I actually sold my 2002 Miata to buy a kart, here are my findings so far:
Kart is a 2007 Tony Kart EVX with a PRD Fireball 125cc engine (~26hp, will rev up past 17,000rpm if you gear it to do so)
Medium Grip tires from Bridgestone
SPEED-
1. Much faster than anything I ever rode in at an autocross event. It's fast in a straight line but it isn't a Ferrari Enzo beater by any means. Top speed for the single speed 125s don't really exceed 75mph on track (somewhere in the 80s for shifter karts). I would say the 0-60 is within the low low 4 second range. Still feels very fast in a straight line though given the size of the course.
2. In the corners it turns with so much violence that it actually hurts at times. The first time I took it out w/o a rib protector I was able to drive, but not able to focus on anything because of how hard my ribs were getting hit by the seat in transitions.
COST-
1. The entire purchase price of my kart (with a brand new motor which should last around 25 hours) and a chassis that was taken out on track 3 times (but never bent) was $4500.00 from a very well known kart tuner in the So-Cal area.
2. Parts are cheap as hell. There is little price difference in compound, with tax I paid about $200.00 for Medium compound tires. Brake pads are under $50 for a pair. Rebuild on the engine costs $400-800 typically depending on what goes.
3. The bottom line is for the price you pay, the speed you get is rediculous. I loved my Miata a lot, but I wish I had known about karts from the beginning.
4. Prices can be anywhere from $1800-$9000 depending on whether or not you buy used / brand new. Also depends on the year, people often ditch used karts after they are a few years old since the technology improves at a pretty quick pace.
5. I'm not sure about other people who commented on this, but the costs to maintain the kart is really cheap. I haven't really had to spend that much money at all to maintain it. Fuel is around $70 for 5 gallons of 98 leaded, oil is about $40.
I go twice as often as I used to go to auto-x and I pay half the cost for a practice day ($30), the times I have gone to the track there was only 1 other person each time. Not to mention I usually spend about 2-3 hours actually driving. The other big benefit of this is that instead of having 1 run then waiting sometimes 20 + minutes, you can keep taking lap after lap after lap.
You are running the course once every minute which compresses the learning process.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants more time on track at a faster pace. Wheel to wheel racing provides an entirely different world too you don't experience in auto-x.
If the speed isn't enough for you, you could always spend a few thousand more and pick up a super kart. 0-100 in about 5 seconds with 3G of cornering speed
;)
Just thought I'd check in since I saw this thread on karting, was probably a long read but I hope it was informative.
Have fun!
