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The Ackerman Angle is what ever angle you end up with by the line running from the center of the kingpin (Spindle bolt) on each side of the front of the kart, to the center of the rear axle.

If you look at the photo, (See Link Below) There are 2 lines running down from the Kart, one from each of the pivot bolts in the spindle, running down to the rear axle (in the center of the axle)

That’s pretty much all there is to figuring out your ackerman angle.

You don’t need a computer to figure this out, simply lay the Kart flat on the ground, then using 2 pieces of string tie each end at the same points as in the picture.

Its important to make sure you have dead center in your rear axle, and to be sure your spindles are parallel to the rear axle.

Now for the average Joe building a kart for putting around the back yard, you really don’t need to have an ackerman angle..

However if you want your kart to handle the way it should, then you really should have the proper ackerman angle setup.

Adding this angle into the kart will improve it’s handling, without the angle the kart most likely won’t take corners smoothly and your tires will wear out faster.

Using this angle allows the two front wheel to turn by different amounts so that the tracks of the two front wheels are not the same.

If you’re still unsure about all of this, don’t worry it’s not that important to know how it all works,

Just know that it does help.

Now for those of you that already have spindles made, and want to add the ackerman angle, Just follow the same steps above, accept you’ll need to make a small set of brackets to offset your steering arms, ( see the picture ) In the picture, there is a close up of a spindle with a steering arm welded at 90 degrees, most spindles you buy will be at 90 degrees.

The reason for this is, every kart built will have it’s own unique ackerman angle, for someone to make a set of spindles for you with the EXACT angle you need, is almost impossible.

to many factors will be different from one kart to the next. So the bracket will fix the problem. Or, you can ask the builder to leave off the steering arms, so that you can weld them on yourself, once you have your angle figured out. (We are more then happy to do this for you)

I hope this info is of use to you, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Best regards TuFF

Below Is a Picture Showing You The Ackerman Angle, Note The Dotted Line Running From The Two Front Wheels To The Rear of The Kart Centering On The Axle.

That Is Your Ackerman Angle.

Posted on April 24th, 2008 under Business Credit Card • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback