Hi guys im located in Southern illinois. Looking to get into Sprint karts. Ive raced Dirt for a few years so I know everything that translates between the two sports but the questions I have are.
What chassis is user friendly and considered fast.
I will be starting with 206 but will want to move up to a higher hp class before long. Will I need a different chassis between those two engine packages?
If I ended up wanting to buy used (to see if this is for me) How new of a chassis to be close to par with the field.
Whats the most popular class generally here in the midwest?
Im 6’1 220lbs
Thats all the questions I know to ask at the moment. Thanks for the replys!
Most major kart brands are comparable in performance, there isn’t a big difference. It comes down to your ability to set it up and drive it. With that in mind, you want to find a brand that is supported somewhat locally so you can get parts and chassis advice.
There are karts that will work for both 206 and whatever class you want to move up to. It will depend on what is supported in your area.
You don’t need a new chassis. Plenty of big races are won on used karts that are a few years old. As long as the tubes aren’t rashed too bad on the bottom it should be fine.
206 and KA100 are going to be the main classes in the Midwest.
Thank you very much for the reply. How much of a difference does it make being on different brands of tires. Is your setup vastly different or generally very close. And I see that some clubs have the option to run a couple of different size tires of the same compound. Im guessing that you can make your reaers bigger or smaller. Thanks again.
Almost every series in sprint karting has a spec tire compound, though some 206 rule sets will allow difference size rear tires. Where dirt oval stuff is a lot of tire tuning, sprint karting is mostly chassis tuning.
Your rear tire size you choose will be dictated by how you have your kart set up. At your size you might want to run the 7” rears but I’ll defer to our 206 specialists on that.
If you’re looking to run both 2-cycle and 4-cycle, OTK brands (TonyKart, Kosmic, Red speed, etc) have been the go-to for a few years. Their baseline setup will get you 90% of the way there at most circuits.
Thanks for the reply buddy, what does OTK mean? And as the guy before you mentioned that I should use a manufacturer near me to help with setup. I have Margay to my west a couple hours and Comet kart sales to my east a handful of hours away. Would you suggest using either of those manufacturers?
OTK is a manufacturer out of Italy who has a number of sub brands (like TonyKart and Kosmic) and probably 40% of everyone running at the nationals level in the US in Sprint Karting are using one of the OTK brands, which are are functionally identical and share parts. They have a large US dealer network and plenty of people at any race you go to will be able to help with setup for OTK karts
Margay has been around forever and is big in 206 but I’m not sure of their reputation for higher horsepower stuff. Same with Comet, their Eagle chassis is great for 206, but it’s specifically designed for that.
I would say your Body type Eagle, MGM and Coyote are probably the top chassis on the market right now for 206 Masters/Heavy.
I ran Intrepid chassis and won a ton of races until last month. I was able to finally get my Swift Kart and Fabrication chassis together and it really impressed me on the first outting. So, I could recommmend Swift (made in Southern Indiana)
I personally dont care for OTK, but certainly there are some fast racers on them.
I would agree with this but I would add try to find out if the chassis has been in a significant crash. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to “see” this, and sometimes sellers are not always honest. While chassis can be straightened to a degree, its better to start straight if possible.
I do not know how far southern you are. In Madison, IL at World Wide Technology Raceway there is a great series. They run the Ignite class which is a Margay spec class. It is an LO206 class. They have large count and Margay employees are at most races since they are located just 20 miles away. Next year they will be expanding to a 2 cycle spec class call Ignite 100. It will use the same chassis and a sealed VLR engine. Reach out and get a hold of Keith Scharf at Gateway Kartplexx for more information
Thank you all for the replies and advice it is much appreciated.
A few more questions I have is what does Tag mean? I see this class having a few different options for motor packages. Rok, leopard, etc. But when I go to research these engine it seems they all have varying models of the same motor. How do you know which model is the correct one for tag rules?
Im very interested in the ignite series that runs here in illinois but am worried I will have to change chassis when I decide to try a higher hp package.
I dont plan to just race in Illinois so are there other places that run the ignite rules or is that something that It predominantly here in my area?
The margay ignite is a spec series package, often, but it doesn’t have to be.
I’ll let the other guys who do the actual owner karting advise but generally you can use the chassis for lo with ka100 too.
That being said, get what you need for now what you will be doing in future is not clear until you get feet wet and kart under you. Kart frames don’t last forever so you’ll likely be wanting a fresh frame when you change up engines.
in regards to the ignite series, and someone who knows more may chime in, but i’m pretty sure if you buy an ignite kart, you’ll be able to race it pretty much all over with the briggs lo206. but i wouldn’t be able to run my ricciardo in an ignite series race. i’m pretty sure the margay will be good at ncmp, g&j, mcc, most of your midwest tracks. the only real difference i ever see from track to track, running the briggs, is which tire you have to run.
In my opinion the Ignite LO206 will run fine wherever LO206 is run, with just change of tires. The Ignite 100 will be more limited since it uses VLR100 which is less common.
The Ignite is so popular locally you have a good chance of selling the package later if you choose to move up.
In this area I think you will find few series that have as good of numbers. Ignite Senior averaged over 25 karts at Gateway Kartplex and equal or more at each of 5 regional races in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois
As Dom said TAG is “Touch And Go” or electric start, but more specifically it usually indicates the 125cc liquid cooled engine class. Yes, there are several motors available in this class and then several versions through time from the same make. The most recent version usually being the ones that are going to be raced, but older motors can be competitive too. Some tracks allow for different total weights to adjust for one motor being slightly less HP. Then there are series specific races too like the Rotax Max Challange where everyone is running the same motor. To add to the confusion the latest 100cc motors are all TAG’s as well meaning they have on board starters but they don’t compete with the 125 TAG’s.
The Ignite 206 is both a class that specs the Ignite chassis and a LO206 and you can find this class at tracks all over the US, but the regular LO206 class you will find more often and this would allow any chassis. If you think you would want to go to TAG at some point but not right away I would suggest to not worry about that till you are ready to move up as you will likely want a different chassis anyways.
Thanks again for all the information you guys have gave me. I am going to try and find an Ignite and learn on it for awhile. Whats the performance difference buying a 206 from briggs or one from a “builder.” With the clone stuff I am used to it is a major difference beings as we can break into the side cover. But being sealed Im curious on what they can pick up with just working the head. And also what are you guys doing to these tires? Are you scuffing them up before you hit the track. Do you have to cut a new set to square them up? And are you guys scraping them after a session?
Some guys might scrape harder tires but I can’t think of anyone cutting tires in sprint racing.
I did one dirt oval race once and it’s a totally different program here. You will basically be tweaking tire pressures and that’s it when it comes to tires.
We had a dirt oval convert at our track this year and he was amazed at the difference between the two in regards to tire prep or in our case the lack of it. Typically there is no chemical preps used, and about the only thing some will do is scrape the excess buildup off a tire if there is any. Some people will wrap tires at the end of the day in plastic.
With ny dirt stuff that im used to these chassis are alot stiffer than these sprint karts. Only thing that wears out on them is components. Do you guys thing that these margays could flex out? And other than the obvious is there something I should be vary of that I may overlook buying new.