Tire question

[Carp]

Why does the knobby "balloon" 145/70-6 tires appear to be wider than other 145/70-6 tires like the carlise "badlands"? Do the "balloon" type tires have a wider base? Is it the rim width that makes tires look wider? I like the look of 4 fat tires instead of fats in the rear and skinny ones up front. Also, do the wider front rims have more offset to run a wider tire without hitting the spindle or is the sindle axle just longer? I have bought 4 karts this month and I want fatter tires up front......any tips?

[Carp]

I'm tired of searching wheels & tires and guessing.....

[GX150]

The sizes are not accurate between manufacturers and can vary more than 10%. Larger front tires will give you better flotation over mud and sand, but will wash out easier when both rear tires are pushing you forward.

Here you can see 20x10-8 tires on the front which required spacers to clear the a-arms and tie rod joints. The same could have been done with a different offset rim.

[Carp]

Those tires look great on the front! Spacing works until you run out of spindle axle length.....then I will need spindles with a longer shaft.....or just get the correct offset wider rims and run a 16 x 8 minimum up front. I guess I need to pull all of these wheels of all the karts, measure the rim width and offset & spindle axle length and choose the best combo. I'm so bored with the standard 145/70-6 up front.....

[GX150]

Here is a cheap spacer if your lugs are longer:

[metalstudman1]

The cheapest way to put wider/fatter tires up front is to lengthen the spindle shaft. Find a piece of heavy walled piece of pipe with the 3/4" I.D.(or whatever size shaft you have) make it whatever length you need. This is on a Yerfdog like GX150's, also lengthened them for clearance when I added 2 additional grooves to each side of the rack-n-pinion. Now I can use whatever wheels/tires I have without worring about offset or width.

GX150- you're running the stock rears on the front?

[GX150]

I ran stock rears on all four corners. It handled like a road kart on the street and did very well on sand. Where it had trouble was mud - The treads would pack and you would lose steering or rear traction very easily if you did not keep momentum.

[Carp]

HMMMMM......these stupid tires....

So rear tires....6" rim.....nothing taller than 14' or 15" (145/70-6...BOOO!)
7" rim....16x8x7....thats the widest I can find
8" rim....18" height is the shortest tire.....

I want something like a 16x9x6! I've been eyeballing those racing douglas rims on BMI's site.....the really wide ones.....

[metalstudman1]

Is this for a racing style kart? or a smaller yard kart?

[Carp]

It's a yard kart...the one I've been welding on. I just like that really wide tire look but don't want tires 22" tall.....I ended buying some 16x8x7 knobbys off of ebay but now I had to buy 7" rims for the rear. I'm going to run the 145/70-6 tires up front but once again.....I had to buy 6" front rims and spindles with a longer shaft.

[Carp]

metalstudman1.......I dont understandwhat you did to make your spindles longer.... How does sliding a piece of pipe over the spindle shaft help?

[metalstudman1]

Spindle lengthening: Cut original spindle off king pin, find a piece of pipe to slide over the cut end of the spindle and weld it. Now cut the pipe whatever length extension is needed and weld pipe back on king pin, did that make sense?
Wheels and tires from the 110cc China 4-wheelers use 6" and 7" , just an alternative source for future shopping. Buy a junk 4-wheeler and use the spindles,hubs and wheels/tires.I used them on my daughters mini kart to get some ground clearance and additional traction.

[Carp]

I see....you leave enough spindle shaft to mount the wheel and nut & what is left shove into the pipe and weld it.....then weld to the king pin. I have the 7"
rims from our other kart but they are being used. I also have the 6" rims from the chinese kart but couldn't find hubs to fit them. They are 3 hole....80mm apart center to center. BMI told me to measure from the center of the wheel to the center of a bolt hole and double it. I did and came up with approximately 45mm x 2 = 90mm bolt circle????

[metalstudman1]

I did the dumb*** method and laid the wheel over the small 3 bolt pattern-centered it up and traced-redrilled the wheel and it worked!

[Carp]

Problen is that none of these karts have hubs. They all use the rims with the hub welded on. I have 3 hole chinese 6" rims but no hubs..... I bought 6" rims with the hubs welded on already. This kart is costing more than all the others! Buying new wheels, axles & gears is expensive.

[Carp]

I keep buying used karts with the intention ot scabbing parts but they are all so complete I cant bring myself to dismantle them just for parts so I end up buying new stuff all the time. The old wallet is taking a beating.

[metalstudman1]

I'm smiling while reading the last post!!! My wife questions why I buy a kart that would almost run as is and turn it into a parts kart for two or three others. When I find the $100-$150 range and needs TLC I'm all over it. I found out a long way back how expensive the small stuff is and that's why I have a bone yard to eliminate or minumize the constant trip to the store or online ordering. You already know how quick and few parts you can buy for a hundred bucks. It's still a lot cheaper than most other outside sports activities- our kids learn SO much from driving at an early age about mechanical stuff,forces of nature,kinetics,ect... that we can't really teach them effectively. Plus it's just too much fun building and using our creations for entertainment.

[Carp]

Check this out.....I bought a red fox manco with a torque converter, running tec 5hp & 18x9.5 knobbies for $160, a manco havoc complete minus engine for $100 & a manco 2 seater model #486 (no front tires) with engine & complete rear axle for $40!

[Carp]

I dont know which way to turn at the moment....and I keep checking craigslist for new listings. My poor '71 pontiac lemans is getting neglected in the garage.

[metalstudman1]

Oh Yeah he's got it good!!! The Buggy bug bit you hard and fast!!! Great deals by the way.

[Carp]

The last kart was suppossed to be the "parts" vehicle but.....well....you know..... crap.....just which ones do you cut up????? Such a tough decision..... I have to draw the line somewhere or I'm going to end up with a go kart park. Time for a cold one.....

[Carp]

I'll post some pics of my "mess" soon