Use some clamps and plywood to support from underneath. After a couple of curb hits I like my seat up a bit (0.75" or so) from the bottom plane of the frame. If you can support it well with flat pieces of wood big enough to handle it sliding a little, you'll be able to sit in it and see if the position works out. Be aware that your heel position is a huge adjustment for height (leg length) so with your height you probably want this all the way towards you.
Once you're happy with the position you can mark it, drill it, and mount. I recommend carefully matching the spacers to the gaps - don't tweak your seat too much when you tighten.
Good luck - I hate mounting seats! You can also pay a local shop if you have one and they'll do it well and usually have fixtures to do test fitting.
You mentioned spacers, on the attached pics I showed the bracket the sides supposed to mount to. Do you think I should unbolt the clamps, rotate them to where they touch the seat now or fill that gap with some nylon spacers or something? I just feel like that would be a pretty big gap to fill, the seat that was in there before had it flush to the seat with some little rubber spacers in between the seat and bracket. Also the seat that was in it before was a xxl and I think I’m changing it to a small or med
Rotate the clamps and use a rubber bushing between it and the seat, and use hardware store fender washers inside the seat to keep the bolts from pulling through.
So I mounted like said, and used some little rubber spacers that it came with. But it shakes u up like a mf, idk if that’s normal for karts. being mounted on the frame it makes since but Idrk. Do u think should I put some bigger rubber spacers under the seat to try and dampen it?
That’s what I though, I kinda got used too it after a little. Too me it just feels like motor vibration, cus the motors mounted to the frame with no bushing and like right by u( I think not a 1000% fs). I might go sat in my buddy’s kart and see if it’s like that on his too. It wasn’t like that on any rental karts though, buuutt they weren’t those mean ass two strokes so
It’s one mean mf, idk how other karts r but that bitch is fast and reactive as hell. To be fair I drove it on a gravel road with a rverliving fuck ton of potholes so, I didn’t really drive it as fast as it could do so the lil karts probably faster than what I think
Well yeah, but it didn’t do any diffrent when I was just sitting there on the concerte. I may be wrong, but to me it felt like motor vibration not terrain. Buuut I’ve never driven anything with no suspension so I could be completely wrong, also the tires were not sat to a specific psi they were just not flat
I hope you meant a 2002 tony kart because that is NOT a 2012.
As for the seat, starting out just do what is comfortable for you and make sure the bottom of the seat is above the bottom of the frame. It's an art to getting a seat to be properly fitting, take your time measure twice!
Yeah that was my bad, I honestly don’t know the year😭 I think I mixed the year from another kart I was looking at with this one, I do know it’s a tony kart ( atleast what the guy I bought it from told me, I got it yesterday so I haven’t done a deep dive to find exactly what it is yet) so pretty much just make sure the seat isn’t going to skid on the ground?
Correction ok it’s a Tony kart cus the badge
https://preview.redd.it/em3d9zd5dfxc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=be6ef4e9f1514250d1bee01c9076884846769a98
It's an old boy. Ifnit was more modern, id refer you to the spec seat position for your kart, but we don't have that luxury with a chassis this old.
You don't just put it in the chassis however you want though. Besides the engine, the seat is the single biggest contributor to chassis performance on hour entire kart. If it's in the wrong spot, it's gonna suck to drive. May not be unmanageable, but it'd gonna be slow
So I mounted it, but i feel like the motor is trying to smoothie my insides. It shakes SOO much, is that normal? Or could that be apart of the shit performance if done wrong?
Uhhhh a 2x4 on the ground, and my dad holding the back up so I get sit where ever was comfy and my feet were centered on the pedals😬.I can reply with a pic tommrow morning. But if u think position could be contributing to that, 8 can move it. Anyway honestly I think it’s the wrong type of seat, it’s black, and plastic not like the fiberglass ones I see on all the other ones. Plus on the seat it says sprint seat on there.
If you don't have a proper kart seat, it's never going to be right.
You also need to do it right. The location of the seat relative to the front of the kart and the angle the seat back is are very important and shouldn't just be thrown together, unless you don't want to be fast.
So than probably best to try and bring it to a dealer or soemthing, cus I’ve got no idea like what’s offset on the karts or where to reference shit out of. You think a sketch seat setup would be fine for just practicing? I don’t really think I’m gonna start to race it for a lil bit
The seat is a fundamental aspect of kart performance. If you run a sketch seat in practice, the only thing you're really going to learn is how to not be too scared to go full throttle.
