I ran a 100cc kart race and a Tonykart training last year,but now,i wanna be faster but I didn't have a lot of money so I wanna buy a second hand kart to practies,I bet there will be great fun in it!

I wanna buy a 100cc kart,but I don't know how much is it.
in another hand,how many laps could the second hand tires run until it cannot run at all?because except for the cost for the kart,i gotta pay the tire,the fuel and the rent of the track.

I konw it seems hard but I still wanna try,and I'll try to make more money to afford it and the race in future.it's great fun to drive kart anyway.

where did you have your tonykart training

Matias I don't know much about kart shops in China - which part do you live in? There is a fair bit of karting activity in Hong Kong, but also a fair few tracks around China.

For tyre expenses - depending on the type of track you should be able to find tyres in the US $100 range that could last you 300++ laps on a 1km track.

The life of the tyre depends a lot on how soft it is. In general a soft tyre provides more grip and faster laptimes but the tyre life is shorter. An extremely hard tyre could put you 5 seconds slower than a decent soft tyre but the tyres could last you over 500 laps.

For softer racing tyres which are typically more expensive as well you might only get about 100 laps.

If you aren't racing and you really want to practice on a budget then hard tyres are a good choice as they also teach you to appreciate all the grip that you have and you learn a lot when you don't have much grip.

Mikko thanks for your kinds words and I analyzed the cost today

buy a second hand kart is more expensive than hire the local kart if i just run less than 700 laps.I wanna run more but my budget isn't there. if i could afford more than 700 laps,i would buy my own kart.anyway I don't need to worry about the kart or using a very bad tire if I hire the local kart.

how about practise 20 laps a week or 70 laps a month?



I went to shanghai to have the training,it's the best kart i've ever driven.

Matias just to add to the tyre info: the tyre cost is very specific to the country. The numbers I gave you are really just guesses. You'd have to find out what tyres are available for purchase there and how much they cost.

You can run extra hard rental kart tyres that you might find very cheap, well under $100 US a set if you're lucky (possibly under 50 even). Might even last you a thousand laps.

You also have to factor in some other costs as well though such as sprocket and chain wear, chain lube, brake pads(depends a lot on the kart) and any crash damages.

yea i've asked the price,the 100$ can buy the tire.

a second hand kart need around 1000$ or less.and the cost of the track/pit rent,the fuel and the mechanical wear need about 300-$.if the tire could run 800-900 laps,I maybe need 1300$ in total.


if I hire the local kart, 100$ for 70laps,1100$ for 800 laps.

and i guess i just could afford at most 700 laps.

Hi Matias.. For your info.. a set of new Maxxis HG3 cost over RMB1K in China, but racing tires can't last 800 laps. Using used tires is not a good choice because without grip it is hard to drive fast and quite dangerous.

Rotax Max / ROK may be able to run 800 laps without rebuild, but I am afraid you can't buy a second hand one at US$1000. If you use the tuned Yamaha KT100 you may need to rebuild after 3 hour run.

And please remember you also need to pay storage fee / membership / mechanic fee apart from the cost mentioned above.

The cost is actually not cheap anyway.. Motorsport Racing is never cheap. Sorry this is the terrible fact we always cannot accept.

Hope you can have enough budget to buy your own kart. The feeling is totally different from the rental kart.

ok.. one thing you can do Matias is find a friend or two and get them interested in the idea of having a kart. Then you can split the cost and take turns in the kart.



That's very true.

Karting also isn't the cheapest form of 4-wheel motorsport - ever heard of lawnmower racing .

Thanks to Mikko and Ivan,thanks for answering my questions these days.

Actually,I just could afford RMB9000 (about $1280 ) ,Firstly,I guess I gotta pay RMB 5000-6000 for the second hand kart,that means there just RMB 3000+ left(about $420)for the other costs.but I wish I could run over 800 laps,I don't know is that ture?

Membership,storage fee,fuel,machanic fee,

It depends on how many laps could the tire lasts and the machanic fee per 100laps.Mikko says there's some very hard tire cuold lasts over 800 laps but i don't if it could be bought in china.