New to Karting

[Bobby Fro]

Hey All,

Hopefully I can find some advice/help here… I’m looking to get into to kart racing here in NJ… I have no competitive karting experience, although I have attended several performance driving and racing schools.  I’m kinda overwhelmed with deciding on what type of kart (engine package etc.) I should be looking for and what class I should be targeting to run in.  I am a 30 y/o with a budget!  Looking forward to your replies…. thanks

[Paul Lepper]

It depends on what classes run where you want to race. LO206 is a very competitive class with lots of entries at my local track. It has a very stable rule set and  emphasizes the driving and setup aspects of racing. I personally run World Formula as I am a bigger guy and the extra HP helps, once again this is a reliable and relativity cheap class to run. By watching what I spend and shopping around I have less than 3K in my total program. That includes Kart, Engine, tires, tools and trailer. Ongoing costs after getting started are track membership, entry fees, travel, and maintenance of equipment. It all depends on how serious you want to get, me I just do it for fun and the great time I have with the people at the track.

[Dan Brown]

Your first stop should be at your local track. See what their class structure is and what they recommend for you. Some tracks are running 4 cycle engines , some still race the kt100’s , some emphasize TaG setups. They can steer you in the right direction and may have or know of some karts with the proper setup for you for sale. I made a big mistake at the start of our rookie season and bought the wrong kart for my son. He was 12 and going to run in Yamaha rookie and I bought a 32mm frame 50mm axle Biesse kart with a Sr. Yamaha package because I got a “good deal” on it. The kart was way to stiff for him, I had to change the engine over to Jr. with a new clutch, carb and exhaust. The seat was too big and the rear tires were the wrong size. My good deal cost me a bunch of money. I ended up buying another kart, a Margay, with the proper setup for him and I ran the Biesse in Sr. Pipe class and it all worked out ok.

[Bobby Fro]

Great info, thanks fellas…def points me in the right direction.

[Anonymous]

Bobby , come to Englishtown Raceway Park on 3-22-15.. We are racing.   Be tons of guys to talk to and answer your questions. I will be at the track, stop by my trailer and be happy to talk to you. I am pitted next to the scale. Kart #4

 

[Daniel Charles]

I think the best way for you is to start in Rotax Karting. The best way to go.

Kart Racing at its best.

www.globalracingschools.com

[Brock Weiss]

Depends on how much money you want to spend? Do you want a new kart chassis or a used chassis? Do you want local track support or national team support?  I personally when I got I to karting bought a kart off of Craigslist and it was the biggest mistake I made.  I got totally ripped off and was sold a piece of crap and paid way to much for what I got.

I then bought a three race team Kosmic kart from J3 Conpetition for a huge discount and have never looked back. In fact I just sold my Kismic Kart and bought their new COMPKART and it is one of the best karts I have driven. Very easy to tune and fast and it looks awesome!

My point is I bought two karts from them because of their reputation as being a top notch race team with unparalleled customer support which is why I cont to do business with them. So my advice is to find a shop in your area or national race team and start building a relationship with them so you can their tech support and anything else that You may need. But again it all comes down to how much do you want to spend

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