These seem like a relatively affordable way to get into autocross and greatly interest me, I'm wondering what I should look for and be aware of if I wanted to autocross a kart. Thankyou to Ovid_and _Flem for planting this idea in my head. 
edit: As being a complete noob to the sport here are some specific questions: What class is a good fit for a beginner? What should I look for when purchasing a kart (redflags, etc.)? What is a reasonable budget to expect for fielding a kart for auto-x?
I presume that your local autocross allows karts; not all do so I thought to mention it.
As far as the Kart no different than other race cars really, has it been well maintained, do they have basic receipts etc. The big difference with Karts is that the chassis is a wear item, after a while the chassis will need to be replaced as the handling will tend to become inconsistent.
Next pick will be brand; I do not remember which ones but there are only one or two brands that work well with trail braking. It's easy enough to adapt your driving style if need be but not everyone can so its best to pick a chassis that works for you. This isn't a huge consideration but I mention it as an FYI
Overall you can't go wrong with a kart they offer huge performance; if you haven't driven one already, I would advise you do before you buy one. You're dealing with something that will do 0-60 in under 3 seconds pull, over 2Gs, make rapid direction changes and has phenomenal braking. I'd also advise renting or taking a karting class in a TAG kart first (electric start clutch kart).
I looked at a shifter kart before I bought an F500 for autocross; my reasoning was as years of riding / racing motorcycles hasn't exactly been nice to my body so I wanted something a little less brutal. Also I wanted something I didn't need to push start (my knees thank me) or hoist on and off a stand. Of course the F500 is slower by a few seconds.
For the record I have a couple of friends who run shifter karts and I am a big fan of them but I am also keenly aware they are not for everyone as they are by no means easy to drive fast.
Shifter karts can be physically brutal. After recommending that to you and your other thread I came to the conclusion to get your feet wet that you need to buy a non Shifter Kart to start out. Way cheaper entry and way cheaper to maintain. Bank $3,000 bills on engines when they pop and they will pop. Start out with a Briggs single speed car and run formula Junior with scca. At least until you're eighteen. Out of curiosity I search my local Craigslist 480 for a rr Kart. A decent margay chassis with spares was advertised for $700 locally. There are a lot of local carts here because we have a city-owned road race track here that runs regularly. You're looking at a minimum of 2500 to $3,000 to buy something remotely decent in Shifter Kart land
In reply to Ovid_and_Flem:
Yeah, I came to the same conclusion after cruising through my clist. $3000 is the benchmark for anything that looked competitive. Is Formula Junior essentially a run what you've brung provided it meets all the safety and stuff?
Any remarks on something like this: https://bham.craigslist.org/snw/5890893005.html
It's not running a briggs but other than that is the chassis alright?
Would it be worth it if I found a Briggs LO206 and a chassis without an engine to swap it in?
Google scca Formula Junior Kart rules and there is a complete PDF. Very specific rules but probably aren't really enforced on the local level. But fun just the same. I bumped a thread on karting to the top of this form for you. Also consider going up to the indoor go kart track in Birmingham and sign up for a few races. Prepare to be humiliated while you're learning. LOL
For what it's worth I did a Craigslist search in Jackson Mississippi where I'm from. There was a margay kart with sparez listed for 700 bucks. That's where you need to start if you're considering this. There are a lot of road race karts here because we have an asphalt road race course that is owned by the city and runs regular events. If you do shop locally make sure you don't buy an lto Kart. That is left turn only for oval racing. They have a different wheelbase from side to side and don't turn right well
In reply to Ovid_and_Flem:
Haha I go up to Autobahn pretty regularly with my friends, I was really surprised how hard it was on the driver. It was so much fun though, would do again, and regularly, and faster . And yeah, I got my butt handed to me the first few times as I felt out how the kart works.
I'll keep my eye out for a Margay, just did some reading up on them.
Look up racing kart on jackson ms craigslist to see what 700 ask price for an older margay looks like.
And a hot lap in a shifter kart is about 20 times more brutal than what you run at the go-kart track in Bessemer. LOL
FWIW I've -road race cars for 20 years, autocross before that , race Motocross, and flat track. I squeeze my big ass in a shifter kart and took two laps and realize the performance envelope is way higher and the experience is way more physical then I want to do
I have faith in myself, but we'll just have to see. I'm usually not one to back down from a challenge. 
Looking on craigslist and found the $700 margay kart; what's with the tires being wider on one side? I bet the answer is really simple, but I'm still stumped.
I just got into shifter karts, here are my thoughts
How good is the surface at your autocross? these things have no suspension, ours is rough enough that it's impossible to run a kart. Between bouncing all over the place and beating yourself silly and bottoming out and breaking your seat (and tailbone).
How good of a driver are you? Shifter karts are crazy stupid fast and fun but they are also an absolute handful. I wish I'd started with a much slower kart to learn the basics.
Brand: find what is run near you and go with that brand. For me this meant tony kart.
Get good protective gear. a full face helmet, and gloves at a minimum with a heavy jacket and jeans. These things throw an insane amount of rocks at you.
If you are wanting to get into autocross or learn how to drive you'd probably be better off with a $3000 Miata. If you just want a big stupid grin plastered on your face get a shifter kart.
This is an appropriate thread to pop up at this time. I went and watched some guys (8 or 9) race on a private track next to one of their houses. It was great to watch. When the racing was done, they turned me lose in one of the non-shifted carts. Holy crap was that thing fast! I can't even imagine what a shifter is like. Naturally I want one now. Sadly, I am running at max projects for the moment. Oh well. Maybe next year.
As for the protective gear, does a person use a normal racing firesuit, or do you need a motorcycle race suit? If it's normal race gear there is an ad for gloves and an ad for a fire suit in open classifieds right now for a pretty good price.
