Cycle Kar(t) now Electrathon car

[SONICJK]

Gotcha.
As luck (or fate lol) would have it after posting that I went into the shop and found this:

I love the self aligning but worry about the crappy castings.
We're about to cnc some carriers so we don't have to keep replacing these damn things.
Granted this is a vibratory tumbler so much harsher environment than the kart, just some food for thought though.

Pillow blocks are a common application for Formula SAE axles. Running 4 pillow blocks actually came recommended by the lead engineer of an IMSA race team, who happens to be the father of one of my crew guys. Granted, they CNC milled their own blocks. He ran two pillow blocks on their Virginia Tech SAE cars because of the suspension. These pillow blocks are self-aligning, so we have a little give locating them. If we do break one, then we go through the frame with the more common kart axle bearings.

These are the more common live axle bearings used in karts. Internally, the bearings are identical to the pillow blocks, so just the casting makes them different.

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[irk miller]

Another thing of note on this build. None of us are overly happy with the leaf spring front end. Since we're not actually competing this year, we've decided to go more the direction of

Gotcha.
As luck (or fate lol) would have it after posting that I went into the shop and found this:

View attachment 222784

I love the self aligning but worry about the crappy castings.
We're about to cnc some carriers so we don't have to keep replacing these damn things.
Granted this is a vibratory tumbler so much harsher environment than the kart, just some food for thought though.



Suck

I wouldn't complain if you machined 4 pillow blocks for me . I'm not beholden to these things. The main reason we went with the pillow blocks was so we could get the frame under 4" off the ground without having to go crazy with the frame angles.

 

[Texasstar]

Having skills is one thing, sharing them like this is next level. Kudos man, those kids must be loving it

Yep world needs more mentors like you.


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[cxman]

needs more engine (doesnt it always?)

i can you legally run a cx500 motor in that class?
if so get in touch with me

 

[irk miller]

Thanks, y'all. Means a lot.

As far as more engine, I have a list of things I'm going to do with the kiddos to address our lack of hp:

Remove the governor
Swap for 18lb valve springs
Carb re-jet
High flow exhaust
High flow air cleaner
Index spark plug and open gap to .045
Remove .048 off timing key
Swap for aluminum flywheel with half the fins.
Swap for 14cc or 18cc GX160 head

These mods will get us well over 20hp, plus we may mess with some mild porting. I know race teams are getting over 40hp with many more mods, including boring.

As for the pillow blocks, I take your concern Sonic. Hurco and I had a long conversation about this and I'm going to try something he and his dad did with their horseless carriage. Looks to see those modifications this weekend.

 

[Maritime]

Fun times!

 

[SONICJK]

Thanks, y'all. Means a lot.

As far as more engine, I have a list of things I'm going to do with the kiddos to address our lack of hp:

Remove the governor
Swap for 18lb valve springs
Carb re-jet
High flow exhaust
High flow air cleaner
Index spark plug and open gap to .045
Remove .048 off timing key
Swap for aluminum flywheel with half the fins.
Swap for 14cc or 18cc GX160 head

These mods will get us well over 20hp, plus we may mess with some mild porting. I know race teams are getting over 40hp with many more mods, including boring.

As for the pillow blocks, I take your concern Sonic. Hurco and I had a long conversation about this and I'm going to try something he and his dad did with their horseless carriage. Looks to see those modifications this weekend.

Good to hear. If it were for you or me I'd say run the damn things till they break! But when there's going to be kids driving the thing it concerns me a bit more.
If you want to find some bearings I'll machine you some housings out of steel or aluminum if you want to go that route

 

[cxman]

so i got this 36mm methanol carb off one of those racing carts

can you use metanol?????

more is always better

teach the the proper way to consume alcohol

 

[cxman]

btw eric you are doing amazing thing with these kids way to go

 

[pidjones]

so i got this 36mm methanol carb off one of those racing carts

can you use metanol?????

more is always better

teach the the proper way to consume alcohol

That would be a good teaching/learning/discovery thing.

 

[irk miller]

To replace the shady pillow blocks, I fabricated a couple of bearing tubes using .188” thick steel tube and flanged bearings.

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[Rider52]

To replace the shady pillow blocks, I fabricated a couple of bearing tubes using .188” thick steel tube and flanged bearings.

View attachment 222936


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Excellent!!!

 

[irk miller]

All mounted up. Three bolts on each side mount the axle to frame.

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[Maritime]

Much less sketchy for sure

 

[ridesolo]

That lash-up would stand up to one of @Hurco550's fire-breathing snow machine engines.

 

[canyoncarver]

Beefy.

 

[SONICJK]

Now you're cooking with gas. Looks cooler too lol

 

[irk miller]

It’s been a while since I updated this thread. The virus shut this project down in April when classes went totally online. We’ve been setting up the school for an in-house fall scenario, and I was finally able to get the kar to the school this morning.

I lost two students to graduation and Virginia Tech, so most of my team will get to finish what they started, with a few new students enrolled this fall. At first, I was disappointed we got shut down before we finished. Looking for a silver lining, this next year we get to start with a good base. We can change some decisions that aren’t working as well as hoped. I figure we can be getting seat time by November, then really run it through the paces through winter and do body next spring.

Our goal last spring was to get the kar under it’s own weight, then bring it back to campus. I’d say the frame is 30% to 50% complete. We designed the front suspension with negative camber, but it totally lacks adjustability. The steering links on the spindles are at different lengths for a totally different style go kart steering system, so we’ll have to machine new arms. We still have to find a rear brake caliper and sort out throttle and brake linkages. Obviously, everything cockpit hasn’t been touched, except the brake and gas pedals.

 

[cbrianroll]

Dang....I missed this thread when it started. How awesome!

 

[Sderbyshire]

Wow, excellent project!
Fortunate bunch of kids at that school