Technical

Building a grass kart

Start out with the best chassis you can afford, a new chassis will generally perform better than an old one. It’s nearly always cheaper to buy a rolling frame complete with axle, hubs, stubs etc than to buy a bare frame and try to find the parts you need.

Engine mounts, exhausts, wiring looms, sprockets and other necessary parts can be hand made, but are now available from various suppliers if you don’t have the skills or time. If you can’t find what you need feel free to contact us at christchurchgrasskarts@gmail.com

Fitting the motor and seat is critical to making the kart handle, weight should be distributed evenly over the rear wheels, and 60:40 rear to front. A pair of (or 4) bathroom scales will be helpful to weigh each corner of the kart, but remember to weigh it with the driver in it!. A kart with too much weight on one side will struggle to turn in the direction of that weight, but will be great turning the other way!

Once the motor and seat are installed build the front, rear and side bars. Read the rules carefully here as there are very specific regulations on size and placement of these. If you are at all unsure don’t hesitate to contact us by email.

Wheels and tyres are available from several suppliers, once again there are rules on what are permitted. These rules are written to keep costs down, and level the playing field, all of the tyres allowed are readily available and relatively cheap. Grass karts run on low traction surfaces, and we find that narrow rear track and wide front track work best. A good rule of thumb is that the measurement between the inside your front wheels should be the same as the rears.

Grass karts require a degree of fabrication, and being able to weld is a huge advantage, but the most important part of any kart is the driver, skilled driving can make a bad kart look good, but a poor driver can have the fastest kart in the race and still come last!

Remember that grass karting is about having fun, we don’t race for points, prizes or trophies (except at club champs) we simply race for the thrill of it.

Click here to download the 2024 New Zealand Grass Kart Rules