The chassis.
The chassis of a go kart are made of steel tube. There is no suspension for go kart. Therefore the chassis have to b flexible enough to work as a suspension and stiff enough not to break or give way on a turn. Kart chassis are classified in the America as Open, Caged, Straight, or Offset. All CIK-FIA approved chassis are straight and open. Open kart have no roll cage surrounding the driver. Caged kart are mostly used on a dirt tracks. Usually straight chassis the driver sits in the center. Straight chassis kart are used for sprint racing. In offset chassis the driver sits on the left side. Offset chassis are used for left turn only speedway racing. The stiffness of the chassis enables different circumstances. Typically, for dry conditions, a stiffer chassis is better. In wet conditions, flexible chassis is better. The best chassis is an adjustable chassis according to race conditions.
Brake.
Braking is achieved by a disc brake mounted on the rear axle. Front disc only allowed for certain class. Two stroke category were only allowed to use disc brake for the front brake.
Engine.
There is two type of engine for go kart use. Two stroke engine is more powerful and produce more heat, more noise, more power because of the cycle. Amusement park go kart can be powered by 4-stroke engines or electric motor, while racing karts use small 2-stroke or 4-stroke engines. 4-stroke engine can be air cooled industrial based engines, sometimes with small modifications, developing from 5 to 20 horse power. Briggs and Stratton, Tecumseh, Kohler, Robin, and Honda are manufacturer of such engines. They are adequate for racing and fun kart applications. There are also more powerful 4-stroke engines available from manufacturers like Yamaha, TKM, Biland or Aixro (wankel engine) offering from 15 hp up to 48 hp. They run to and around 11,000 rpm, and are manufactured specifically for karting. Those are used in some National Championship classes like the two-strokes. 2-stroke kart engines are developed and built by dedicated manufacturers. WTP, Comer, IAME (Parilla, Komet), TM, Vortex, Titan, REFO, TKM, PRD, Yamaha and Rotax are manufacturers of such engines. These can develop from about 8 hp for a single-cylinder 60 cc unit (MiniROK by Vortex) to 90 hp for a twin 250 cc. Today, the most popular categories worldwide are those using the touch and go (TAG) 125 cc units. The recent 125 cc KF 1 engines are electronically limited at 16,000 rpm. Most are water-cooled today; however, previously air-cooled engines dominated the sport.
Transmission.
Karts do not have a differential. The lack of a differential means that one rear tire must slide while cornering; this is achieved by designing the chassis so that the inside rear tire lifts up slightly when the kart turns the corner. This allows the tire to lose some of its grip and slide or lift off the ground completely.
Power is transmitted from the engine to the rear axle by way of a chain. Both engine and axle sproket are removable; their ratio has to be adapted according to track configuration in order to get the most from the engine.
In the early days, karts were direct drive only, but the inconvenience of that setup soon led to the centrifugal clutch for the club level classes. Dry centrifugal clutches are now used in many categories (Rotax max is one example) and have become the norm as the top international classes have switched to 125 cc clutched engines as of January 2007.
Tires
Wheels and tires are much smaller than those used on a normal car. Rims are made of magnesium alloy or aluminium. Tires can support cornering forces in excess of 2 G (20 m/s²), depending on chassis, engine, and motor setup.
Similar to other motorsports, kart tires have different types for use appropriate to track conditions. slick, for dry weather. In international level racing these are some of the softest and most advanced tires in motorsport. Some car tire manufacturers, such as Bridgestone, Dunlop or, Maxxis make tires for karts. There are also specific kart tire manufacturers, which include MG, MOJO, and Vega. Slick kart tires come in many different compounds, from very soft (maximum grip) to very hard (amusement and rental karts, less grip but long life span). Rain tires, or "wets", for wet weather. They are grooved, made of soft compound, and are narrower than slicks. Not all racing classes allow rain tires. Special, such as spiked tires for icy conditions, or "cuts" for high grip dirt/clay speedways. Cuts are slicks modified with a lathe to optimize handling.
