Low Budget Karting (No Racing)

[P1]

I was thinking about getting into Karting, but I have a very small budget, certainly not enough for competition (this will be just for fun), and I have lots of questions.


From my very limited research, I believe the TaG Karts are the cheapest kind you can get...?

If I get a Kart, I want to maximize the setup so that I can make componets last a long time before needing replacement/repair. I know I should go for the hardest compound tires I can get.. about how long should those last in terms of laps? I weigh about 190lbs, just in case that is a factor. Is there such a thing as rev limiters for Karts? If so, are they cheap and easily installed? I know engine life depends primarily on rpms, so roughly how many hours should the engine last if I set it up to only run about three quaters of the speed of a regular racing Tag Kart? can I get other components for the engine at a cheap price to extend its life?

My budget is a little less than 2,000 USD. With this small amount of money, should I even bother?

[manchild]

What you need would be something similar to simple rental karting. It requires universal 4 stroke or 2 stroke engine (used for water pumps, lawn movers, generators). Such engines can be tuned to give you desired speed but it is smarter to buy engine with a larger capacity/power and leave it untuned than to tune engine with smaller capacity. Tuned engines require almost constant care and frequent replacement of parts and as such they are not reliable or cheap.

Cheapest way would be to build a karting on your own and to buy engine separately but the simplest way would be to buy used rental karting and invest a bit in its rejuvenation. You could also buy damaged racing chassis and invest in its repair and than put "lawnmover engine" and tyres used by rental kartings on it.

Unless you have karting capable of high speed in corners tyre wear won't represent big problem.

[West]

I don't know about TaG karts, but shifter karts look like they require a lot of maintenance. Every time I went with my friend (Moran Raceway), he'd run about ten laps, then bring in the kart. There was always something that came loose. He also ran through a set of tires maybe every two or three weekends. Of course, shifter karts are much faster (AFAIK) so it may be different for you. Also, he bought a used kart.

If you're unsure about buying a kart, you may want to go here instead:

http://www.jimhallkartracing.com/

For about 400 bucks you can get a whole day's worth of instruction. I went and it was really fun (esp since I was the fastest). I also learned a lot about car dynamics that can be applied to everyday driving. Unfortunately they don't offer shifter classes anymore. You'll still have around 1500 bucks too.

[flynfrog]

i bought a used chassis of ebay for 500 then spent 500 on front brakes and used an old race engine from my mx days now i need to build some brackets to mount stuff

i fit into a childs small seat i guess im just a little guy:(