I've always been curious in another form of motorsport that wouldn't require me to take my DD to autox's or track days. I'm in northern NJ and Englishtown is about 30 minutes away. I've heard they have an outdoor karting track, which sounds really fun. Indoor electric karts are fun but extremely expensive; I could blow $50 a night for only 30 minutes or so of racing.
What is the entry cost for karting? What gear do I need to buy? Is it worth it?
The buy in for karting is about $2500 up depending on class and age/condition of equipment.
Look into the rules first, there is no weight handicapping.
You will get punted off the track by a 75lb 15yr old.
Go to the track and talk to other racers before buying.
If you are serious and committed buy new (chassis at least).
Get something that is well supported/popular for parts sharing/availability.
On top of that you need a tire budget and be prepared for the need for a new chassis after a rough "off".
Lots of threads recently on karting. The buy in depends on what you want to race. A decent, used, 2 stroke shifter kart will be $2500+ and you'll likely get some spares (jets, tires, etc) but they require frequent rebuilds. A 4 stoke Honda clone class can be cheaper, initially, but they are generally slower. Rebuild cost is significantly less and the interval is much longer. I built 2 clone karts for autox last year for under $2k by shopping around and stumbling onto deals. I had a brief experience with a Rotax DD2 kart but it was too much for autox. Basic safety equipment is helmet, neck brace proper clothing and shoes, gloves. There is nothing like 50 mph with your butt an inch off the ground and you can't beat the responsiveness. ekartingnews.com and 4cycle.com are excellent resources.
Check and see if E-Town does karting leagues or races. I haven't done it yet, but I know NJMP does. I think it's something like $100 or less for the day. May be a good way to get some seat time without the $2500+ buy in. Not to mention you're not worrying about wear/tear on the kart.
Check the track you are going to run.
They may have different rules than others.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/karting/75628/page1/
Here is a thread with a lot of info, I would suggest going to the local track to see what is the popular class. Typically 4cycle is the most affordable.
NJMP, Summit, Oakland Valley Race Park all have regular sanctioned racing. Go watch some. Talk to people. Rent a kart. OVRP does full and half-day rentals and the old guy in the garage can help you acclimate. He has been there a long time. He and his son run it... they have good stories. They are also selling stuff though so listen/ask but don't buy until you wander around a paddock on a race weekend or you will end up in a $5k rotax package you can only use there.
Contrary to an earlier post - there is weight handicapping in some classes.
MINIzguy wrote: I've always been curious in another form of motorsport that wouldn't require me to take my DD to autox's or track days. I'm in northern NJ and Englishtown is about 30 minutes away. I've heard they have an outdoor karting track, which sounds really fun. Indoor electric karts are fun but extremely expensive; I could blow $50 a night for only 30 minutes or so of racing. What is the entry cost for karting? What gear do I need to buy? Is it worth it?
Just checking out the Englishtown website, it appears they have a broad range of karting classes from which to choose. It looks like adults could choose anything from clones to shifters.
As others have mentioned, costs will vary based upon the type of kart you choose, but you're probably looking at anywhere from $1500 upward to get started.
The following link has a series of articles about getting started - some useful info in there.
As others have mentioned, go to the track, talk to folks, and see what piques your curiosity. For me, it was TaG Masters, because I liked the challenge, I liked the idea of not needing an external starter, my local track had a decent class size, and - quite frankly, I'm old and fat. Each type of kart will have it's own set of pros and cons.
Karting is great value for money. It's like most motorsports, in that you can spend as much as your heart and bank account will allow, but in the grand scheme of things it's pretty affordable for the amount of seat time and competition you get.
Stuff that must be bought new for karting:
1) Helmet
2) Rib Protector. I bought ones that cost between $80 and $150 for years and was always sore by the final. It turns out that the $21 Z Racing one (sold by East Lansing Kart Track) is the one that works for me.
3) Tires before qualifying in any race you want to matter.
Stuff that you should buy used:
1) Stand 2) Transponder 3) Kart Suit 4) Valhalla 360 or Leatt Brace (get one that wasn't used "in anger" of course!) 5) Kart. The right way to buy a used kart is to buy the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place kart as soon as it gets past the scales. 6) Trailer. If you get an enclosed trailer that's the right size you don't have to unload when you get home if you've got a decent way to secure it. You'll come home at 0100 if you had a good day. 7) Shade Tent. 8) Copy of Memo Gidley's "Secrets of Speed"
Tools you need to buy:
1) A REALLY good set of T-handle metric Allen wrenches. Beta look expensive but you will use them so extensively that they will cost about half a cent per use. 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 mm are the most common sizes used.
2) A REALLY good set of metric Allen sockets. Snap-On, secondhand if new's too expensive.
3) Metric reversible gear wrenches. 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 are the most common sizes.
4) An Acceleration Karting axle removal tool of the appropriate size. Don't attempt to cut or hammer an axle out any other way. It'll mushroom and the bearings aren't cheap.
5) A chain breaker.
6) A Zyglo kit and grinder with a paint removal wheel. The #1 cause of bad handling in karts is fatigue failures. It's also the #1 cause of DNFs.
Engine-wise, I can't recommend any of them without fearing a pitchfork through my back after your latest blowup. Just accept that the engineering was done on the cheap 15 to 30 years ago, that the volumes are too small to merit redesigns for modern manufacturing, and no matter what it's still a LOT cheaper than running any modern high-performance four-stroke engine at up to 3 lateral g acceleration. "When in Rome do as the Romans do". If everyone runs Rotax at your track, get a Rotax. If everyone runs the Yamaha KT100, get a KT100. A Briggs LO206 will go fast enough to make the chassis and driver matter. Parillas are nice and you get to deal with Jim Russell or Lynn Haddock.
