diy go kart

pswanto

has anyone ever made there own go kart? i'm looking for plans and ideas on the subject, frame style, what type engine, what cc, what steering system? any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

N.B - I have all the necessary tools, arc welder, pipe bender, angle grinder ect. ect.

SouperComputer

Only one I ever made was out of wood when I was 6or7. I can give you a few ideas based on racing karts. It really depends on where you plan driving it and what you plan doing with it though. Keep the weight down and a Honda GX160 (or clone) 5.5HP is good for 45-50MPH given enough time to get up to speed. Most racing frames are made from 28, 30, 32 or 30 and 32mm chrome moly.

Heres' some racing homologation sheets to give you an idea.

http://www.maranellokart.com/downl/om2009/om_telai09/Telaio%20RS10.pdf
http://www.tonykart.com/download/fiches/TONYKART-RACER-56-CH-14.pdf
http://www.thekartshop.net/images/karts/crg/CIK-badboy.pdf

Timmaay

I build one when I was about 15. Fair easy to be honest, and it was great craic. I only used an 80cc 2stroke engine, but the kart weighted nothing. A 125 motocross engine would have been better though. I used 4 wheelbarrow wheels, got the full engine including carbs/electrics etc, but getting a full bike would probably be better. The only tricky part for me was making up a hub to mount the rear sprocket and brake disc, you will need access to a big enough lathe to do this, or get your local engineering shop to do it.

Steering was all handy enough, there are a few basic steering angles that you have to follow, like the camber angle, toe in etc etc, you run a massive camber angle on the steering on a kart, so as it will allow the inside rear wheel to lift around corners (karts have no diff in the back just a solid axle)

pswanto

http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.billstoolcrib.com/LATHBIR1340.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.billstoolcrib.com/METAL%2520LATHES.HTM&usg=__16Cb838vXAIahL7pUZ489iNeYzQ=&h=549&w=653&sz=47&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=UYJo60dgI0VcTM:&tbnh=152&tbnw=180&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmetal%2Blathe%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D651%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=567&vpy=124&dur=557&hovh=186&hovw=221&tx=152&ty=136&ei=NNd2TIGfIJWTjAfGndGzDA&oei=tNZ2TIyFNcTKjAeirNToBQ&esq=9&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0

would that lathe be big enough, i have use of one a little bit bigger than that?

SouperComputer

Timmaay wrote: »

Steering was all handy enough, there are a few basic steering angles that you have to follow, like the camber angle, toe in etc etc, you run a massive camber angle on the steering on a kart, so as it will allow the inside rear wheel to lift around corners (karts have no diff in the back just a solid axle)

I think you meant castor angle. Yes its insane on a kart by car standards. Smart that you built it in though, most people dont realise and wonder why the kart handles like a drunk pig on rollersakes.

I wouldn't worry too much about toe unless you feel the need to play with slip angles. Camber wise, its hard to say what you should run until you have an idea of what your frame is going to look like, how much grip you have and how much flex you get on the front. Id strongly advise against anything other than decent racing-type wheels if you are using a 125cc motocross engine or similar. A CR125 or YZ125 in decent nick is good for well above 100MPH on a kart.

For the rear axle setup you could wimp out and just get a setup from a kart. all depends how much you want to DIY.

Timmaay

Sorry I meant castor, I don't know why I always mix up castor and camber angles! But yeh, I was talking to a local mechanic about building a kart, and he was insistent that I needed a diff in the back, or else it would not turn any corners, and I knew that a diff added a stupid amount of complications and that no race karts needed them, and after a quick bit of googling I found out that the castor angle was what allowed karts with a really wide rear solid axle turn well.

Hmm, and yeh thinking about it again, it wasnt the toe angle that was that important, it was the ackerman angle, which allowed the kart to turn on a 6pence, so those two angles, the castor and ackerman are very important to allow the kart to turn.

I would agree that with a 125 motocross engine proper kart tires are probably more ideal, but I had stub axles that fitted wheelbarrow wheels on the front, and I think small caravan wheels on the back. I was lucky enough to have a farm to use it on, I remember making a savage tight track on tarmac around the concrete yard and sheds at home, needless to say them rear caravan wheels got worn out quick from drifting around corners the whole time!

SouperComputer

That thing sounds lethal Timmaay LOL. Ackermann helps alright but you dont absolutely need it. Good that you learned the geometry stuff.