Getting into karting

Getting into karting with a low budget? Any tips?

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Yeah. Don’t :rofl:

No seriously tell us a bit more please fella, like where are you in the world, how savvy are you with mechanics n stuff? What’s your level now - dabbled in rentals or nothing at all?

Don’t buy the first kart you see.

Give us your budget, location and the kind of karting you want to do.

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It’s possible to do it on a “low” budget, absolutely. Everyone’s definition of “low budget” varies though.

Need a bit more information.

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Agreed!! Paying the price now from early mistakes!! Newer chassis coming soon! My wife doesn’t understand lol but I still get to!!

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Sprint or Road Race? And what do your local tracks allow?

If Sprint I would avoid shifter karts. Depending on the track a 100cc or 125cc TAG kart can be just as fast with much less workload (and you can drive with both hands). Note that any 2-cycle engine is not necessarily low-budget.

Welcome!

Karting is the best value in racing on four wheels. As a couple of folks said though, we need an idea of your budget. Both how much upfront to purchase your kart and gear and then what you imagine you ongoing/monthly budget looks like.

Location can help us narrow down your options too.

The most inexpensive class is generally the Briggs 206. You can, on rare occasion find good used karts around the $1800 mark. Generally you’re looking more around $2200 upwards.

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Budget karting he says n you open with shifters! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

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I would also recommend the Briggs LO206 class. For us the biggest expense is the race entry fee followed by our track membership that allows unlimited practice. Unless we have a collision it’s very reasonable.

Go big or go home.:rocket::small_airplane::rocket::artificial_satellite:

What I started with, $1500.

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Hi their I mostly want to do road racing, mostly. than where would I find a kart?

Hello there. My yearly budget is about $10,000 Plus i live in Sacramento,CA

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Paging @Norcal_Karters

For road racing checkout: https://nckroadracing.com/

Not 100% sure what they have for entry classes. $10k is a decent budget

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For road racing a shifter is a lot of fun. A used well sorted 125 with spares, tires, fuel etc. should fit that budget.

Hi Timothy and Welcome.

I would start, as James suggested, with looking into your local clubs. See what is racing and what kind of support is available at the local races. Most shops/teams sponsor or have support tents at the local tracks. Whatever brand/engine package you buy, you will want someone to support you by way of setup advise and spares. Go to a race or two as a spectator and ask around. Generally Karters are very approachable and willing to point you in the right direction. We like having bigger fields, so growing the sport is good for everyone. Look for the larger tents as they are generally Team or Shop based. Often you can pair up with a team initially to learn and get help along the way. They will usually charge a fee, but it sounds like your budget is on point for that.

Hi Timothy, $10k yearly budget is good place to start. I know you said you want to road race but you live in the absolute Meccah for karting with more good local kart tracks to your location than anywhere else in the United states. You have Kinsmen in Dixon, CA, Bluemaxx, Stockton, Prairie City (epic track with a cool laguna seca corkscrew replica and awesome facility), and also world class track at Sonoma raceway, not to mention great tracks in both Redding and Reno for a little driving.

I would strongly suggest at least checking them out before you make a decision. You can buy a membership that comes with a key to the track where you can race as much as you want for $350 a year at some of those tracks too, which is great budget fun.

the “lo206” class is the best budget racing out there if trying to get very even racing on the minimal budget, if you’re looking for something faster then there is a big 80 shifter class growing in norcal that race all the local tracks mentioned above that is very budget friendly and could likely be done for <$10k a year as well, and the good thing about 80 shifters is some guys road race them also so if you went that route you could do both sprint races at local tracks and bigger track road racing.

There is a small club event on 9/13 it looks like at Bluemaxx in Davis, you should come out and check out what everyone is racing and everyone is a big family that are all happy to help out and talk your ear off and you may find some good leads on good karts for sale too, I know of a few good used karts for sale I’m happy to connect you with. Let me know if you end up at the event and happy to try and be helpful also and show you around :slight_smile: I also know a local shop that will bring karts out to the track for you to rent so you can test drive stuff before committing I can intro you to

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start with a 4stroke there is a lot of competition and its cheap to maintain lots of people start with 2strokes and then they quit because they cant afford it

In world of outlaws? I hope you have a half a million plus just to get chassis/spares/motors/tires/hauler etc.

Biggest difference? About 750 horsepower and a $100 grand on the low side

Not trying to be rude but you need to figure out what you want and what your budget is. Karts and outlaws have zero comparison.

Edit: if dirt is your thing look up UAS. Bad ass dirt karts. But your 10k budget won’t get you far since you’ll need quite a bit of that for chassis/motor/tires

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Debating whether to race karts or go with the World of Outlaws?? Seriously?? I hope I’m wrong but there’s a trace of troll smell here.

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