I have resently started building a gokart on steroids as my friends are calling it. My question is, is there any features in a dune buggy that you guys really like? Im not really building this buggy for sand, more hills, woods, and open fields. But it may end up at some dunes in the distant future. So far I have started building the roll cage out of 1 5/16" round tubing. I am going to make a rear axle/swingarm off of a golf cart, It has forward/neutral/reverse. And it will be sporting a Polaris 400 snowmobile engine with Torq converters.I hope I will have enough low end to pull this thing. Im going to make the swingarm pivot on the roll cage. And the front end will be Independent suspension. I may find a rolling chasis from a quad and steal the A arms,spindles,tires and shocks. If the A arms arent beefy enough I can make my own, with a little R&D. Right now I am at a stand still in the Cage design until I can find a Steering column thats about 3.5 to 4 feet long. I was wondering if there where any features in a dune buggy/gokart that you guys really like. Im sure there have got to be some other things I can factor into the design of this thing. I am looking into tricking this thing out when I get it working good, and all the bugs out. Let me know what you guys like in certain models. I am also curious about suspension. I may steal shocks off of a fourwheeler, but they may not have enough travel for my liking, or may not be stiff enough out of the box. Any recommondations for shocks?
Gokarts on steroids/ Dune Buggy Building
- Thread starter 91KDX
- Start date
- Aug 3, 2004
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Take a long hard look at this thing.
- Aug 29, 2004
- 2,958
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some buggies have single rear wheel braking available . by use of a lever , kind of like an emergency brake that used to be in the console , you can pull up for left rear tire and down for right rear tire. this is useful for turning sharper whil the front tires are low on traction or in the air :aj: also if you will be going with slip posi traction it will help overcome a simple stuck from a free wheel
- Thread starter
- #4
Wow. Talk about awesome! The one has got like 24.5 inches of front end travel! And then I saw the price tag. If I had an extra $30,000 laying around I would definatly buy one. So far I havent had to purchase anything for this contraption. The individual braking system is an interesting concept, but I dont know if I would be able to build it into my design since the rear end is solid already. But I will definately consider it if this rear end ever gives out. Are there any recommondations for suspension and travel? To me 24.5 inches seems like a little overkill. What are the specs on other buggys/carts? And I got to thinking about the engine I have. I am curious how much horsepower it has. Its a Polaris twin 400 snowmobile engine, if anyone knows the specs on it let me know. Thanks for the help.
Benjamin
Benjamin
- Aug 3, 2004
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The one that is $30,000 has a 190HP 1300cc Hyabusa engine in it. Could you imagine running Baja in that thing, it would like a dream.
Apples to oranges, but the Formula Drakart has a 600cc twin rotax 2-stroke that puts out 110HP. I'd say your motor would be in the 80-90 range? maybe more?
Apples to oranges, but the Formula Drakart has a 600cc twin rotax 2-stroke that puts out 110HP. I'd say your motor would be in the 80-90 range? maybe more?
- Thread starter
- #6
Thanks, I have been searching around on the internet looking for some specs on the engine, but no luck yet. Yeah The baja 1000 would be awesome to run in with a Drakart. But my jaw definatly dropped when I saw the price tag. But just from looking at the pics, I would say its definatly worth it!
Benjamin
Benjamin
- Aug 3, 2004
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They are producing a high HP no-holds-barred single seater race buggy. The price reflects that. I'd love to own one one day, or even just ride in one.
- Thread starter
- #9
Is there anything I can do to get better performance out of the engine I have got? I was thinking about maybe a pipe modification, open up the air box, rejet, etc. If push comes to shove I will find another engine, but so far everything I have used I have gotten for free. Most everything I have used I had lying around the farm. I think if this engine doesnt cut it, I may try a bigger fourwheeler engine. It sure would be nice not to have to mess with drive-belts all the time. I will see if I cant get some pics of the frame up on the internet. Thanks for the help.
Benjamin
Benjamin
50hp would still be pretty quick for a gokart, you could look around the snowmobile sites and see if you can find a pipe or something. i really don't think you would find one because they are generally beginner sleds. but that motor could still propel you upward of 60mph if you wanted it to.
- Aug 3, 2004
- 1,003
- 0
BDAY said:
Not much quicker than a yfz or crf quad.
