T-bucket go kart

[Cbreiter]

That kart had a 4 speed tranny from a vw bug, with the cv axles shortened (they didn't have the lower universal joints installed on them, so the tires always sat on angles) and the axles ran inside tubes. It had a 9 hp clone on it. Honestly it didn't work too awsome, cause the centrifugal clutch always turned a bit. Also it had no seals where the axles came out of the tube ends, so you couldn't properly fill the transmission with oil. It was belt driven, and the pulley on the tranny was huge. It worked out that you would max out at about 40 kmh. It probably would have worked good if it had about a 25 hp motor, with a real clutch, but with the setup the way it was, the back end probably weighed over 200 lbs. it wasn't a lot of fun, so I basicly sold it for the price of the engine, cause it wasn't finished (btw, the tires on the back were p225/75 r14. I had several other sizes, but chose those, so it would at least do 40, with the others, 25 -30 was the best i got) It drove fine, but was a big pain to get into gear, probably a better shifting linkage could have solved that, but I had other karts that were much more fun to ride, and trouble free, so I didn't spend more than about 100 hours working on it. It was in very poor shape when I got it (no brakes!) and had an old 8hp b&s engine on it. they claimed it would do 70 mph. I couldn't have seen it doing that, it would have been way too scary to even try, as it had pulleys with just cables for steering, no solid linkages! If you have any more questions about it, send me a pm, I did do a fair amount on it to make it safe, so I know how stuff was set up.

 

[Cbreiter]

I'm thinking the T-bucket will wait till this next summer to be worked on, but I will post pics of the kart that my buddy and I am going to build as a practice project. Just a question, should I start a new thread for it?

 

[hackintoshMan]

Here is idea I had for a kart, but I wanted to get your guys opinion on it. It's for a posi track/locking rear axle, but with having both wheels freewheel during declaration (to make turning easier). Let me know what you think.

I don't think that this will work the way you have it draw out. If a clutch is supposed to engage in one direction (I THINK it is only supposed to engage in one direction) and you flip it over, then it will engage in the OTHER direction.

 

[Cbreiter]

I'm not sure if all clutches work that way or not. It's just an idea though. I thought hilliard clutches worked both ways? I know that most comet ones do not though (least not the ones I have). I may try it sometime, just to see what happens, as I have a big box of go kart parts, cause kids (the ones who use my karts anyway) are very hard on motors, and clutches.

 

[Cbreiter]

Has anyone tried this? If so, please let me know, I love figuring stuff out, but its nice if someone can tell me before I make the modifications to my kart to try it.

 

[itsid]

Has anyone tried this? If so, please let me know, I love figuring stuff out, but its nice if someone can tell me before I make the modifications to my kart to try it.

Well I haven't;
but I don't see it working the way intended;

the outside wheel is the one that will move you through a curve, because it's the one with the traction. (due to load);
And it's the one that'll spin faster because of the longer travel..

and that's the one that would be disengaged (if the system would disengage a wheel at all)

So.. I don't see it being a big benefit.
And, if I calculate $30 per clutch and another $30 per sprocket and chain;
you'll end up at $120
the price for a simple differential which is basically the thing you want to emulate here
And that's without jackshafts, brackets, fasteners, bearings and modifying the axle etc.

So maybe you can just go to northerntool and get a mower differential.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_35768_35768

'sid

 

[Cbreiter]

Thanks. I basicly was looking to make a one way locking rear end, that would freewheel on deceleration. Probably the only way it would work is if I had clutches with high engage speeds. Maybe I should just go with a live rear axle, that probably would be the cheapest. It is for that blue corvette kart that I have, it currently has one wheel drive, and I wanted to get it so it would put more power down. It does burnouts like crazy right now (which is fun), but i want to put a bit bigger motor on and have it so it will spin both rear wheels, lol.

 

[Orange Krate]

Here's the one I started. Just chopped the front off an MTD and flipped the axles to lower it. Set up to use a wheel barrow body but like I said, turning radius was terrible! Then the boy stole the body for a soap box car.

 

[Scout]

I don't think that this will work the way you have it draw out. If a clutch is supposed to engage in one direction (I THINK it is only supposed to engage in one direction) and you flip it over, then it will engage in the OTHER direction.

Depends on the clutch. I had one apart today that would work in either direction, and the directions said it could be installed either with the sprocket in or out.

