Upgraded Drift Kart

My friend and I upgraded a kid's drift kart from 250 W to 1000 W.

It started with a conversation with a friend over lunch about how funny it would be to put a lawnmower engine into a Power Wheels car. After further research, we discovered Razor made a small go-kart for kids with hard plastic wheels in the rear specifically for drifting. We bought a used one on Craigslist and found, unsurprisingly, that the stock motor was too weak.

We replaced the stock 12V, 250W brushed motor with a 48V, 1000W brushless motor. We fabricated mounting brackets for the new motor and controller, and made retainers for the new batteries. The controller bracket featured rubber sandwich mounts to mitigate the amount of vibration the controller would experience.

The new motor provided way more torque and a higher top speed. The increased power coupled with the kart's short wheelbase, terrible brakes, and awkward seating position made this cart a blast to drive around in.