5 "SPECIAL" TOOLS FOR KARTING, THE RESULT OF THE INVENTIVENESS OF PROFESSIONAL MECHANICS

Mattia Livraghi

13 January 2024 • 6 min. read

If you think that in the toolbox of a professional mechanic of a kart team you can only find the most expensive equipment and the most famous brands, you are very wrong. Because on the occasion of the most prestigious international karting competitions, we checked how different mechanics use tools modified or even created "by hand" from scratch. The basis of these small pieces of engineering, in addition to a lot of experience on the track, is the beating heart of our sport: the search for innovative solutions, optimizing costs, to manage karts in an increasingly fast and efficient manner. So, we asked some of these mechanics to reveal and tell us about these "homemade" tools, which anyone can be inspired by!

N.B. Do you think there are other products that can be added to this selection? Don't hesitate to share them with other TKART users in the "Contributions" section at the end of the article. The community will be grateful to you!

22 mm socket wrench for front spindle nuts

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This 22mm socket wrench is a "familiar item" in the paddock, because it is used to tighten and loosen the fastening nuts of the front hubs. The work carried out by a professional mechanic of international kart competitions who presented us with this tool (as he did for all his tool kit at the parc ferme, to learn more about it read "How to | The kit of the expert mechanic in parc fermé (and all the ways to use it") is first and foremost about the shaft. This part of the tool, which separates the handle from the socket, is in fact shorter than the traditional length, while the "handle" of the wrench is relatively longer. This modification is mainly dictated by a matter of comfort: a shorter shaft, combined with a longer handle for the grip, results in a lever more favourable to the type of work for which it is used. By reversing the proportions of the 22 mm socket wrenches on the market (with a longer shaft and a shorter "handle"), it is possible to carry out the same operations with less effort. In addition, the three elements of this wrench (socket, shaft and handle) have been welded together, so as to make the tool always ready for use.

Customised tool from a professional mechanic from the Kart Republic racing department