Which Chassis would you choose and why

After our first year of karting and realizing just how fun this really is, I picked myself up a more modern chassis for racing this year and after help here went with a 3 race old 2018 Tony Kart 401s.

My brother is in the same boat and has narrowed down to 2 candidates.

1 - 2018 Kart Republic KR2 - Has 9 races on it, was campaigned on the national level in TAG. Has more underside wear than expected but not enough to be concerned and scare him away. 30/32mm mixed tubing on the KR2

2 - 2014 Tony Kart 401s - Only 3 weekends of racing on it and it’s been otherwise sitting. Underside wear is almost non-existant…it looks as good as the 2018 I picked up so this backs up the limited use that this chassis has seen.

With the 401 we can share chassis tuning and setup with each other which makes it an attractive option but are there wear factors to consider with an older chassis even though it only has 3 race weekends on it?

The concern with the Kart Republic is lack of support at the club level and possibly difficulty to get parts. He’s talked to KartSport and they said most of the common parts can be had in a couple of days but special order parts could take a couple of weeks to get should they be needed.

Any other things to consider in this decision for him?

Karts will be run with Yamaha KT100 in a masters category at 360 or 365lb weight depending on which group we are running with that weekend.

Thanks,

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I’d go with the one that has support locally.

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My opinion after working with both karts is that the Tony is better for KT100. The KR can be fast in lower horsepower but the tuning window is much smaller. That chassis really shines in higher horsepower applications.

Plus, like you said, you can share setup knowledge if you both have the same setup. The 2014 kart is going to be fine, just make sure the brakes are in good order. If a kart hasn’t been raced much and has been sitting for a few years that would be something I would look over.

Thanks for the quick responses. TJ do you think the 30/32mm would hold up better over time with our heavier weights? Ideally I’d like to get at least 2 years of use out of either chassis if I could. When I’m at race weight myself I’m 5’11" and between 195-200lbs if that factors into it as well.

It’s possible that there’s some part interchange with other karts.

Overall though the 2014 TonyKart, assuming it’s priced appropriately, kinda checks all the boxes. Put the money saved on some coaching and some books and get going.

I don’t think you’d have any issue running the Tony for 2 years at your weight.

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Ended up working a deal for the Tonykart. Thank you for the replies.

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