Building A

Go kart
From Ideation to
realization
INSPIRATION

tackling climate change. It appeared as a solution that intuitively made so much sense. An
electric vehicle contained 20 moving parts compared to the 2000+ parts of a traditional

powered vehicle. Since this discovery, I knew I wanted to have my own electric vehicle.

My fathers used a leaf blower engine, while my cousins used a gasoline motor. It seemed
like a natural progression to build one with an electric motor. To that end, I designed and
build this go-kart.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

with a peak power of 1000 Watts. Four 12 Volt batteries were connected in series to power

designed by me on fusion 360 using basic engineering principles.

In this document, I will describe extensively how this vehicle was built and the working
principles that apply to both recreational and commercial vehicles. It can be seen
as a guide for anyone wanting to build his or her own electric go-kart. While I was
researching how to build this vehicle I found a paucity of information on electric go-karts.
Most guides on building a Go-kart were built around a gasoline engine and included

information motivated me to create a guide that can help other novice builders navigate
this space. I have also given notes about my personal experience and the decisions I took
Step - 1

Designing the frame

multiple iterations to adjust for part size, engineering considerations and restrictions on
machinery. For example, the above image has excessive support for the second frame.

battery and motor. Inspiration for the frame was taken from free online plans and youtube
videos.
Step - 2

Constructing the frame

Pipes of AISI 4130 with a 2.5-centimetre diameter

and 3 millimetres were measured and cut to the sizes
required for the frame. A chop saw machine was used
to cut the pieces. Once cut they were smoothened

size were adjusted according to the size of the steering

column and other mechanical parts that had been
ordered. Side supports were welded to a metal sheet

they were completely welded.

Step - 3

Assembling the mechanical and

electrical components

needed for the go kart.

1) Steering Wheel-1 23) Master cylinder-1

2) Steering rod-1 24) Break pipe line-1
3) Steering wheel hub-1 25) disc nut volts- 4
4) Tie rod-2 26) Break pedal
5) Ball joint -4 27) Front rim
6) Ball joint nut-4 28) Front tyre
7) Stub axle-2 29) Rare rim
8) Stub axle D 2 30) Rare tyre
9) Stub axle lock nut-2 31) four bearing
32) four air valves
11) King Pin-2 33) Bearings bracket- 2
12) Steering Rod lock nut-1 34) Electric motor
13) Steering hub lock nut-3 35) Controller
14) Steering hub volt-3 36) 12 volt battery
15) Steering Hub lock nut pin-3 37) Electric pedal
38) Front lights
17) Steering column holder bearing- 1 39) Speedometer and ignition switch
40) Terminal socket plate
19) Calliper-1 41) Chain sprocket,
20) Bucket seat-1 42) MCB
21) Disc plate-1 43) Battery charger
22) Disc Hub-1 44) wiring harness
 Steering Geometry

principle in steering geometry. It is

necessary to ensure smooth cornering and
handling. Consider a cornering manoeuvre
where it can be assumed there is no vehicle
sliding present. As shown by the image on
the right, each of the tyres follows a unique

and therefore the outer tyre has to travel a

A solution to this was devised by

the German carriage builder Georg
Lankensperger in Munich in 1817. To avoid
slippage, the steering geometry must be

tyre must be larger than the angle of the

outside front tyre. To accommodate for this
angle change, he added a second pivot point
at the wheel hub.

For a and track width T, turn radius R,

wheelbase L, the angle required for the
front steering angles (δ_(f,in) and δ_(f,out))
can be calculated using the expressions
A guide to choosing the electric components
of an Electric Go kart
Choosing a motor
far quicker. Additionally, if overvolted too
high, the current could hear the motor and
DC motors. AC motors run on alternating eventually cause it to burn up and explode.
current in which the polarity reverses (+ and Generally, double is the rule of thumb. A
-) at a very fast rate. AC is generally used to 24 Volt motor could be run at a maximum
transmit electricity along long distances as it of 48 Volts. Overvolting a motor is not
is safer, however, it is not very feasible for a recommended for novices but can be done
by more experienced engineers.
in DC, which means to use an AC motor, one For a go-kart, a recommended voltage would
would have to add an inverter to the circuit. be between 24V and 48V. A voltage lower
You may think that may not be a problem than 24 volts may not supply enough power
as most of your appliances have inverters to the go-kart. Higher than 48V is also not
to convert the AC current in your socket, recommended as it will increase the number
however, electric motors have an ‘inductive of batteries required and it would be less safe
to work with.
2) Power
under would require a 5000-watt inverter to Power is a combination of both the Voltage
and current of a motor. A motor of 750
DC motors, on the other hand, supply a
direct current with a constant polarity and can however change for a heavier go-kart.
are recommended for a go-kart. What then, Generally, the total weight of a go-kart is
are the characteristics you should consider around 150 kilograms. For this weight,
when buying an electric motor? anything lower than 750 watts will be too
little, and anything above 3000 would be
1) Voltage
A low voltage motor is recommended for a gasoline go-karts have up to 6.5 Horsepower
go-kart, as the lower the voltage, the fewer which is equal to around 5000watt. However,
batteries the go-kart has to house. While unlike gasoline motors, in electric motors,
higher voltage will lead to more power, you there is no lag when accelerating. As a result,
can overvolt a motor to replace this power. 5000 watts would be unsafe for a kart of such
For example, if have a 24V motor, you could little weight. It is also important to realize
use three 12V batteries to run it at 36V.
You could theoretically run it even 48V or is rated for ‘instantaneous power’, meaning a
72V, however, the battery would run out 6.5 Horsepower motor, can run at that power
for a very short time. Usually just enough for
acceleration. Alternatively, electric motors wiring diagram. It is important to carefully
are rated for ‘continuous power’, meaning read and attach the wiring properly to ensure
that they can run at the power rating for as
long as required. some sets even come with foot throttles,
lights, horns etc... Most Golf cart controllers
Choosing a controller will serve the purpose, however electric
scooters and electric bike controllers may
also be used.

Choosing the right battery

batteries and a controller.

switch with which you get full power as soon deep discharge batteries. Starter batteries are
used in cars but are not ideal for a go kart.
as the heat from the surge power could weld
the contacts of your switch in the closed
charged by an alternator. If used on a go-
a go-kart at full throttle with no way to turn
it will be permanently damaged. A deep
discharge battery is recommended for a
go-kart. Furthermore, these batteries can
your batteries one at a time. You will need
most common types: lead-acid and lithium-
ion. Lithium-ion is far lighter and has

Alternatively, lead-acid batteries are heavier

safer as long as the wiring is carefully done.
If you wire the batteries wrong, you could your budget, they would be the best choice.
dead-short a battery which could cause the When buying a battery the last criteria to
battery to explode if you are unable to break consider is its Ah or the amp-hours of a
battery. Ah refers to how long a battery can
will drain much faster than your last battery
and consequentially, each battery will need 20Ah, 12V battery can provide 20 amperes
to be charged individually (not in series). at 24V of power for an hour before it dies.
You can work backwards to calculate how
you will need to stop driving immediately much Ah you would require. If you wanted
otherwise you risk over-discharging them, a 750 watt, 24V motor at maximum speed,
causing permanent damage. you would require a 31.3 Ah battery for it
to run for an hour. Generally, an 18-30Ah
ideal option but also the most expensive. battery is recommended for a go-kart.