Spindle wear/axle wear

Does anyone know if spindles wear out overtime? I’m not talking about the bearings obviously they wear out. Say I have a perfectly straight set of spindles that have 5 seasons on them, would there be any benefit of throwing a new set on? I know metal gets softer over time as it is bent. A friend of mine who runs dirt says that every season he buys a new set of spindles and a new axle because the metals get soft and dont react as good as new. Hopefully you guys can shed some light on this for me!

Intriguing question. From a road and sprint track racing stand point, was never concerned about fatigue in the spindles. Neither the 17 or 25mm ones. Have replaced spindles but been due to contact and the arm has bent, not the actual spindle. With five seasons on your chassis, I’d suspect more fatigue in the chassis than the spindles.
Have seen spindles that seem to be no more than a 5/8-inch bolt welded to a pivot. Those I’d might question. I replaced a medium stiffness 50mm axle once after it had been used most of the time over several seasons. No noticeable change in the kart.
As for you friend running dirt, every karter has his/her feeling on what makes them as fast as they are. He may have a point since he’s only loading up one side of the kart for most of a race.
In your case, I’d pay attention to the bearings in the spindles and hubs, and the rear axle bearings. If you’re concerned about the spindles, replace them. If you do replace them, do it between session on a race weekend so you’ll be able to feel the change or not. The down side of replacement is you’re going to be out the money. The upside is you’ll have a space set of spindles.

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Thank you very much for the input tony!

Blake, you’re welcome.

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Never been worried about spindle wear and tear.

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