steet tires for AS Black Widow go kart!?!?

[Action Jackson]

Hello,

First post. I hope you don't mind a question about a factory go kart in a DIY forum.

I'm beside myself, there must be thousands and thousands of this particular model go kart. It comes with soft knobbies but it looks like we'll mostly use it on asphalt. So OK, I'll just get hard street tires, right?

After searching the internet for hours and shooting off a couple emails I still don't have my answers. I'm shocked, I'd think this one go kart alone would have it's own Facebook page, and what have you.

Let's get with it. 145 70 6 in the front, 16 8 7 in the rear. Now, why that is "70" and not simply "7", I don't know, but it's 7.0 and I can just work with that. The same for "145" instead of "14.5". I can't find the right sized slicks, ribbed or even turf tires. Someone told me the rear tire is odd and that soft knobby is the only thing out there that fits.

Besides locating street tires of that size, can I just get new rims of a different sized tire? What I mean is, if I can't find 16 8 7, can I find another sized tire that will work, get the rims too and use them on the current spindles? Are these spindles universal?

It's just so hard to believe that thousands of others haven't had these same questions. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

 

[landuse]

Welcome to the forum. Many of the karts on this forum are factory made, so don't worry about posting regarding yours.

I think you are just looking in the wrong places. What make kart do you have? Could you post a pic or two? Especially of the tyres

 

[Action Jackson]

Thank you for the greeting.

It's an American Sportswork Black Widow. Dunhams sporting goods sells them, and also a lot of online vendors and I don't know who all else. I contacted American Sportsworks and they seemed to have little interest in the issue- they just wholesale the karts, I guess.

I didn't find a picture to copy but this link gives you a good picture of the kart and you can see the knobbies:

http://www.amsportworks.com/black-widow.php

 

[anderkart]

This tire size conversion calculator: http://tire-size-conversion.com/tyre-size-calculator/ tells us your fronts are 14" tall, by around 5-3/4" wide, and fit a 6" diameter rim.

So If your cool with turf saver fronts, that are just 1" taller than your old front tires, you'll find the 15x6-6 size is very common turf tire used on riding mowers. You could probably buy them at wallmart, or here at this link: http://www.amazon.com/Carlisle-Turf-Saver-Lawn-Garden/dp/B005O5Y3QI

Turf, slicks or street-treaded tires for your 7" diameter rear rims are tough to find, but I found some you might like at this link: http://www.x-motorparts.com/productshow.asp?id=2689&mnid=13997&classname=ATV Tyre

 

[Action Jackson]

WOW! Good thing this is the internet because you don't want me kissing you- I wouldn't want me kissing me!

I'm going to start working this. I won't be home to change the tire for two weeks but I may go ahead and have some delivered so they are there when I arrive.

I searched Amazon, I searched Reliable Karts (something like that) and Karts USA (something like that), I'm shocked that somebody has a tire the other vendors do not.

Have you ever seen a problem where the bead didn't sit in the tire? Obviously car tires are standardized but I don't know if go kart rims have those same standard qualities.

 

[landuse]

Kart rims are pretty much the same as cars, just smaller. The bead should be fine

 

[Action Jackson]

Good deal, thanks! I'm going to order.

 

[Action Jackson]

Hmmm... look what I just found:

dirt bike parts and pocket bike in China. Our company established in 2002 and based in Ruian city, Zhejiang province, China. We have build good relationship with many ATV, dirt bike manyfactory.

We have professional product line and CNC center for the production's produce and processing. Skilled worker and experience QC for the quality control. We can supply best quality product and best service to our customer.


We seeking opportunity to build good relationship with more and more customer. If you have any question, please contact us, we will reply to you as soon as possible.

Sometimes it's called Chinglish. I know, I was a spoken English teacher there for three years. The bad part is they can spend all this money and do all this work to build a website but they can't or won't pay a native English speaker to proofread for them.

Hmmm...Paypal, maybe. No way they get my credit card number. I don't know what to say if I can't find a US retailer for this tire...

 

[OzFab]

The phrase "lost in translation" comes to mind; I once worked a sheetmetal guillotine which had the following safety warning:

THE SAFETY GUARD MUST NOT DISMOUNT THE MACHINE

...as if it was capable of doing so

If you translate the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" into Russian, then back to English, it comes back as "invisible idiot"

 

[Action Jackson]

The time I was there I read some funny stuff. Many learn English as they do in every country, but they usually do it without the benefit of being around native speakers. Thus, they build their sentences according to their logic but as you know, proper English doesn't always follow what we might logically deduce.

