Go-Cart Frames

Be careful, not all go-cart frames are the same.

The perfect go-cart frames are lightweight but very strong. Your frame helps the cart move forward on the road and keeps you safe in your seat where you belong. The way in which your frame or chassis is constructed is critical to the performance of your cart.

Go-cart frames hold your cart together and are welded together by torsion bars on the fastest professional carts. Shorter bars crossed together will give you a stiff frame. The longer the bars become, the more flexible your chassis will be. The different levels of flexibility depend on different road and moisture conditions.

Earlier go-carts had stiff frames, but these tended to break down easily. Simple carts do not have the suspension and tire traction to protect the frame as the cart turns accelerates and stops. If there is too little traction on your tires the weight transfer and stability won't be even and the sides will rip loose. Go-cart frames are responsible for determining the ease with which the cart can move on a variety of different terrains on wide and shorter turns.

The better your frame the better your cart will be able to get around the track. The most important aspect of this is performance when making turns. Even though a cart is built to withstand these weak go-cart frames can slide and drift or even overturn. So it's far safer to have a decent frame, too. "Side bite" is how well a go-cart can stay firmly planted on the track.

The way in which go-cart frames are designed influences how well it maintains its stability on turns and keeps the correct side bite. If rear rails are narrow (from 24¨ to 25¨ it will have less side bite. Wider rails are usually less than 30¨ on most go-carts. The wider the rails are the more stable your go-cart is going to be when turning.

Go-cart frames are constructed according to the surface you are riding on. Asphalt, concrete, or dirt tracks all require different types of frames. If the cart is going to be use on a dirt track the frame should have a short front rail and a longer back rail. The ideal frame for a dirt track is one with a narrow front and a longer back. For asphalt and concrete the frame should have a longer front section and shorter back rail.

So be sure to check out our pages about How To Build a Go-Cart, Racing Go-Carts, Racing Dirt Go-Carts, Go-Cart Kits, and Go-Cart Parts elsewhere on this site.