Go Kart Parts

Go karting, you must be familiar with the word, after all who isn’t? It was the closest you came to driving a car when you were five, after all! Go karts, have however really evolved into speed demons, with some go karts (called superkarts), reaching speeds of up to 160 mph (260 Km/h), on specialized racing tracks! Such a piece, of marvelous engineering of course has many other facets to it, such as its aerodynamic design and the durability of its parts.

A typical go kart is composed of as many parts, as in a standard car, only there is no suspension to it. Go art parts like axles, jackshafts, differential, gearbox, bearings and clutch are all found in a typical car, only differing in size and load management. The crucial go kart part, however, contributing to the overall design aesthetic and functionality, are the chassis and the engine.

The most important go-kart part, which makes it race worthy is the frame, or the chassis as the experts call it. A kid’s go cart may not need too much design considerations, a spray job, some wings and they’ll be happy. But on the race track such careless structure would send a car flying off the tracks. This chassis, contributes to the “side bite” or the ability of a go kart to grip the track without sliding off. You’ll have your frame design to thank, when you take those turns at 100 mph. Most racing grade frames are made of aluminium- steel composites, though carbon fibre frames, expensive as they are, are highly valued for their toughness and light weight. The second aspect, a go carts engine, is trickier.

Generally, it’s a toss up between power and weight, when you have to consider a suitable engine. Makeshift go-karts can make use of a two stroke motorcycle engine, or a 4-stroke engine with a HP between 5 and 20. But now a days companies, engaged in making go kart parts, are making engines specifically for racing and many modern go karts are employing powerful 4 stroke engines (somewhat similar to a lawnmower’s, but only with air cooling) capable of 15-40 HP at around 11,00 RPM. Some other go kart parts, worth mentioning are the roller chain, which has the high tension job of transferring power from the engine to the gears. Needless to say, the clutch figures prominently when discussing the chain size, and many high speed go karts need good quality centrifugal clutches. However, some clutches are available, for low HP engine go carts, which require no manual gear shifting, handling different speeds with ease.

Finally, some go karts parts such as the seat and tires, are also easily neglected, when in fact they are very important from a safety perspective. Industrial go kart tires are generally of 11”-14” in size, which gives them a high ground clearance, necessary to avoid obstacles and over turning. The seats need to be comfortable, and can be of either vinyl or leather. Seats are a very common factor for bruising a driver. Kiddie go karts can have stuffed seats, but a racing kart needs seats with a wire frame.