I’m trying to enter the USPKS or Route 66 Championship because they both host races near me and use the engine that I want, the IAME X30 Junior. I’ve heard most people say a kart of this type costs around 3-3.5K not including safety equipment and maintenance. From what I’ve seen, you can buy a used chassis for around 1.5-2k without wheels or an engine and is well into my price range. The problem is that a new X30 motor costs well over 3k new and I don’t know where to search for used ones. This means that it would cost me well over 5k to build not including maintenance or safety equipment which there’s no way I can afford.
From my limited experience buying a kart piece meal wouldn’t be the most economical way. Like most things, it’s cheaper to buy complete. Are there used karts with x30’s around?
To get into karting, yeah. $3,000 is a decent number. You can find a frame, motor and all the needed stuff for that.
To run USPKS or Route 66, you could do both weekends for $3,000, not including the kart and other stuff.
Have you raced karts before? I have to assume you’re talking about being near New Castle Motorsports Park, the only track USPKS and Route 66 both visited this year.
(I’m editing this because I responded immediately after walking up from a nap and really didn’t answer very effectively)
Also, if you’re just starting in karting, I highly recommend getting an LO206. This is twofold. If you are brand new, I don’t recommend entering either of those series for a couple years. They’re both very competitive and it is not suited for new drivers. A 206 will be much cheaper and cost effective, plus easier to learn on. It’ll still take a couple years to get enough track time in to be competitive with the Route 66 field, so you could spend a while on a 206 in order to get the basics down before buying a KA100 or X30, the two engines run in USPKS for junior racing.
If my guess you’re from around New Castle is correct, Comet Kart Sales should have some used karts for you, Top Kart USA is also nearby and may have frames for you but probably not engines.
Plenty of used X30s around. Check with local kart shops or engine builders. You don’t need a new engine at all.
Also, you’re trying to enter a regional and national program, so that’s going to be much more expensive than a local race. If you are just getting into karting, I would highly recommend against entering either of those series, as the competition level is going to be WELL above your skill level. You should be looking at entering local club races first. Where are you located?
Can you talk a bit more about your situation. Location, driving experience, racing goals, mechanical ability, monthly budget for racing expenses etc.
It’s absolutely possible to get a racing kart for under $3000. Especially if you have the money set aside and therefore are in a position to snap up great offers as they pop up. I’ve even seen complete 206 packages that are basically fine, but need TLC for under $1500.
But like I said. You have to be ready to snap those deals up, they are not the norm.
Driving Experience: About 2 hours of time behind an X30, maybe 6 hours on KA100s. I’ve spent about 500 hours on Kart Racing Pro (what I believe is the best karting sim available.) and I’ve owned many 2-stroke ATVs and dirt bikes. I just love karting and want to further pursue my career.
Racing Goals: I don’t mind losing but it isn’t competition if you aren’t in it to win. My goal would be somewhere around 10th place by the end of my first season. I really just want to be good enough to get sponsors.
Mechanical Ability: As I said before, I’ve owned a few other 2-stroke vehicles and know how they work and what to expect.
Budget: For me, I’d say 4k for the kart max and about 1k for safety equipment. I’m fine with buying new tires for each race and am willing to spend 500$ for the average for everything else. My max budget for the first season + the kart and safety equipment is 7-8k.
I really don’t want to enter a 206 series as it isn’t much of a step up from your average rental kart from what I’ve seen and I really love 2-Strokes. My plan is to practice and learn how to race a kart better for a year or two and then enter a regional championship when I feel I’m ready.
Okay, you have a decent starting point. I don’t know how much time driving on the simulator is going to help if I’m honest, theres a lot going on in a kart that you can’t get from a computer.
Unfortunately, sponsors aren’t incredibly prevalent in karting. It’s just not a huge market for them. You can definitely find some, but it’s not easy or common. I wouldn’t worry too much on sponsors but just work on being as competitive as you can be, sponsors or not.
Mechanically you’ll probably have a decent starting point so I wouldn’t be terribly worried about that.
Budget wise it sounds like you’ll be fine. Used equipment under $4k should be easy enough to find and $1,000 is plenty for safety gear.
You shouldn’t need new tires every raceday for a club. Probably every other in X30, and you can go a long time on tires in KA before they have to go, probably 6 to 8 races if you’re competitive up front.
Everything else shouldn’t get to $500. Race entry is like $60 at New Castle, gas is probably $15 for 3 gallons as a rough estimate, I have no idea how much gas you’ll use on a typical race. As long as you dont crash that should be all the costs you have, although having the extra money as a backup will be useful.
I do recommend 206 still. It’s definitely not a rental kart and you’ll learn a lot about carrying momentum and racecraft in a pack. Once you have those figured out, driving a KA or X30 could just be applying those principles with more power. It’s a cheaper way to learn the same stuff, and while there would be a learning curve going from 206 to one of those, in the long run it would be beneficial.