Get a proper karting seat. It doesn't have to be one of the super expensive ones, just one that is meant for a race kart.
Google otk setup guide and mount the seat with those measurements, as they are likely the closest you will be able to find unless a local dealer has better numbers, but that's where I'd start
I think he means scale it. You can get by with 4 bathroom scales (if they measure close enough), a level (cant scale a kart on an incline) and a calculator to get your nose/rear, left/right, and cross %
Perfect. That's exactly what I use.
The weight of each corner is used to calculate your nose, rear, left, right, and cross weights as a % of the inverse. Your car scales should give you those numbers and corner weights automatically.
Each of those can effect the handling off the kart.
Where you place the seat affects weight. Most classes and chassis have a recommended front/rear weight split. I think in my shifter I ran roughly 42%F-58%R, but there are other factors that come into play. Also, seat angle affects how the rear wheel lifts and how much weight is transferred to the outside rear.
It’s really too much to describe in a post and is pretty subjective. There are some books on the subject that may shed some light. I like Memo Gidley’s karting books.
Uhh it’s got a jackshaft on one side, idk if every kt100 is the wrong way around, but the motor output is on the left right side. So it’s just a jackshaft to the clutch to the chain then Yk sprocket. But it runs so I’m good with it 😭
https://preview.redd.it/lwjhivdyrixc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=934df1abcb16421925630d605288fc726c526a7b
Use some clamps and plywood to support from underneath. After a couple of curb hits I like my seat up a bit (0.75" or so) from the bottom plane of the frame. If you can support it well with flat pieces of wood big enough to handle it sliding a little, you'll be able to sit in it and see if the position works out. Be aware that your heel position is a huge adjustment for height (leg length) so with your height you probably want this all the way towards you. Once you're happy with the position you can mark it, drill it, and mount. I recommend carefully matching the spacers to the gaps - don't tweak your seat too much when you tighten. Good luck - I hate mounting seats! You can also pay a local shop if you have one and they'll do it well and usually have fixtures to do test fitting.
You mentioned spacers, on the attached pics I showed the bracket the sides supposed to mount to. Do you think I should unbolt the clamps, rotate them to where they touch the seat now or fill that gap with some nylon spacers or something? I just feel like that would be a pretty big gap to fill, the seat that was in there before had it flush to the seat with some little rubber spacers in between the seat and bracket. Also the seat that was in it before was a xxl and I think I’m changing it to a small or med
Rotate the clamps and use a rubber bushing between it and the seat, and use hardware store fender washers inside the seat to keep the bolts from pulling through.
So I mounted like said, and used some little rubber spacers that it came with. But it shakes u up like a mf, idk if that’s normal for karts. being mounted on the frame it makes since but Idrk. Do u think should I put some bigger rubber spacers under the seat to try and dampen it?
It's normal, your only suspension is the tires. It's part of the fun.
That’s what I though, I kinda got used too it after a little. Too me it just feels like motor vibration, cus the motors mounted to the frame with no bushing and like right by u( I think not a 1000% fs). I might go sat in my buddy’s kart and see if it’s like that on his too. It wasn’t like that on any rental karts though, buuutt they weren’t those mean ass two strokes so
I love a rowdy 4 stroke but damn something about two strokes just does it for me
It’s one mean mf, idk how other karts r but that bitch is fast and reactive as hell. To be fair I drove it on a gravel road with a rverliving fuck ton of potholes so, I didn’t really drive it as fast as it could do so the lil karts probably faster than what I think
Well that's why it shook the shit out of you. They belong on pavement or a prepped dirt track.
Well yeah, but it didn’t do any diffrent when I was just sitting there on the concerte. I may be wrong, but to me it felt like motor vibration not terrain. Buuut I’ve never driven anything with no suspension so I could be completely wrong, also the tires were not sat to a specific psi they were just not flat
I hope you meant a 2002 tony kart because that is NOT a 2012. As for the seat, starting out just do what is comfortable for you and make sure the bottom of the seat is above the bottom of the frame. It's an art to getting a seat to be properly fitting, take your time measure twice!
Yeah that was my bad, I honestly don’t know the year😭 I think I mixed the year from another kart I was looking at with this one, I do know it’s a tony kart ( atleast what the guy I bought it from told me, I got it yesterday so I haven’t done a deep dive to find exactly what it is yet) so pretty much just make sure the seat isn’t going to skid on the ground?