In reply to gearheadmb:
AFAIK firesuit not required...full face helmet (there is a snell rating specifically for kart use), a neck restraint, a kart jacket with reinforced elbow protection, gloves, long pants and closed shoes. Many use rib cage protection vests also. Full coverage Kart suits are availible with abrasion protection.
Here's advice from a nearly 40 year old guy with three kids, mortgage and all the student loans.
Just f'ing start something. Stop all this mental masturbation and do something. You can change your mind or kart or car later.
Fueled by Caffeine wrote: Here's advice from a nearly 40 year old guy with three kids, mortgage and all the student loans. Just f'ing start something. Stop all this mental masturbation and do something. You can change your mind or kart or car later.
fair enough
Fueled's post made me think what I would have done differently at your age if I had a love of cars.
if there is a good local karting scene (not autocross, but a kart series) I'd rate that as number 1 for fun/learning. I wouldn't start with a shifter though.
If there's not a good local kart than I'd pick up a beater Miata or e36 or other low hp good handling car and autocross and track day it.
In reply to icaneat50eggs:
Nopermit has a great resource right up the road in Bessemer Alabama with the Autobahn Kart Center. They have organized leagues and if I were him that's where I would be doing my initial training. While it may seem expensive to a sixteen-year-old it's a lot cheaper fan jumping into buying an old used car at this point. Just my 2 cents
NoPermitNeeded wrote: These seem like a relatively affordable way to get into autocross and greatly interest me, I'm wondering what I should look for and be aware of if I wanted to autocross a kart. Thankyou to Ovid_and _Flem for planting this idea in my head.
Read through the "For those who love racing..." thread
1)There are only three kart engines commonly raced in the US that don't suck to own and operate. The Briggs LO206 (8 hp), the "Stock Honda" (36 hp shifter), and the ICC (45 hp shifter). General consensus is that newbies develop faster in the Briggs class.
Here's the difference in driver workload. ICC Briggs
2) Buy 4 cheap bathroom scales that all read the same and a level. Level the scales using magazines and the level, then place the kart on it and sit in it. Add LF+RR and RF+LR. The further those numbers are off the worse the chassis is bent. Other red flags are an engine that doesn't run, axles or wheels that don't spin readily or have lateral or radial play, and brakes that don't work. Almost anything is fixable on a kart, but the cost of doing so can turn a bargain expensive.
3) For a Briggs kart, you'll need $500 worth of tools and $300 in driver gear. Then after that you should budget for a set of $225 tires per autocross season, $20 for gas/oil/brake fluid per autocross, and $300 per season for replacement/tuning chassis parts. It's much cheaper than autocrossing a car.
In reply to Ovid_and_Flem:
The leagues is something I've often considered doing, I'm gonna have to research it some but that'll most likely be where I start in the karting world.
chaparral wrote:NoPermitNeeded wrote: These seem like a relatively affordable way to get into autocross and greatly interest me, I'm wondering what I should look for and be aware of if I wanted to autocross a kart. Thankyou to Ovid_and _Flem for planting this idea in my head.Read through the "For those who love racing..." thread 1)There are only three kart engines commonly raced in the US that don't suck to own and operate. The Briggs LO206 (8 hp), the "Stock Honda" (36 hp shifter), and the ICC (45 hp shifter). General consensus is that newbies develop faster in the Briggs class. Here's the difference in driver workload. ICC Briggs 2) Buy 4 cheap bathroom scales that all read the same and a level. Level the scales using magazines and the level, then place the kart on it and sit in it. Add LF+RR and RF+LR. The further those numbers are off the worse the chassis is bent. Other red flags are an engine that doesn't run, axles or wheels that don't spin readily or have lateral or radial play, and brakes that don't work. Almost anything is fixable on a kart, but the cost of doing so can turn a bargain expensive. 3) For a Briggs kart, you'll need $500 worth of tools and $300 in driver gear. Then after that you should budget for a set of $225 tires per autocross season, $20 for gas/oil/brake fluid per autocross, and $300 per season for replacement/tuning chassis parts. It's much cheaper than autocrossing a car.
How many karts usually show up to an autocross? I understand that its more up to each location, but is it something that people do regularly?
It depends on region. In Detroit there are typically 5-6.
I recommend racing a kart at a kart track. You'll spend more on tires and crash damage but you'll get more seat time for the same entry fee.
In reply to chaparral:
If I were a little younger and a little thinner and in a little better health I'd be all over carding. we have an unbelievable resource here in Jackson Mississippi. Clinton Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, has a city-owned 4/10 Mile Road Course 4 karts. It is paved nicely and a challenging little course.
If you join the karting Club they even give you a key to the track where you can test into on your own. They run a 3 region race series with tracks here and in Louisiana. All the tracks are under 80 miles away. Entry fees are only $10 a driver . Really cheap fun . Sadly they don't have a huge following but enough to at least give people some competition
A shifter kart is as close to an F1 car as many of us will get. They are brutal on the body and mind. Things happen so fast that by the time you've processed the thought, it's too late. A shifter on an autocross course is shifting 2-3 times per corner. I would not recommend them to anyone, unless you have karting experience.
I have raced and built 4 stroke karts. That is likely the cheapest route to go in the karting world, especially since you have a well known track near you. One thing to consider is how will you transport your kart to the track or autocross? Truck, van, car and trailer? Would one of those make more sense to autocross?
I agree with the above, buy something with a manual that has plentiful, inexpensive parts, and is practical (i.e. Honda Civic), gets the folks off the back, gives you something to learn in, and can be competitive from Street class to Prepared.
Chrispy, that's exactly why he should get "the four grand Grand Prix car"!
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