Good afternoon. I am here to present a new product in the go-kart industry – active suspension. My proposal hopes to improve safety and performance, all while staying cost-effective and within reach for all consumers regardless of their use case being professional or recreational. Currently, commercial go-karts that you and I can rent in 5 minutes do not use any active or passive suspension systems, as they don’t go fast enough to justify the need for any type of suspension to be implemented at around 30-70 km/h. However, there are a different class of karts accessible to professionals that can go well up to 150km/h. At these speeds, suspension would play a beneficial part in improving lap times and safety. Cornering at these insanely high speeds while strapped into a small go-kart can be quite dangerous, possibly lifting a wheel off the ground and not giving the driver the grip they would have if all 4 tires were on the ground, which also means it is less safe for the driver. Their current solution for these professionals is passive suspension, where the chassis is quite flexible, designed to absorb bumps and provide necessary handling characteristics. My proposal is if an active suspension system is implemented on the front axle, handling will improve, and rear suspension can stay passive to stay cost-effective since the primary function of rear suspension is better ride quality. Current challenges I see with my current constraints of time and money are testing, where I do not have the resources or time to test 2 different karts. Currently, my proposed solution is a double wishbone setup for the front axle. Any Questions?

Proposal Overview:

• Aims to improve safety and performance while staying cost-effective and accessible for both professional and recreational users.
  

Current State of Go-Karts:

• Commercial rental go-karts (30-70 km/h) lack any suspension due to relatively low speeds.
  
• Professional go-karts can reach up to 150 km/h, where suspension could improve performance and safety.
  

Challenges at High Speeds:

• High-speed cornering can cause wheels to lift, reducing grip and increasing risk.
  
• Lack of full tire contact leads to poorer handling and reduced safety.
  

Existing Solutions:

• Professional karts use passive suspension, where the chassis flexes to absorb bumps and enhance handling.
  

Proposed Solution:

• Implement active suspension on the front axle for better handling.
  
• Keep rear suspension passive to remain cost-effective, as its main function is ride comfort.
  
• Use a double wishbone setup for the front axle.
  

Challenges:

• Limited time and resources for testing across multiple karts.
  
• Need to validate the effectiveness of the active front suspension concept.