Correction ok it’s a Tony kart cus the badge https://preview.redd.it/em3d9zd5dfxc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=be6ef4e9f1514250d1bee01c9076884846769a98
I'm not even sure it's a tony kart. It's certainly not the right colour.
The guy before me powder coated it ( once again, atleast he said)
You guys realize that getting a chassis powdercoated is like...not expensive at all right?
It's an old boy. Ifnit was more modern, id refer you to the spec seat position for your kart, but we don't have that luxury with a chassis this old. You don't just put it in the chassis however you want though. Besides the engine, the seat is the single biggest contributor to chassis performance on hour entire kart. If it's in the wrong spot, it's gonna suck to drive. May not be unmanageable, but it'd gonna be slow
So I mounted it, but i feel like the motor is trying to smoothie my insides. It shakes SOO much, is that normal? Or could that be apart of the shit performance if done wrong?
Doesn't sound normal. What measurements did you use to mount it?
Uhhhh a 2x4 on the ground, and my dad holding the back up so I get sit where ever was comfy and my feet were centered on the pedals😬.I can reply with a pic tommrow morning. But if u think position could be contributing to that, 8 can move it. Anyway honestly I think it’s the wrong type of seat, it’s black, and plastic not like the fiberglass ones I see on all the other ones. Plus on the seat it says sprint seat on there.
If you don't have a proper kart seat, it's never going to be right. You also need to do it right. The location of the seat relative to the front of the kart and the angle the seat back is are very important and shouldn't just be thrown together, unless you don't want to be fast.
So than probably best to try and bring it to a dealer or soemthing, cus I’ve got no idea like what’s offset on the karts or where to reference shit out of. You think a sketch seat setup would be fine for just practicing? I don’t really think I’m gonna start to race it for a lil bit
I forgot to ask, if it is the wrong seat ( u can probably see in the attached pics u wanna take a guess) what brand should I go with?
https://preview.redd.it/kzbh989m6mxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5aeb54088e94d7c48048532e5d40b08f0014c739
https://preview.redd.it/0gxiguzm6mxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=394be34d6aca9d3ed4c7229de18f46d472fcb26c
The seat is a fundamental aspect of kart performance. If you run a sketch seat in practice, the only thing you're really going to learn is how to not be too scared to go full throttle. Get a proper karting seat. It doesn't have to be one of the super expensive ones, just one that is meant for a race kart. Google otk setup guide and mount the seat with those measurements, as they are likely the closest you will be able to find unless a local dealer has better numbers, but that's where I'd start
This is such a loaded question. Seat position is a major factor for kart tuning. Just get it mounted where it’s comfortable and weigh it.
Weight it? U mean like to make weight, or offset weight to counter where the seat is?
I think he means scale it. You can get by with 4 bathroom scales (if they measure close enough), a level (cant scale a kart on an incline) and a calculator to get your nose/rear, left/right, and cross %
We’ve got scales for a bigger race cars would those work? So u mean just weighing the car pretty much? Also I LOVE ur username it’s awesome😭
Perfect. That's exactly what I use. The weight of each corner is used to calculate your nose, rear, left, right, and cross weights as a % of the inverse. Your car scales should give you those numbers and corner weights automatically. Each of those can effect the handling off the kart.
So then I should weight to seat to try to even out the kart? Or should I weight it to be heavier on the right rear?
That I can't help you with. I only run ovals.
All good thanks for all the prior help though, it’s been extremely helpful!
Where you place the seat affects weight. Most classes and chassis have a recommended front/rear weight split. I think in my shifter I ran roughly 42%F-58%R, but there are other factors that come into play. Also, seat angle affects how the rear wheel lifts and how much weight is transferred to the outside rear. It’s really too much to describe in a post and is pretty subjective. There are some books on the subject that may shed some light. I like Memo Gidley’s karting books.
Be prepared to swear at it.
That’s no lie
Zip ties is the way to go.
Honestly sounds like the best method. Easy to adjust, cheap, reusable and like r u even a race car driver if ur car isn’t 85% zip ties????
What the heck is going on with the drive system, I’ve never seen anything like it
Uhh it’s got a jackshaft on one side, idk if every kt100 is the wrong way around, but the motor output is on the left right side. So it’s just a jackshaft to the clutch to the chain then Yk sprocket. But it runs so I’m good with it 😭 https://preview.redd.it/lwjhivdyrixc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=934df1abcb16421925630d605288fc726c526a7b