What do you all know about Shifter Karts, I'm wondering if instead of buying another car I can have a blast AutoXing a Kart, are there things I should look out for, should I buy a ready to race Kart? What's a good engine, chassis combo. I'm by no means a little guy, I weigh 220, well right now I do, a year in Afghanistan might have me down to 180 
. What am I not asking that I might need to know? Will I have issues at certain events, clubs with being able to participate?
They are ungodly fast, they will beat you to major pain, they will beat anything else that dares to challenge them. Your children will inherit it. Soon.
GET A RIB PROTECTOR. Thats all i have to say, crack 3 of mine racing one...
rib-tect is less an issue on an autocross course as it is on track, but its still a good idea.
what kart you get depends on how deep in you want to go. you could probably get into a rotax or TAG kart used for anywhere from 3-6 grand, depending on what all it comes with. the tags are a little quicker in the top end, but don't get front brakes, the rotax do. that said, i don't think you'd be restricted to any one rule set if you were just doing autocross, but you might want to pick one in case you later decide to go on track.
have fun! 60mph with your ass 4in. off the track is a helluva thing.
Can you have a blast autocrossing a shifter kart? Is gravity reliable? 
Things to know: the most important thing is buy a seat that fits you. I cracked two ribs even with a rib protector because my seat was too large. Bought a seat that fits and now I get zero soreness with just a foam (not hard plastic) rib protector.
Shifter karts are more finicky than other karts. Be prepared to spend time futzing with the carb and spark plug to get it to run right.
You don't need the latest chassis to go fast. Mine is a 1997 and it is still very quick.
I don't buy tires. The kart shop who gets all my business lets me rummage through his takeoffs for free. Dumpster-dive tires for the win!
Make sure your throttle cable has absolutely no kinks in it and runs freely. A stuck throttle in something as fast as a shifter kart is not fun!
Buy used and make sure it somes with a kart stand. You gotta have one. And figure out how you will transport that kart and store it. They seem small right up until you try to load it into your truck and you realize just how wide 55 inches wide is. Same thing with storing it. I use a small Harbor Freight trailer.
Buy one and have a blast!
David
get alot of bananas and a mustache... 
Rusty_Rabbit84 wrote: get alot of bananas and a mustache...
Priceless, if someone did that to me on the street I'd 'have' to spin-out...
Now I want one even more!
Strizzo wrote: what kart you get depends on how deep in you want to go. you could probably get into a rotax or TAG kart used for anywhere from 3-6 grand, depending on what all it comes with. the tags are a little quicker in the top end, but don't get front brakes, the rotax do. that said, i don't think you'd be restricted to any one rule set if you were just doing autocross, but you might want to pick one in case you later decide to go on track.
SCCA will only let 125 shifters autocross with them, if I understand correctly.
the rotax and TAG karts are 125cc single speeds. they also have an electric starter so you don't have to ask someone for a shove in the pits or use an external starter to get started. if you want to run it at a track in something other than open practice, you'll need to stick to a rule set, or not be competitive. you're also probably more likely to find a group of racers that run rotax or TAG locally than you are to find a group of shifter drivers due to the lower buy-in.
Rotax/TaG costs just as much as a shifter...
By far the best value right now is an ICC. Yes, they're exotic and expensive to maintain but for five grand you'll be able to get one with a lot of spares including an engine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MytfhzcSF-Y
chaparral wrote: Rotax/TaG costs just as much as a shifter... By far the best value right now is an ICC. Yes, they're exotic and expensive to maintain but for five grand you'll be able to get one with a lot of spares including an engine.
I disagree... for me and 4 friends who went karting for the first time this year, we found the best value to be 100cc Yamahas running 4 hole cans. 65 MPH is plenty fast 1" off the ground, the competition is on similar old stuff (I am leading the season on a 2003 chassis and a "whatever" motor), and the people who want to spend real money on this stuff go to other classes. We are all in for about $1500 per kart, each with starter, stand, and spares that would cost several grand on their own.
Not only is the buy-in cheaper, but one engine refresh will last well over a season. Tires last about 4-5 events. In contrast, the high strung karts need top ends every other race, and they use a set of $250 tires every single race day.
As a matter of fact, after we led the way on this, 10 additional drivers caught on to how much fun we are having for how little money, and they joined us in similar castoff karts. It is now the largest class in our club, and we are having a ton of fun.
Rusty_Rabbit84 wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MytfhzcSF-Y
Here is a site that cover some information about "moto ' Shifter Kart engines, these engines where origonally designed for motocross but were adapted during the mid to late 90's for kart use.
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