I’ll break it down for you:
What is the time commitment for working on your kart-
this is hard say. In short your can put as much, or as little as you want. Are there guys who put their stuff in the trailer and we’ll see you next race, sure. Are there some that take everything apart clean and inspect, align ext ext and spend hours and hours, also yes.
How would one mentally and physically prepare for karting at a higher level (I imagine that it must be way more physical than rental) -
short answer yes. Even a lo206 will drive much different the a rental. You’re comparing a SUV, to a sports car. Quick search there is many exercises you can do, also SIMs ext. IMO there is no replacement for seat time.
Where is the best place to buy kart parts- : let’s start with your chassis. I don’t know up there what’s round there but for the most part most karting clubs have a store attached to brand Y kart, and teams that show up that support brand Z. the store for sure will have stuff like gears, tires, consumables ext for all. That being said, me personally would go with Birel, or OTK supported karts. They have many, many sub brands as well. The benefits of this is there isn’t a need to carry spare parts you should be able to walk in the store and say I need this.
For the spares I Would have:
Rims and tires- I’d have 3 sets slicks minimum for rotation, then 2 wet sets. With a lo you can get away with 2 complete sets of tires, one your practice set ( your set you put on brand new for race day). faster motors =more consumables- always.”, then your rains.
Now with the 2 strokes: You’re going to need 2 motors minimum IMO. One for practice and one for race motor. Do some searching here and you’ll find you have to rebuild these quite often and how much it is. I know some that compete nationally and have 10 for 1 kart and multiple karts 1 driver. So you can consider those a spare.
You’re going to need an alignment system. In reality your need the sniper system.
last wouldn’t hurt to have a softer axle, and a harder axle. Although not always needed, they are nice to have.
First year vs second:
for me is pretty much you can spend as much as you want. You won’t have your kart purchase and one time purchases. This is a you question that only You can answer.
Now as far as trailers, there are plenty of folk who run out of the back their truck bed. So it’s definitely not necessary. Trailers don’t win races.
If none of that scares, jump on its tons of fun! Let us know what you decide to do!
