Usually there is no change from the weld itself on performance but durability can be a factor depending on quality of repair. Also, being in the kingpin spud, making sure it was welded on a jig would be important.
Personally I would not buy something that was welded on such an important part of the frame. The C where the spindle mounts has got to be one of the most integral parts of the the frame’s geometry, and probably one of the hardest to weld back on properly at the correct measurements.
Also, if the kart had the C ripped off of it, it was probably in a pretty horrendous crash. I’d stay away from this one.
There are plenty of 1 or 2 season old OTK karts out there that are straight and would still have plenty of life left in them for a good price. I sold my 2018 with 1 season on it for $2500 last year. I know you could find something a bit cheaper than that with lots of life left in it and no re-welded parts.
Where are you located? Maybe we can direct you to some local teams who would be off-loading some lightly used frames. Typically the big teams will use a kart and sell it after a race weekend or two; easy way to pick something up nearly new at a good discount.
Thanks buddy, I’d appreciate your answer, it helps me a lot. I am located in East Asia.
The owner told me he got a bad crash one time, and welded it back, then he uses this otk for three races. He told me the handles are the same as before, but i don’t know if I should trust him. For me, I am planning buy this for practice, maybe some races, but generally I won’t go out to race due to my budgets this year. I will think about buying this seriously. Thanks for your advice.
Thanks man, I will take a close look at it.