Who knows, though! Enjoy.
Edit: final thought: if you want to kart don’t get hung up on “what” you drive. Seat time is what matters. The guy who buys the inexpensive 4 stroke that he can race every weekend will probably become a better driver sooner than the guy who only gets to take his 2 stroke out once a month.
My advice would def be do a season or two in TAG, then look at trading up to shifter if that’s where you want to go.
Getting started there is so much to learn on track and so much coming at you, add when to change gear into the mix is overwhelming. Shifter guys are constantly working every second.
I started late. Super late (48 
) masters X30 tag. Love it, just entering second season with a ton of confidence after a first season playing at the back
There are several classes to choose from. My advise would be to check out the fields at whatever track you think you will be able to run the most. Go for a visit on a Race Day to see what people are running. I my area, North Texas, at the club level TaG 125 is stalled for growth, but the TaG 100 group is growing (IAME KA100/Rok VLR 100). On the four stroke front, LO206 has been pretty consistent with a good field. I think the biggest appeal for the 100cc class is lower operating cost than 125 (mostly due to harder tires that last longer) and simplicity of maintenance. Generally TaG and Shifter classes use a spec race fuel ($80/ 5 Gal can) and spec tires (hard/med-soft) depending on the class. Many of the LO206 classes use a hard tire and pump gas from a designated station ($1.85 - $3.00 / Gal).
You may also want to consider your weight. At 135 lbs. you are going to have to add Lead to make the minimum weight, which is okay. This issue becomes as you go up in Hp so does the minimum weight. You could find yourself in a situation where you have to add 50+ lbs to the Kart. Not ideal in that you can run out space to hang it. Additionally, do not feel like you are locked in to any one class. You can always trade up when you feel ready for the next challenge.
I think the point most of us are trying to make is we do not want you to get discouraged by overstretching your abilities too soon. Not saying Baby Steps, but a season or two in a 100 cc could improve your driving with more afforded seat time, yield experience with wrenching and give loads of insight into chassis setup. Those will all pay dividends when you step up to the next class/level. If your goal is to move up to the pro levels, a 100 cc KA 100 can get you there on a tighter budget than an SSE.
Yeap. Wot Greg said 
I appreciate it guys
What ever happened to Matt/TrueRacer? he just disappeared
I think they had a son and that diverted things a little.
I race world formula at a club level (beefy 206). I do a tent program with a local team (DR) and it costs me about $400 a race for transportation, fuel, race entree, mechanics and everything else they do. You could race 100cc at club level for about $500 a race with a tent program.
Elias,
what you expect to spend on tires and whatever maintenance lo206 required for a season?
Also Matt had a pretty scary flip at very high speed and walked away unhurt though his ride was totaled. Perhaps this, coupled with the new baby is why we don’t see him anymore. I would imagine a patreon campaign would get him back in the saddle easily, so he must be just taking a break.
you can do about 3-4 races on a tire competitively and there is almost no gain to having new tires every weekend. other than that, the engine has practically no maintenance and the only parts you need to buy are things you’ve broken in a crash. last year over 11 races I had 4 sets of tires (one track was BRUTAL on tires) but you could get by with 2-3 ($120 a set, 2 sets were included with my tent deal), couple parts for carb $50, axle $150 (bending axles isnt super common, I was just unlucky), 1 broken rim $60, 1 tie rod $10. Apart from tires, you can control how many things you need to fix. It was a large compact field of karts so I had a bit more damage than normal club racing.
Thanks! What I figured but good to see broken down.
I know of one guy at a club level that gets genuine sponsorship. I suspect to gets free crew from kart manufacturer, and maybe free entry fees from the track and some small support from his 3 or 4 other sponsors. This is because he brings value to them by putting well done videos with music, multi angle video, interviews, etc. And he has a little over 1000 subscribers.
If you want sponsors you have to figure out how you are going to bring real value to the sponsor. There are not nearly enough spectators for winning the races to be that way.
I think for Karting it is less about Money being made and more about Brand Ambassadorship. Companies are more likely to sponsor Karting Drivers, Teams and Series if they can associate their Brand with the Ideals or Characteristics of those they are sponsoring. I am sure their ultimate goal is to improve revenue, but more realistically they want to strengthen Loyalty to their Brand. Example: At a local level XYZ Drilling may sponsor a KA100 class. Banners at the track will show drivers that XYZ cares about supporting the Racers so next time they have a need, they are likely to call up XYZ over another. On a personal level, say PDQ Distributing sponsors a Driver or Team. Maybe they want to associate their Brand with consistency and perseverance. A driver or team may talk about those characteristics and how they relate to PDQ’s ideals.
I think in this day and age, social media has become a huge venue to showcase this. Most companies allot so much for advertising and if they can get someone else to do the leg work by building a following and thanking their sponsors, then there is a benefit. In terms of Money, its not likely to have the same ROI as a television commercial.
There’s a reason compkart is so prevalent in the f-series in the northeast. I’m not sure about who they sponsor other than Justin White (locally) but they appear to be pretty instrumental in the series and probably indirectly “sponsor” through prizes, promotions, etc. basically they appear to be intricately tied into the whole shebang.
Thats a lot of money. I could imagine it being much higher for 2 stroke karts
More for Tires and a lot more for engine Stuff. As long as you don’t start in shifter karts you can race affordably. It is possible to race 2 stroke on a budget
Don’t let any of this throw you off. It’s extremely worth it.
I have been racing for 22 years. I started at age 31. In those years I have raced the following class in the following order.
-Yamaha Heavy (Club and WKA Regional)
-125 Shifter, TM Moto (Club)
-TAG, Leopard (Club)
-Formula First, VW similar to Formula Vee (SCCA)
-Spec Racer Ford, Gen 2 and 3 (SCCA)
-Spec Miata (SCCA)
-Margay Ignite, LO206 (Club)
Now in order of favorite to least favorite
-Spec Miata (SCCA)
-Spec Racer Ford, Gen 2 and 3 (SCCA)
-Margay Ignite, LO206 (Club)
-TAG, Leopard (Club)
-125 Shifter, TM Moto (Club)
-Formula First, VW similar to Formula Vee (SCCA)
-Yamaha Heavy (Club and WKA Regional)
Spec Miata and Spec Racer Ford were close. Both were really close racing. The Miata was more balanced so more easy to learn new track since pushing too hard just scrubbed speed instead of sending you off backwards in the weeds. Margay Ignite has really good numbers. Last race had 26 karts. The one before 18. That is great for this area. I liked the power of TAG. If it or KA100 had better participation at my track I would run them. No other race vehicle was as cool as the shifter kart. It is the most wicked thing I have ever driven, and I have had the oppurtunity to drive some wicked vehicles. But participation was low. And it was just too much. A 36 second lap resulted in 22 shifts. I was so busy and so powerful it was impossible for me to focus on good corners. The remaining two were my introduction in to kart racing and then car racing. They were ok, but just that. More participation and they would be better.
My point of sharing is that if Shifter is what you want to race then do that, but do not chase it because you think that is what will be fun. Shifter does not come near to the favorite class that I have raced. LO206 is one of my favorite and is the lowest horsepower to weight ratio. My priority is a good class to race in and all else comes second. Actually good class practically comes after cost. I would still be racing Spec Miata but 4 race weekends of it cost about 6 times what 10 weekends of LO206 is costing me. Not to mention the $30k race car sitting in the trailer
What do you mean by lo206 being highest hp to weight? I thought shifters were
On a dollar basis tho for sure. I can’t think of another way to have a pure race kart run so effectively for so little money. Still baffles me how it’s not a thing in the northeast.