Under Review: PKT's Steel Chassis Guards

One of the best choices any kart racer can make is utilizing a chassis frame guard and protection kit on the underside of their go kart chassis. If you have a kart, chances are you've scraped the underside of the chassis a time or two. It's time to protect it! 

PKT's Steel Frame Protection Kit is outstanding within the field of frame guards due to the hard steel construction and attention to detail PKT put into this kit. This kit utilizes quality anodized fastening components and broad and adaptable steel components to keep the underside of your frame from scraping on the track. 

Watch the Video

Overview

Let's face it - damaging your kart isn't fun. In a sport that is already pretty expensive to get into (although we think it's very affordable for motorsport!), racers aren't looking to go out and create more parts runs for themselves. It's one thing to have a spare axle or tie rod in your pits, but an entire frame? Now not even most race teams do that! So, it stands to reason that you may want to protect it. 

The most common areas to get worn on the underside of a kart are the front frame tube and two areas known as the 'waist' of the kart. This area of the chassis is found adjacent to the fuel tank on most karts, and supports the floor tray, front nerf bar supports, and the front of the seat cross-bar / tab area. On most karts this is the lowest point of the frame relative to the ground. Couple that with going over curbs and running off the track, and its very common to find this area of the chassis worn down significantly. 

While a good pair of frame guards won't guarantee 100% protection of your frame, placing them in areas most prone to wear is a great way to start the process of protection. 

Frame Guards - Upping Your Resale Value

Most karters will eventually want to upgrade their chassis. As new models come on the market or their needs change, so too does their desire to sell their kart. One of the first places potential buyers will look likely will be on the underside of the chassis to inspect common wear areas for damage - this is the sign of an experienced buyer, and a great way to determine if the seller is telling the truth with how much time is on a kart, and how it has been treated. Don't get caught without a set of frame protectors when this happens!

Often, showing potential buyers that frame guards have been used on the chassis since new is a great way to earn trust with them, and show that you as a seller and owner of the chassis have taken care of the kart. Look at many classified listings, and you'll see this noted on many of them, with pictures to show the frame guards and frame condition on the underside as well. 

Installation

Installing a frame protection kit is fairly straight forward with quality components like this kit from PKT. In the Steel Frame Protection Kit, you'll get:

• (3) Steel frame guards - (2) for the waist area, and (1) for the front chassis tube
• (6) M5 Conical-head allen bolts, with associated rubber grommets and finishing washers / nuts to create a clean install look once mounted. 

To install the kit, the first major step is to find a way to access the underside of your kart. In our video of installation we happen to utilize a vertical kart stand, but using a kart stand or even leaning the kart on a table can work. Remove any old hardware that can be in the way of your guards, as well as the fuel tank to prevent drilling into the underside of it. Next, using a drill bit slightly larger than the mounting hardware (in this case a 9/64 drill bit was used), mark your mounting holes using a Sharpie or marker, and then drill into the floor tray in appropriate areas. You'll need to drill (2) holes for each chassis guard. 

Once that is done, installation is simple! Thread through your attachment hardware, and use the included nylock nuts and washers to secure the chassis guards in place. As you tighten down the guards, don't be surprised if you meet a little resistance at first - you're going to be cinching these guards down tight against the frame for best results! !

To see more of the PKT chassis guards in our store, check them out here.