Rim/tire size?

Steve Heagney · Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 5:19 pm Post subject: Rim/tire size?

I am working on cleaning up my old kart and plan to put a box stock engine on it. It is an older margay, and has a 1-1/4" axle, so what size rim (in 5" or 6") and tire is generally preferred front and rear? Also, what is a ballpark maximum track width I should be expecting to run in the rear for a kart with this axle size? I need to get a new axle and am trying to decide on a length. Thanks in advance.

John Wehrheim · Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 5:59 pm Post subject:

Do you know what yr the margay is? I would keep with 5" rims if it's an old kart. I found that you need to do some tire testing. I found 450 fronts and either 600 or 650 rears. I was fastest using mg yellows on my 97 invader. Another tire that a lot of guys are using are Maxxis 5" with blue lettering. Guys that are using 6" are running Firestones.

Steve Heagney · Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:01 pm Post subject:

The kart is probably a mid 90's and I will most likely stick with 5" wheels. I used to go racing with a friend and his family, and they still have a bunch of wheels, most of which are 5", so I was just trying to get an idea of what I should look for width/offset wise. They may even still have the old notebooks with the setups and tire combinations we ran back in the flathead stock medium days. If so, that is probably the best starting point anyways. As a matter of fact, my friend raced invaders. They were always pretty fast. He just sold the last couple he had not too long ago. If box stock racing was on my radar back then I probably would have bought one of them.

John Wehrheim · Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:23 pm Post subject:

My son raced for Invader for several years and won a lot of Wka Man Cup races. I wish I still had one of his 2001 karts. We sold several of them down in Florida.

Rims I am using 5.25 fronts and 7.75 rears on the MG Yellows. If you want me to measure the offset, let me know