Choosing a kart

Getting started in karting? READ ON!

You are never too old to start karting, some members are in their 80s!

You can even start from as young as 6 years old!

All the classes can seem a little daunting to begin with, but we are here to help with any questions you might have. Below is a table to help you compare, but here is a brief rundown.

HANDY LINK to Karting Australia  Rules and Regulations

Choosing race category:

Obviously the first determining factor for category is age:

Bambino**: age 6 to 8

Cadet 9: from age 7 to 13

Cadet 12: from age 9 to 13

Junior: from age year of 12th birthday to age 16

Senior: 16 and older

The second decision for seniors is traditional sprint racing, or enduro racing*. Sprint racing is the most popular. However some enjoy the comradery and challenge of enduro racing. Enduro uses 4 stroke engines (sometimes 2) traditionally. The races can last for over 8 hours, require 2 drivers, fuel and pit stops etc.

It is our recommendation you start in sprint racing to learn more about karting in general, the chart below and most of the information here will focus on sprint racing.

* Information about enduro racing can be found at SEKQLD website. 

** Bambino is run by Auskart  using 4 stroke engines only, Auskart is a grass roots club, based out of Lakeside raceway.

Choosing a kart frame:

3 main frame types, mainly determined by size (length and tube diameter).

Regardless of what Chassis you choose you can generally mount a variety of 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines to most modern variants. There are some frames offered specifically to cater for different engines though. For example Arrow offer a 4 stroke specific frame, however this is not essential, with a lot of fast 4 stroke guys still using 2 stroke style chassis.

1. Cadet: Used by the little guys, 6 to 12 years old, cadet frames use smaller rear axles and wheels compared to all other classes. So a cadet is normally not used in other classes
2. Junior: Very similar to a senior frame in regards to componentry, most junior frames are a little shorter than a senior frame, so the younger drivers can reach the pedals, the tubing is usually smaller and thinner, so the kart frame is lighter.
3. Senior: Senior kart frames are the most common (obviously). If you are a taller junior, you can use a senior frame in the junior class. There are 3 main variations of senior frames Standard, DD2/Shifter (front brakes make these easy to tell), twin (for twin motors) easy to tell as they have 2 rear rails either side (instead of 2 on the right side only).  

Choosing an Engine:

There is a wide range of engines to choose from. They will firstly be determined by what sort of racing you want to do. As mentioned above.

2 Stroke or 4 Stroke?

Traditionally for sprint racing 2 strokes have been the only option up until the past few years. So what has brought the 4 stroke engine onto the scene?

Cost is the main factor. With the 4 stroke offering being significantly cheaper to run. Best described in the table below, for the sake of the comparison we have compared 2 junior classes similar in power, KA4 and 4SS junior:

Class	Engine type and HP	Approx Engine cost (at time of post)	Spare Engine	Rebuild	Tyre Life (replace all 4)	Race Series	Age groups
2 Stroke	KA100 11HP restricted	$3400	Suggested 2 engines, 1 practice, 1 race	approx every 12 hours	every race meet	Local, State, National	Cadet, Junior, Senior
4 Stroke	Torini Clubmaxx 12HP	$1795	1 engine only	never	Every 4 race meets or longer	Local, State	Cadet, Junior, Senior

Other factors to consider before choosing a class is your location. What are the popular classes in your local area? An easy way to find out is to checkout old race results. Speedhive is the main website for all motorsport, and you can refine your search by choosing karting, and Australia. Or search the name of your local track if you know it. Here is an example of Warwick Kart Club meet. You would need to really check quite a few rounds to get a true idea though, for example, The Club meet linked was the weekend before the 2 stroke state titles, therefore there were numerous 2 stroke entries.

Finally, Let's take a look at junior and cadet classes, and senior classes available to beginners, keeping in mind some (more powerful) classes are not open to beginners. Things to keep in mind apart from cost is the minimum weight (kart and driver) and engines, notice the 2 stroke cadets run a different engine to junior 2 stroke for example.

MINIMUM WEIGHT For reference a fully setup junior kart is around 70kg. So if your child is already over 60 kg, you are going to be over the weight class for KA4 and 4SS junior classes. The solution is KA3, however you need to be endorsed by the officials for that.