You can go wrong buying any chassis if it is bent, cracked, or worn down on the rails and crossmember. CRG, OTK, Arrow, Haase, and Parolin build good karts and you can get the parts from dealers or importers. I was in the Margay factory in St. Louis, Missouri a few days ago and they build kart frames so well they don't have to be individually realigned after assembly. The price and quality of Margay machinery is up to the standard of other modern American industrial products. If you can't find a good kart locally, karts are best shipped by Greyhound Bus.
You will find hundredths working on your engines, tenths working on your chassis, and seconds working on your driving - if nothing's busted.
Carroll Smith asserted that racing an open-wheeler was always cheaper than racing a sedan of equal performance. I'll stick my neck out and say that you can RACE a kart regionally for what you'd spend doing TRACKDAYS in a car.
You need to be in excellent shape. You'll be able to race a day as competitively as you're able to play whole basketball or ultimate frisbee tournament, a doubleheader tennis match, or run a half-marathon, or cycle a half-century, or swim three miles.
I'm returning to kart racing this year.
You need to be in excellent shape.
i've had problems with my right hand a wrist and this is definitely true. had a very hard time.
The only thing I'll add to Chaparral is that my karts are SAE which kinda sucked after buying metric tools to work on BMWs and VWs. Karts are like Lego though and many parts are "universal". I have two "Margay" karts that aren't, but they have Margay parts on them.
They will beat you up, even doing autox.
chaparral wrote: 4) An Acceleration Karting axle removal tool of the appropriate size. Don't attempt to cut or hammer an axle out any other way. It'll mushroom and the bearings aren't cheap.
Just as an FYI, in the 6 years of being a mechanic for my son, I only had to use a hammer to get out one axle and that's because it was bent and I didn't have a hacksaw to just cut it in half. If you make sure to align the bearings on both sides with the axle, it should slide in and out like butter. (If it's sticky, most of the time it's because of burrs and/or rust. Clean it up before installing and you should be good to go.)
Wow. Good information here!
I guess I'll try a rental day first and see if I really like it. Then I'll start saving up. Didn't think the entry fee would be $1k+ immediately. Wish I lived more south so I could race year-round and make that investment worthwhile.
kanaric wrote:You need to be in excellent shape.i've had problems with my right hand a wrist and this is definitely true. had a very hard time.
I agree whole heartedly with the above. Karts will beat the crap out of you. If you think you get tired at the local indoor place after a few runs, wait until you get a run in a KT100, TaG, or shifter kart.
If you're not ready for it, adrenaline will get you through the first 4-5 laps and then you start to notice your neck, shoulders, and ribs all start to ache. You'll start death gripping the wheel and trying to hold yourself upright, only to find your forearms weaken. By the end of the feature, you'll be holding on for dear life, neck rolling around, breathing like you just ran a marathon, and your lap times will have dropped noticeably.
That's not to say that it's not a ton of fun - it is. But those that don't appreciate the physical toll of motorsports, and of karting in particular, can be in for a bit of a surprise.
Thats why I went the Clone route, much cheaper buy in and cheaper maintenance. The Rotax would have been fun but I was looking at spending more on that kart to maintain it than on the car I traded it for. It all depends on what the locals are running.
In reply to rob_lewis:
The more you debur an axle before it goes in, the easier it is to get out. I've watched the factory teams and their axles slide out with a decent shove.
However, most the time when I'm changing an axle, it's bent.
You have to pump yourself up with air on the straight because the corners will push the air out of you!
I'd like to chime in - a little late for the party but WTH. The dollar amounts that are floating around above are generally overinflated if you are just trying to get skin in the game. Being highly competitive in a high-level class can get very pricey, but that doesn't have to be the way you go. I just bought a clean, mainly sorted KT100-powered Tonykart for $600. My son and I just did our first track day and it needs nothing more than a new nose fairing and to repair a minor cracked tab to be ready to race and be somewhat competitive. One of the reasons it came so cheap is that KT100s are kind of a dying class in our region where most people have gone either big bucks - Rotax/Parilla or low bucks - Briggs/Clone. But as a way to get in cheap, have something that will smoke a clone, but not be too much slower than the expensive Karts, KTs are a good way to go. Just be aware that the high-revs of 2-stroke single-speed motors burn through centrifugal clutches rapidly, and at $300 per plus labor it's a significant line item if you're on a budget. The same holds true of most all 2-stroke versus 4-stroke options. Unless you've built a killer 4-stroke that revs way high, the motors will be much more trouble free because of the superior oiling and the lower revs. Easier to drive too, because the power comes on so much earlier. OTOH they're slugs compared to something like a Rotax 125.
My son was interested in Karting when he was younger, but the race scene intimidated him. When he redeveloped his interest, it occurred to me that if I sold a couple of my car projects that were only gathering dust I could exchange clutter for race time. Kind of a no-brainer. I expect to buy another kart soon, and it will probably be a LO206-powered one. Even though they aren't especially fast, the class is well populated with some of the tightest racing, and I'd rather be in a pack dicing at 40 MPH than all by myself at 50.
The kart season is approaching, this year I am making the switch from 3 years in clone to now the 206 program. 206 is suppose to be a reliable engine package, so skills such as setting up the kart and driving are important. I plan on using a 10 year old kart, that I bought back, I may run a newer chassis but at the club level I think that winning with a older chassis is possible.
In reply to trigun7469: Yeah, I REALLY like the sealed spec-motor concept. Let the engine builders focus on the expensive karts and leave us slow guys alone!
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