Go Kart

[PFABRIZI]

I am ready to start my next welding project. I want to build a go kart for my kids. I want to use round tube to make the frame, but I don't know what thickness of pipe I should use.

Can anyone give me an idea of what I shoukd use? My kids are 4 and 7. Also is there any in expensive benders I can purchase? I have a Harfor Freight about 15 mile from my house. Thanks!

[Eugenius76]

It depends on what kind of kart you want to make. Seems like racing kart tubing is about 1" and reg. go karts are smaller,and also depends on how destructive your kids are...I've been thinking of building one myself, and was thinking of using 1" for the frame.

[Eugenius76]

I just went to ebay and seen one 30mm frame which is like 1 3/16" or something like that. I think 1" would be close enough. No telling whats on you tube, prob some idiot with a katana 12oocc in a kart or somethin silly like that.......

[Stinky]

I assume that you mean wall thickness...

ON a racing sandbuggy, 1/8" is the standard for the rollcage, the immediate protective area around the driver...all of it. I wouldn't go any thicker than that...unless it was free. I'm talking about 100 mph Baja/desert racing buggies.

My sandbuggy was built w/1/8", just because that was what the manufacturer, of the frame used. I used a lot of bicycle frame stuff on it, when I needed 1-2' of tubing for a bracket, or mount, or what ever. It was usually .095 (for the 1" tubing) and .065 OR SO, for the smaller tubing. Mine was a heavy buggy.

I used bicycles because I had a few of em, and the tubing was the right size, like on a radiator mounting bracket, or seat mounting, or just a tube, between frame rails, in order to add stiffness, 1" conduit would be about the right size, and the right wall thickness, but I doubt that it would fit the quality of steel requirements...that said. I wouldn't hesitate to use 1" or 1/2" conduit...for brackets and superfulous stuff ON the frame, but not the mainframe.

For the diameter of the tubing, my sandbuggy was built w/ABOUT 1 1/4" tubing. Bikes are built w/about the same size, for the mainframe-triangle, I'd look for about the same stuff.

For Diameter of the tubing one inch to 1.5" would do just fine.

[PFABRIZI]

Thanks for the info.