Go-kart steering design

Brief description of our go-kart project's steering mechanism. This evolved from early sketches featuring steel cable-operation directly acting on the steering arms. This approach would probably have worked but would have interfered with suspension motion adversely and be prone to cable stretch and hence steering slop. The final design retains a remnant of cable operation in the 'capstan and bowstring' mechanism but fully isolates the steering motion from the suspension motion.

The steering column directly operates the capstan around which the bowstring cable is wound three turns and anchored in the centre to avoid slip. The carriage runs on a pair of highly polished steel rods recycled from a printer. Balljoints connect the steering tie rods to the steering arms.

The advantage of this design is low cost and home-buildability when compared with a rack-and-pinion which is an expensive item to buy at this sort of size - much larger and much smaller ones are readily available. Compared with a Pitman arm type arrangement this gives a larger available steering lock angle and lower steering ratio - the result is light and controllable steering without (we hope) the twitchiness of some home-built go-kart mechanisms.

The steering geometry here implements full Ackermann and minimises bump-steer due to the maximal length tie-rod arms.

Видео Go-kart steering design канала GRAHAMAUS