There are so many choices these days in home-made go karts: suspension go karts, flat frame go karts, full roll cage go karts...where to you start?

There are five main things to look for in a go kart design and they are:

1. Go Kart Riders

2. Center of Gravity

3. Vertical Engine Vs Horizontal Mount

4. Frame Fixturing/Ease of Construction

5. Safety Features

The first place to start is ask the questions that really count:

First how many people are going to be riding in this go kart?

The first question is pretty important because it dictates the size of the go kart, how much horsepower is needed, what gear ratio is needed and finally what size tires/brakes you will need to keep this bad boy maneuverable.

The second thing to look for is the center of gravity positioning. Very often this is overlooked and a simple moving of the front wheels forward (just because you need the room) has disastrous effects on steering performance. Instead of turning, you end up going straight.

The mistake that most home made go kart builders make is leaving out the center of gravity as a concern. A good go kart plan should have the Center of Gravity already taken into account for, so that major changes to the final go kart are not needed.

Third, a good go kart plan will also include the ability to put a vertical or a horizontal engine in the frame work. The vertical engine layout can be a challenge, but the main issue is will it fit, and second (and this is probably the most important issue) can it be worked on?

Fourth a good go kart plan will show you how to fixture the frame so that you can actually put it together. Very often the whole design may be there, but the actual, how to jig it and fixture it is a total enigma or difficulty. A good plan should show you step by step to put the go kart together.

Fifth, a good go kart plan should be adaptable to a full roll cage system so that maximum roll over protection is possible. Not that rolling over is the worst type go kart accident, but close to 75% of go kart injuries are head and neck trauma due to a roll over incident. A roll cage affords a measure of protection during a roll over.

These are the top five, there are others, but the main thing to look for is simplicity, low cost, and "can I actually follow these plans and make something?"

Minor Advice About Your First Go Kart:

You might want to steer clear of suspension go karts at the outset, because they are way too complicated. Bushings, and machined bolts usually enter the picture and that means machine shop and hundreds of bucks on the back end.

If this is your first go kart keep it simple, use a simple layout that is easily worked on, is safe and has good weight and handling performance.

And finally, finding parts for a go kart can be a challenge in and of itself. You can easily buy a plan for 20 bucks, but what are you getting in that whole package? A bunch of plans, or a bunch of plans an tips? Look for the best of both worlds where you can find a plan, boat load of tech tips, design tips, layout tips, where to buy parts tips and so on.

Just because you bought 5 go kart plans for 20 bucks doesn't mean a whole lot if you still can't figure out how to keep the clutch from smoking, or how to mount a vertical engine (from your grandpas old tractor) to the go kart.