SpudFiles

I'm thinking about making a go kart but i have no idea on what engine I need. I know chainsaw and lawnmower engines are good but is there a certain horsepower it should be or a certain rpm it should have? I'm not looking for a huge go kart probably a one seater, but maybe an option for a 2nd seat.

i'd think you would want a horizontal shaft engine, most lawnmower engines are vertical shaft, try a snowblower engine or maybe one from a lawn tractor, also i think any 2 stroke engine can be used in either vertical or horizontal position

Look up the post about Go-Kart with BALLS. I built it, it's got a 225 cc motorcycle engine on it, i had a 5 HP Tecumseh engine. With a normal 5 HP engine you need a torge converter, i think you can get a look at on here- http://www.mancopowersports.com/ and related infomation. I don't advise trying to build one like this, it was a tough one to build and get rite, had to work out the chain bugs, i finaly got it rite, i have a video but am waiting for that section to get up and running, then i'll try to get it to PCGUY for posting, no sound to it though.[/img]

screw horizontal
will this idea work?

You would probably only be able to use this for rear wheel drive and have front wheel steering. Gravity also might push the 2 wheels to tightly together. You could put them at a 90 degree angle or so. You might be able to rotate between to wheels using a long pulley. I'm just throwing out ideas here.

Idea: Try using to "Universal Joints" they keep spinning and they can bend about 45 degrees. It's what keeps the wheels spinning on a car when the suspension moves them up and down.

can i make a go kart without welding anything?

You can bolt one together, but it's gonna shake loose real quick.

ok then nevermind about the whole thing

i think the lotus eliese or some other sports car has no welds at all,the whole thing is glued together for more strength

Welding isn't really that difficult, but if you don't have access to a machine, or someone that can weld, don't even bother. (And I don't recomend gluing it together either ) Like jrrdw suggested, I used a 5 HP snowblower engine on mine, and a centrifigul clutch. You've gotta love infinate gear combinations.

Heres a link to the video of the go-cart that i built no sound though, it runs very good, in fact to strong, we all ready broke 2 chains 40 size, pulled them in half, a lot of tork-- http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j246/ ... udfile.flv

I won't mess with go karts until I made a good puls jet.Now I only have a small one wich isn't very noisy.I don't know is this a normal running.

ok call me stupid but can you just weld a bike chain to the place where the blade used to go on a lawn mower and run the chain to the back axel to propel it forward?

i have a video but am waiting for that section to get up and running, then i'll try to get it to PCGUY for posting

The video section works fine, however since remote uploads are server limited I have people email the video to me and I post it for them. However I try to limit it to spud-related videos since if I allow others everyone hits me up for video hosting of their dirt bike and stuff.

ProfessorAmadeus the problem with that is the engine style your refering to is vertical and the axle is horizontal, the chain wont stay on running with a twist.