All that info is good. But to answer the original question of its possible with that amount, the answer is NO!
Know Doubting in your abilities That you may Be real good At driving and Your goals Are realistic, But with that budget Its would be tough. You Are forgetting Spare parts you will need ,rebuilds, tires, and CRASH damaged parts. (crash damage is just parts that wear out and break from stress like seat struts + things that may get hit in an accident).
Your biggest setback from going directly to the regional races is that you cant get experience from there if you get lapped in 5 laps.They black flag you when you get lapped. You have to be fast out of the box… You need LAPS LAPS LAPS, even with A couple hours of seat time now.
the 206 class is far and above rental karts, but if that’s your view I cant change that. Most just like 2cycles witch is fine, the Ka100 is for you then.
Even if your lap times are fine running by yourself, you need actual race experience with people that will downright fight you if you make A boneheaded mistake. kidding,…kinda… no “restart race” in real life. Anyway Ohio and Newcastle weekly shows Are A must for 2 maybe 3 yrs in karting before rt66 caliber races. Just my opinion is all.
I think the same as you. I definitely need more experience and I know that. My plan was to compete in weekly races in Ohio, maybe enter a league and practice for a year or two before entering rt66 which is my final goal before possibly entering F4 Americas if I feel I’m good enough. As you said, practice is very important. From my limited experience though, the difference between a KA100 and X30 Junior isn’t all that big although I don’t know how that power advantage of the X30 would change racing. The only experience I have is hot lapping. I am willing to fix accident/wear damage too.
If your goal is to run F4, then you should take the proper steps, as you’re saying, to get there. Trying to speed through the ladder is only going to hurt you.
The best course of action would probably be to run your local club series until you are competing up front consistently, then jump into Route 66/regional race, then once you’re good enough to compete up front there, try some national racing, and then F4 if you think you are good enough/have enough money. Don’t get too ahead of yourself and take it one step at a time.
I understand. I’m absolutely not trying to speed through the ladder and want to take it slowly. I’ve looked and there don’t seem to be any X30 races locally but I’ll keep looking.
If you have car aspirations, you’re going to need every penny you can muster and be crafty with your resources. In the grand scheme of things, running X30 isn’t going to be worth the extra $$$ if your goal is F4 and beyond.
Run 206 at the highest level that you can
Sim as much as you can
Save as much cash as you can F4.
Volunteer/work with some F4 teams at races and start to network with folks in that community.
Don’t for one moment be fooled into thinking that having kart experience, or even dominating and winning all the things in a kart is going to make it easier to get a ride in F4. That’s a myth. You see it all the time where folks spend $100K in karting to travel all over and try to win everything, only to find that they’re out of money and most teams just aren’t in a position to help.
Money gets the rides because it costs a lot of money to run a team. Karitng will of course help you greatly when you get behind the wheel. But getting there takes strategy and planning.
Although karting isn’t everything, it does pave the way into open wheelers. It will obviously help you race better and learn proper racing etiquette but it definitely isn’t at the same level as F4. I personally don’t want to race 4-stroke karts and now think that a KA100 or even KT100 will be good enough rather than an X30 which is about 1,000$ more expensive. I think that Lewis Hamilton raced in the KT100 class in the U.K before moving on to open wheelers although I’m not 100% sure.
What I’m trying to convey is… Karting will not pave your way to F4 or anything else. This is a common misunderstanding. Money paves the way. That’s it.
If you have the means you can hit the track in an F4, NASCAR truck, TA2 or whatever. The list goes on.
Karting, done right will help you make the most of the opportunity. But it’s not a requirement at all.
Hamilton did very little KT100, I think one season. Otherwise it was JICA, FA and FSA. You also have to consider his resources, location and time period are different to yours.
Another thing to remember is that absolute speed is second to the speed of your thought processing. That is to say, it might seem like a 206 is “slow” but for fun, compare a lap of a full track in an F4 and a sprint track in a 206. The rate that you have to process information is not as different as you might think.
This speed in thought processing is the main reason F1 and Indy drivers describe shifters as being the closest thing to F1… despite barely touching 90mph in the shifter, the rate at which your brain has to process information is similar.
I admire the ambition, but you also have to consider you’re going to be up against 20+ drivers that have half a decade or more of competition experience.
Also, (with the exception of maybe some small deals in the sport itself) being good, winning races etc won’t attract sponsors.
Exposure, ROI and sales are what matters.
I bet you can think of some very mediocre drivers that have made very successful careers because they drew attention.
kidding,…kinda… no “restart race” in real life. Anyway Ohio and Newcastle weekly shows Are A must for 2 maybe 3 yrs in karting before rt66 caliber races. Just my opinion is all.