T-man's kart's

[T-man]

I see it working now. This live video is kind of cool.

 

[T-man]

back on ... here

 

[gokart14]

well i got some bad news i finally put it all back together and i accomplished my first goal fix the rear end of the kart runs fine the bad news the steering is JACKED up!
the pedals areto close to the tie rods and the tires are turning at different angles and its so choppy its almost empossible to control

right now i feel like putting it in the barn and forgeeting about it i have tried everything

 

[T-man]

do you have any video? because that would realy help us.

 

[gokart14]

i can try i havnt ever put a video on the computer so i can try and figure that out but i can take a ton pics. the whole kart just feels uncomfertable when i drive it (If you know what i mean) the whole akerman thing i cant do anything about that because the spindles i have are the ones from BMI so wwere thee tie rod attaches its a 90 angle so i cant switch that at all .... the steering is extremely jerky

 

[Bluethunder3320]

gokart14, i know what you mean, when i got my kart running it was a deathtrap for a few reasons, but my steering was no good past 20mph because it would just be wayyy too touchy and any bit of movement and i could bring the entire kart up on 2 wheels....

EDIT: how about a spring to return the wheel to straight, would that help a bit?

 

[fowler]

did u put any angles in like castor and cambor

my kart went from a wanting to alway go full lock and being a death trap at 20kph to being able to drive at 80kph one handed

that was partialy because of the rask n pinion but also because i added addjustabe angles

after looking at the pics i rekon the pitman arm is way to long
the shorter the pitman arm the better the control but the smaller the turning radius

also there is no steering angles not even ackerman

if u want ackerman with bmi spindles then eather cut and reweld the spindles or put them in a vise and apply a large hammer till it is set right


personally i dont see many problems with the old system
id go back to that and work from there

 

[gokart14]

i mean that was the first thing i thought(going back to the old systeme) but i have made so many changes like moving the pedals foward and welding a knew pitman arm, but i think your right about the long pitman arm the steering radius is huge which i am preety sure is the reason it is so jearky ( maby welding something to stop the spindle so not so much turning radius???????

 

[fowler]

welding a stop wont help the control itll only stop u flipping

the shorter the pitman arm the more u have to turn the wheel

u could try drilling a hole further up the arm but then the angle of the tie rods might be too great

 

[gokart14]

welding a stop wont help the control itll only stop u flipping

the shorter the pitman arm the more u have to turn the wheel

u could try drilling a hole further up the arm but then the angle of the tie rods might be too great

Ya i guess i will just have to work with it to late to go back know

i just wish i would have thought through this before i started this modification...... i just cant seem to get this kart to work

 

[bighead]

At this point I would start over. What about re doing the steering shaft and adding hand controls? This way you could fix the problem right. And not have o worry about your feet and pedals. Put your shaft on a knuckle. Then make your pitman arm off that. Also think about make two holes on your pitman arm. When I did my bar stool racer I did one single hole for both tie rods. When I made a new pitman arm with two holes it road much better.

 

[fowler]

i never understood what was wrong with the old system

 

[bighead]

Don't know, But Iwould be changing this. He said it's not working. I say start over at this point.

 

[redsox985]

That is not pretty. What about a dramatic bend in the knuckle dropping the steering rod near vertical and doing it with a barstool style set up where the pitman arm is almost flat, or flat.

 

[gokart14]

well for all you guys who are confused the reason i changed it in the first place was because of the front suspension.. the shocks werent strong enough to rebound the A arm so tman suggested i flip the spindles so i would be using toe in to help the shocks rebound.. so when the a arm compresses both tires go in which helps to push the a arm back into normal position. well to do that i had to change the whole systeme so i made a new pitman arm and everything. i guess i just wasnt thinking i just keep burning money up because i am not thinking before i make my descisions and know i fixed the rear problem but know i have a steering problem

hand controls are an idea idk

i wish i would have left and dealt with the shock problem would of been a lot easier

 

[gokart14]

well everything else on the kart is working pedals and all is working the engine too.. the pedals are also the right length so know i am going to to use what i have and not change the whole frame, and try different options to fix the steering because i know exactly what the problem is....... the turning radius is huge to the amout you turn on the steering wheel (just need to fix this)

 

[fowler]

u need to go back to the old system exactly and chop all the new stuff off

then all u should have to do is move the shock mountinds down and out so the lever action is reduced

or get new shocks

 

[bighead]

Hey T-Man. His shocks look alot like the ones I sent you. Perhaps they are the same and will not work good on karts.

Any part numbers on your shocks?

 

[bighead]

Also I think your original pitman arm was to short. Try to get your tie rods in a even line. if your pitman arm is to short the tie rods turn with the shaft and do not push the tie rods. To long and you have tight turning radius.

If you tie rods and spindles not level or close they work against each other. They need to push straight out and not at angles and be close to level. Your original setup was angled pretty bad.

 

[gokart14]

i mean as much as i would like to go back i agree with bighead the angle that the tie rods were at was really bad......basically to solve my problem i need to move the tie rods closer to the steering shaft so that the turnind radius is reduced...... i reall dont feel like redoing everything to go back to my original setup because everthing is workin right know

the shocks are just the cheep ones from bmi NO THAT GOOD