How many native speakers even know what countable and uncountable nouns are and yet we use them perfectly. There I was studying the words "some" and "any" and I had never had problems with them until I had to explain them (we use them with uncountable nouns; we can use either word in a question but in declarative sentences some is used as a positive and any is used as a negative- who knew?)

 

[Action Jackson]

Back to go karts. Not sure I can trust that Chinese website with their tire that no one else seems to have. Great, easy solution, if I could trust them, their tire, and I haven't even found the price yet.

I currently have 7" rims in back, can I buy 8" rims and put them on the same spindle? Are these spindles universal?

 

[itsid]

Let's get with it. 145 70 6 in the front, 16 8 7 in the rear. Now, why that is "70" and not simply "7", I don't know, but it's 7.0 and I can just work with that. The same for "145" instead of "14.5".

Just for clarification
That's a european tire size

and it goes like this:

145 is the treadwidth in mm (~5.7")
70 is the segmented height of the tire in percent (145 x0.7 = 101.5 mm; ~4")
and 6 is -as always- the rim diameter in inches

'sid

 

[Action Jackson]

Just for clarification
That's a european tire size

and it goes like this:

145 is the treadwidth in mm (~5.7")
70 is the segmented height of the tire in percent (145 x0.7 = 101.5 mm; ~4")
and 6 is -as always- the rim diameter in inches

'sid

Wow, metrics I understand, but so much of that is counterintuitive. I'd have thought the first number would still be diameter. Really strange how the last number remains our anachronistic English system. And then that middle number- 4" height plus 6" rim plus 4" height- voila, 14"! Thanks for the info.

Now, can somebody tell me what it would take to pull one rim off and slap on another? Even though the tires are interchangeable, perhaps rims are not?

 

[landuse]

Wow, metrics I understand, but so much of that is counterintuitive. I'd have thought the first number would still be diameter. Really strange how the last number remains our anachronistic English system. And then that middle number- 4" height plus 6" rim plus 4" height- voila, 14"! Thanks for the info.

Now, can somebody tell me what it would take to pull one rim off and slap on another? Even though the tires are interchangeable, perhaps rims are not?

Yu need to get rims with the same bolt pattern and distance. Bolt pattern is measured diagonally, and not from one hole to the next which is at a 90 degree angle to the first

 

[Action Jackson]

Yu need to get rims with the same bolt pattern and distance. Bolt pattern is measured diagonally, and not from one hole to the next which is at a 90 degree angle to the first

Bolt pattern pretty simple, screw it on and screw it off. It would be the size and shape of the spindle.

 

[itsid]

Wow, metrics I understand, but so much of that is counterintuitive. I'd have thought the first number would still be diameter. Really strange how the last number remains our anachronistic English system. And then that middle number- 4" height plus 6" rim plus 4" height- voila, 14"! Thanks for the info.

hehe well at least we have just ONE way to do it not half a dozen

I'm running 410x350 4s and 410x350 5s for example...
and guess what.. width; segmented height; rim dia
(a pattern I'm used to )

funny enough that's 10" and 11" in diameter not 11" and 12" *shrugs*

then there are 4.10 X 4 (yes only two numbers... technically it's segmented height is 410 as well as the treadwidth)

So if you stumble across a 11x5 5 in the US
it can be either 11 inches WIDE with a segmented height of 5" (unlikely but technically possible)
or 11" in diameter with a treadwidth of 5".

So tell ME about counterintuition

'sid

 

[Action Jackson]

Got these guys in the Amazon cart for the front:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O5USZI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Getting there.

 

[landuse]

Bolt pattern pretty simple, screw it on and screw it off. It would be the size and shape of the spindle.

Sorry. I am thinking of the back wheels, and you using hubs, like a car

 

[Action Jackson]

Yeah, I have to convert everything in my mind as well. Like, the strange set up, accelerate with your right foot and brake with your left.

 

[Action Jackson]

I was pleasantly surprised with the American Sportworks (Manco) support system. They have authorized service centers all over, a great website and their prices are excellent (they just don't have a street tire option for my go kart)

I hope this works, it's the best I can do. Page 13 is the diagram and page 14 is the parts list:

http://www.amsportworks.com/pdfs/gokarts-minibikes/model-3171/3171_3171_Parts_Manual.pdf

You get the part no. and you type it in here:

http://www.amsportworks.com/parts.php

Unfortunately, I didn't find any dimensions for the axle or bearings.

I couldn't be happier with how easy they make it to order parts.

That said, their diagram of the axle doesn't make sense to me. Like, on the side opposite the chain, I see three bolts going into a flange but then what? Am I reading the diagram wrong or is the diagram just wrong?