 

[Cbreiter]

That does look kind of like what I was going for "Orange Krate", but I was planning on having the frame narrow toward the front so that I can still have wheels that turn sharper, and still keep the wheels the same distance out as the back ones. I was also thinking of mounting the axle on top of the frame at the back, rather than making a hump in the frame. Does anyone see any issues I would have with that? Just thought it might make the whole fabrication simpler.

 

[OzFab]

The only potential problem is that it's easier for the axle mounts to pull away from the frame; if the weight of the frame is on top of the axle, it becomes all but impossible...

 

[Cbreiter]

ok, Just thought I'd ask. I can build the hump in the frame, just thought if it was the same difference, would be easier not to. I found an 16 hp v-style engine in a cub cadet mower, needs a rebuild. I was wondering if that this is a dumb idea to rebuild it, or just to go with a single cylinder 15 hp? Also, if I was to rebuild it, can someone suggest a good place to get parts that aren't gonna break the bank?

 

[firemanjim]

The only potential problem is that it's easier for the axle mounts to pull away from the frame; if the weight of the frame is on top of the axle, it becomes all but impossible...

Rotational torque forces and what not. If its on top and the front mount gives, its going up and still spinning, and its gonna swing towards driver side because of the spinning.... If the back mount gave way, it would spin across frame to passenger side till something stops it....Put it on bottom with a hoop in the front ,should there be any failure. It will keep driveshaft from hitting the ground,digging in, and flipping the butt end of the kart over the nose...... NOT COOL......

 

[OzFab]

The biggest problem with using big engines is finding a big/strong enough clutch system...

 

[Cbreiter]

Yeah, I know what you are saying on the clutch system. I can get ones that are rated up to 13 hp, no problem, but haven't found a bigger one yet. I like the idea of the V-style engine because I can run true dual exhaust on the kart then, lol. I'm not too sure if I will have suspension on the back of the kart, so I was thinking pillow blocks with a 1" shaft. I found a wonderful solution to having to have suspension (at least for comfort). I was able to get my hands on some old forklift seats, which have suspension built in to them, and also don't weigh very much, plus they have adjustments on them for different weights of people. I realize it isn't the best option, but for $2 a seat, it sure is a nice change for bumpy terrain than my old hard fiberglass seat. In response to firemanjims post, what kind of loop are you thinking of? just something that goes over the axle itself?

 

[OzFab]

Yeah, I know what you are saying on the clutch system. I can get ones that are rated up to 13 hp, no problem, but haven't found a bigger one yet.

The only thing I can suggest (from the other side of the planet) is look for a snowmobile CVT setup, they run engines well in excess of 16hp...

 

[Cbreiter]

Maybe I should just consider a smaller engine. I have access to a Honda GX340, I think those are rated at 11 hp, and I know where I can come by a 13hp. would it work to have a solid sprocket on the engine, and go down to a shaft with two clutches on it? I don't know exactly how clutches are rated, but if you had a single chain going to a shaft, and had two clutches on it, would that hold the extra hp? It would go down to a single chain again, with another shaft with sprockets on it.

 

[OzFab]

The more shafts you have with sprockets on them, the less torque you end up with at the wheels because it takes torque to turn the shafts...

Lets say, for arguments sake, you have 3 shafts in series (one linking to the next) between (but not including) the engine PTO shaft & the rear axle & it takes 1ft/lb to turn each shaft. If your engine creates 9ft/lbs, you'll be losing 1/3 of the available torque just turning the various shafts

 

[Cbreiter]

Ok, I guess that does make sense, just hadn't really thought about it though. Maybe I should put the 15 hp on there, and just see what happens. Looking at firemanjim's post I think that he is assuming that I will be using a driveshaft, which I don't think I will be, because I was planning not to have a traditional differential, I was planning on using a live rear axle. I totally agree with him though, if running a driveshaft, a loop is mandatory! I'm gonna do some looking around to see if there is a clutch that will handle 15+ hp, if not, I will have to make other plans. I guess I could go with a hopped up 6.5 honda clone. I found a couple sites where you can do them up decent for not too much money, and the clutches I can easily get make no difference on what size shaft you have. They are good up to 13 hp, whether a 3/4, 7/8, or 1"!

 

[Cbreiter]

Has anyone ever played with the idea of using an A/C pump clutch for a go kart? They engage electronicly, and from what I understand an A/C pump can take up to 20 hp from a car engine, and they engage at any speed. Imagine being able to drop the clutch from 4,000 rpm? All in all, the major disadvantage would be that its a belt style clutch, Just thought this might work in higher HP situations?