Turf Tire Dilemma

[Denny Graham]

Okey dokey.....been searching the net and the archives for weeks....can't seem to find a straight forward definitive
answer to my question about wheels and tires. Lots of chatter but.........
So here's the problem. I just finished scratch building a vintage rear engine go kart which I've equipped with a Predator 212.
I've got two more planned for this fall. They're built to comply with the vintage racing hobby, that is, if I swapped out the
Predator's for a....Mac or West Bend or something (read; Expensive) vintage.
But.......since there are no vintage racing meets around this area, for the time being I'd like to install some 'mild' turf tires
so I can get a little more ground clearance running them down in the pasture. Present tires are Cheng Shin 4.10/3.50-5 slicks
give me only about 1 1/2" of clearance.
I'm not looking for an aggressive tire, I don't plan on nor want to plow up the yard. I've looked at Carlisle 15x6.00-6 Turf Saver
tires but the speed rating is only and 'A' and for a kart that is capable of 40mph give or take a few, I'm not sure if they would
stand up. But, that size would probably give me just about the clearance that I'm looking for.
The other thing is the wheels. If this tire is 6" wide, where do I find a 6" steel tubeless rim and......I want to stick to an
American bolt pattern. I suppose I can machine my own hubs if necessary.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
dg

 

[Denny]

Any tire is going to tear up the yard some. Even a golf kart tire. It looks like you are running a 4x4 bolt pattern. As far as I know I don’t think anyone has had a problem with the speed rating being exceeded on a tire. For rims you could try looking at Northern tool, BMI, MFG Supply, GoKart Supply Go Power Sports and any other place that sells Gokart parts.

 

[Denny Graham]

Aha, you're a Denny also?? Tks for replying. Yep, I've been to all of the vendors, have been dealing
with them for about a decade since I got started in the Cyclekart hobby. But the question is, how
well will a Carlisle Turf-Saver tire with a speed rating 'A', being meant for a lawn tractor hold up
on a go kart?
I'm rather impatient and have ordered a set of them i.e., a set of four. So I will be trying them out
this fall.
The thing with the wheels is if the tire has a width of 6" and the 6" wheels that the vendors, say for
instance, Go Power Sports, have rims listed as a 6" wheel, but actually according to their catalog
description they have a width of something like 4 1/2". So why is it listed as a wheel for a 6" wide tire???
There seems to be a WHOLE bunch of inconsistencies and miss-matching in the labeling of Wheels and Tires
thru out the go kart industry.
dg

 

[Denny]

I have never seen or heard of a turf tire failure or let alone a catastrophic one. Many manufacturers equipped their karts from the factory with them back 15 years or so ago. Yea, you generally want to go with a narrower rim width than the tire so you can get it to bead up. We don’t use tubes unless using a 2 piece rim or you get a hole in the tire that can’t be patched. Even the ATV tires we use we go tubeless. But I would not worry about using the turf saver tires.
I have never noticed the inconsistency because I figured out what tire I wanted to use and bought a rim to suit. If it was a little narrow who cares run a little less pressure to increase the foot print. If the tire starts to wear a little funny usually an air pressure adjustment will correct that. Off road you usually don’t have to worry about tires wearing funny unless something is bent. But a rim that is too wide is a pain from mounting it to driving it.

 

[panchothedog]

I run Turf Saver type tires on two of my karts. Don't remember the brand. They were the CHEAPEST ones I could find. Both karts run in the 35 mph range, on dirt roads, sometimes quite rough. Speed ratings on small equipment tires are put there by corporate lawyers to protect themselves sleazy lawyers looking for
easy money. Buy what you want and don't worry about it.

 

[Denny Graham]

Ok guy, looks like I'm getting a green light for both my questions. Thanks for the answers.
Denny G
Sandwich, IL

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

I think if I lived in a place called sandwich I would be hungry all the time. The only tire to avoid, nay, run away from is the $4.99 special at Harbor Freight/Northern Tool.

 

[Functional Artist]

I have regular lawn mower tires on many (probably all) of my karts
...& can report "good results"

My Hell-raiser kart is running (4) "slick" type tires, made for (the front of) zero turn mowers

* Don't pay any attention to the "flames" shooting out of the motor @~3.25 min

I got them from Surplus Center ~$15.00 ea. (it don't get no better than that, except free)
https://www.surpluscenter.com/Wheel...3x6-5-6-Carlisle-Smooth-Tread-Tire-1-5112.axd

** Well, um...I just noticed that they also have 13x5.0-6 TURF TIRE ($4.95 ea.)

13x5.0-6 TURF TIRE
NEW, DURO Turf tire.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Size 13x5.0-6
• Outside Diameter 13" dia.
• Cross Section 5" Wide
• Tread Knobby
• Tread Width 4"
• Tire Tubeless
• Pressure 20 PSI max.
• Ply Rating 2
• Shpg. 5 lbs.

 

[Denny Graham]

Yeah, I'm sticking with Carlisle tires, have had them on all the mowers I've had for the last 40 years and
never had a problem with them. Chinese made look-a-likes are cheaper but I stay away from as much
of that Chinese cloned crap as I can. HF......yep, saw a guy try them on a go kart and 10 minutes of running
in a parking lot tore all the rubber off leaving the casings exposed.
dg

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

You should start a club in your town. Call it "Go Kart Club Sandwich". Two of my favorite things in one.

 

[Denny Graham]

missed your calling EZ, should of been a comic.
dg

 

[Whitetrashrocker]

I'll put my 2 cents in on the turf savers. I Run em front and rear on my big block dingos and they are holding up just fine.
I got mine at the local tractor supply.

 

[Denny Graham]

I think I've bought them there also Rocke......this time round, absolute best prices
were on Amazon.
dg

 

[Denny Graham]

Tires are starting to come in. Got a set of two 13x5.0-6 yesterday and the
full set of four 15x6.0-6 should be here by Monday. Now....all I need is for
GoPower to fill the order and get the wheels out to me.
Appears from the vague description on their site, that the rear 1" drive
wheel has to have a reducer bushing or something welded in the end of
the hub?
They are going on a standard Azusa 1" axle stepped down to 3/4" at the ends.
The hubs we use on the Cyclekarts have this 1 to 3/4 reduction machined into them.
Other wise it appears from the picture that these drive wheels are a 1" bore all the way
through and will just slide all the way on the axle till they hit something that will stop them?
That sound right????
dg

 

[Denny]

Yup. I use the stepped axles also with the 4 on 4 hubs. They work great and don’t have to worry about beating off the rims to fix a flat or change out a tire.

 

[Denny Graham]

Not the answer I was looking for Robert,. but thanks anyway for the response.
What I was talking about, was, the hubs that we use on the Cyclekarts is bored
in side about half way thru at 1" to fit the main axle and the outer half is bored
3/4" to pilot over the threads. You slip the hub on tighten the nut and the hub
seats against the shoulder on the axle.
In the GoPowerSports video of them assembling their Alley Kart kit with the steel
wheels it looks like they use a heavy spacer between the wheel and the axle bearing.
I'm not nuts about that because you're not tightening the wheel against a solid
shoulder but against the axle bearing, which, has been known to slip even with
split collars on both sides.
So.....I guess when I get the steel wheels, I'll machine a 1"x 3/4" bushing and weld
it into the outer half of the wheel. That will feel much more positive for me.
I noticed that the new split aluminum rims that they are selling have the
3/4" reduction cast into them. Much better setup.
dg