now this guy clearly told me these were 6" rims and I blindly believed him without busting out a measuring tape. A person who does this all the time would probably know right away by glancing at them but this is my first whack at this and they looked like 6" to me. It wasn't until I tried to mount the tires that I realized I had a problem. The tires appeared to fit but as soon as I put any more than 8 lbs of pressure through the tubes, the tires would blow off the rim edges. After scratching my head for a minute the light came on and I realized he gave me 5" rims!! Wasted time yet again with this guy!!!! So now I am furious. Lesson learned!! Last night I went online and got the **** Tri-Stars I wanted in the first place. Today I am taking all this crap back and getting a refund, never to return to that Northern Tool for go kart parts again....
