Historically, the first go-cart, was built by Art Ingels in 1956. It was a simple affair with a two stroke cycle engine. Go karting has since then, come a long way, from a popular sport for airmen in the heyday’s to the current speed demons or superkarts, some of which are reported to cross 160 mph (260 Km/h) on asphalt!

The racing go kart is slightly modified compared to children’s go carts, since they are built for more speed and more endurance over various terrain. The more noticeable changes are in the wheels, which are much bigger, to offer better traction and stability and in the engines which are more powerful, with most Off road go carts having 150-250cc engines. Besides the horse power, there are other fundamental differences in the design of these carts with

· Higher clearance, to clear more ground based obstacles

· The adult models, have both rear as well as front shock absorbers, since enthusiasts will definitely try it out, on rough terrain

· A reverse gear

· Unique styling features, sometimes it’s tough to tell if the carts a dune buggy or vice versa

Racing go carts are basically open wheeled vehicles with no suspension. The basic components of an off road go cart, are the chassis, transmission, motor, seating for 1-2 people and 4 tires. Since, there is no suspension, the chassis itself must provide enough strength and flexibility to allow the cart to maintain its grip on the road, whether its going straight or taking a sharp left.

An underlying aspect of off road go carting, is the focus on safety. Since these race go carts can easily reach the speeds of a normal car, accidents, when they occur can be deadly, so a few safety provisions are always included such as seat belts and padding with helmets, gloves, shoes and thermal suits is recommended. With carts on the racing track, roll bars and caged chassis provide protection to the driver, in the event of the car rolling over. However extreme racing go carts your dealing with rough terrain and also go kart races that can be very dangerous as well.

Go karting is considered to be a stepping-stone to the world of high-speed racing. Racing greats like Sarah Fisher, Darrell Waltrip, Kyle Petty, Tony Stewart and Michael Schumacher were all Go carters, before they ventured into Indy or Formula One. Talent scouts often pick up the best talents from the go carting tracks and hone them into professionals. In fact, if you’re good enough to reach the top classes in go carting (and mind you, there are many classes), you should seriously consider professional kart racing.

There are many places to find racing cheap go karts for sale depending on what kind of driving level you are going to be classified in. Some are built bigger and faster than others. However, if you’re just in it for the fun, forget the competition. Remember what it was like to be kids, and just have fun!

If you are building it at home, you can use go cart kits as well as the materials that are available around you. In most cases, you use wood or iron as the base. An entire Iron base will increase the load and affect the speed of the go cart. If you are building one for yourself I would also look for a do it yourself manual on how to build a go cart, I would advise an iron frame with wood on it. This will give much strength to the Go Cart and more power to sustain the irregular terrains where go carts are used mostly. This also provides lesser load on the wheels than the entire base being iron.

If you are to purchase the go kart, you can buy one with a stainless steel frame and plastic chassis. This would be the best option as the engine you will be using will have to spend less power towards carrying the excess load of a Go Cart. The go cart frame chassis determines the maximum speed you can achieve through the engines you choose to have on your racing go cart. While there are not much options available when you go for the production racing go karts engine. Most of the ready made racing go karts employ the best engines that bring the cost of the overall Go Cart up.

On the other hand, if you are building your own fast go cart, you can select not only the chassis but also the engine. You can select one in your budget and use it with your racing go cart. You can also use a refurbished or spare go cart engine lying in used go karts you can find in the newspaper or internet. You get more options when you built your first car yourself.

The only thing you need is the understanding of what goes where and what all material will make it durable yet a light weight cart that can not only be used as fun, but also for the professional race go carts. Do not get disappointed if your first Go Kart, which you built yourself, failed midway a race. This means you need to improve your workmanship and should give you more strength to build a better kart the next time.

One of the problems that you face with racing go carts is that there is no suspension. Actually, as the wheels are smaller, there is no scope to include the suspensions in the vehicle. Take note that the basic chassis is built in a way that it also acts as a suspension. You may use a double base with small springs between the two, if you are build a go cart yourself. For pre-assembled racing go carts please check the suspension technique they used in building the Go Cart.