Custom frame dimensions

[ilm25_5]

I've just bought a homemade kart from someone online. I plan on altering it to a small 2 seater so I can take my son. The current configuration has the front wheels spaced wider apart than the back wheels. This seems completely backwards. I'm sure someone has an opinion on this. Please let me know. I also plan on widening the frame, adding a proper rear brake and adding a rack and pinion, maybe add some kind of roll cage for looks. This is kind of a practice build before I build my own kart from scratch. I'll probably document it and put it up on one of the forums as I go.

[Xbird]

wide front stance lends itself to better steering, especially if it's a live rear axle (both wheels drive off common straight axle. It also enhances roll over stability. One i built for my daughter a few years back



This little thing was very light, ran a 6.5 hp engine and topped out over 30mph. i was test riding it and spun it at full tilt in a turn, did a 360+ and it didn't lift a wheel off the ground.woke my butt up quick to how much of a lil monster creation i was strapping my 7 y.o into

[ilm25_5]

Interesting, that didn't occur to me. Is there a set of rules for how much wider the front track should be compared to the back? I'm trying to keep the max width 48" but with a 2 seat bench I doubt I can actually make that happen.

[Xbird]

Not really, the solid rear axle setups cause understeer--inherent to two rear wheels driving forward locked together. the majority of even the custom builds share this design issue. most go kart/ china mini buggy dimensions are based largely on packaging/shipping dimensions and the ability to fit into the back of a pickup truck for the consumer. The one i pictured is a mini-mini kiddie buggy and ended up about 48-52" wide up front. most 2 seater types land in the 54" inch range up front. rear width is set by wider tires, the need to have an engine in between and the shocks to align with the cage, so they end up close to the same as the front.

[ilm25_5]

I thought keeping it under 48" would be pretty much impossible. 54" I can probably live with. The understeer problem seems unlikely on this current setup because when I test drove it it seemed way to sensitive. I'm hoping adding the rack and pinion will elimantes this. I'm brand new to fabricating vehicles so I don't know alot. I usually just start up the ATV and go trail riding.