Hey everyone,
I currently have a Kosmic kart and possibly looking to get a TonyKart next. Formula K caught my eye mainly because of the flashy sticker kit. Does anyone know much about these karts and how they compare to brands like OTK, Birel ART, Arrow, CRG etc?
Cheers.
IPK makes Praga, OK1 and FK karts. I own a Praga Dark and I can honestly say it’s been a very good competitive kart. Even on the dark which is considered an entry level kart, the components are second to none. All quality materials and I think IPK has one of the best rear brake systems in the industry. I absolutely love it versus my Compkart brakes. Modern karts are all manufactured to be competitive with one another and from what I see at my local track dominated by Tony Karts, they’re not the one always on the top step. I’ve seen various brands like Birel, Praga, Compkart, CRG etc win. Just my opinion but I don’t think you can go wrong with one of IPK’s brands. Most will tell you to run what’s supported at your track, but the service components you may need are easily available online fairly quickly. Other things like bearings, a steering shaft, axles, hubs etc for example are interchangeable for the most part of you happen to have an on track incident and need to swap something with a different brand.
Every Praga I’ve driven has been really soft. But they’re perfectly fine karts.
Most modern karts are competitive if set up and driven well. Support for parts, service, and tuning should be your primary objective when picking what brand you want to be on.
The new fighter chassis ('22 onwards) is actually quite stiff esp in its 30/32 mixed tube option, stiffer than a CRG. Quality of the components, especially the braking system are a notch above everyone else (in my opinion). Same for design details like the front seat supports, pedals, chain tensioner etc, but all that is not going to necessarily make you go faster than any other brand.
And it’s all useless if you don’t have local support or able to figure and source things out yourself. Dealership network is weak in US compared to other brands, but I think recently ANSA became official importer, so some things are changing
I’ve heard parts and support can be hard to find depending on where u are. If you think you can get good support with them, it can work but nothing wrong with the OTK in my opinion.
Parts are easy; mondo kart ships from Italy crazy fast - I got an axle in less than a week. Most consumables are fairly universal, too.
I agree mondo is fast but what if you break something on race day? Can you get what you need at the tracks you race?
As said above, there are lots of generic parts like tie rods that are commonly broken, and I can get those easily on race day. Same for bodywork, engine, and drivetrain. Axle is pretty much the highest risk of breaking and not being able to find on race day. I happened to bend mine during a heat and just tolerated the vibration for the final (wasn’t awful but wasn’t good either). I wouldn’t have attempted an axle swap between the events anyways with how new I am.
Backing up a little, my trackside shop was a Praga dealer when I bought mine, so I don’t mean to dismiss that. Having local support is great, but it’s not the end all be all either.
The easy answer to trackside support is have your own spares on hand. Steering column, spindles, axle etc. Even if there is a dealer at the track, id rather walk into my trailer and grab parts, than go track down the dealer and hope he’s available and has it on hand, then just restock your own trailer when you use something.