General Beginner g160

[jjm2015]

Hi new to the forum !

Long story short my just turned 9year old has been karting briefly starting with indoor then outdoor currently 5/6 lessons deep at Teesside

I’m concerned about seat time with lessons not available when we are & vice versa

After some brief reading it looks like the GX200 with 950mm chassis will be coming into play, but to be honest he’s still a year plus of racing anyways … we are still in the fun phase and want to increase this from 30mins lesson to a full owner day practice

Gx160 seems to be widely available and tbh a lot cheaper ?.. I’m more so looking for any cons rather than pros, any suggestion why going for an older kart (2019 ish) with GX160would be a wrong move when not looking to race just yet?

From a financial point of view it seems the best option for now before spending £1000’s

Thanks

Andy

 

[LE#99]

If you're going to race at Teesside then check which honda class they're running this year and go for that. See how things go this year and then look at options from there.

Honda is slowly dying unfortunately so you need to see what makes up the majority of thr class wherever youre racing.
Kart wise, get a tidy synergy, p1 or whatever, dont go superncheap unless youre willing to replace if and when you find its holding you back.......but remember the majority of the time you will be trying to find will be in the driver so don't start getting sucked in to buying 'big' engines as you'll find much more speed in the driver......seat time is paramount, bang in the laps, days on days and the driver will get quicker. Then start to look at getting some driving advice.

Depending on the size of the driver you may have to move up to inter next year anyway, which will mean iame or rotax.

 

[wotnotv]

Honda is definitely not dying at Teesside, it's the biggest cadet grid by far there. Grids of 25-30 Hondas are normal.

They race GX200s, not 160s. However, they also mostly race the 900mm chassis and they treat the 950mm as a separate subclass.

You will be able to save money by buying a 900mm chassis rather than the newer 950mm, and a cheap GX200 race engine (instead of a 160) and you will be able to race that setup at Teesside when he's ready.

You'll need a sealed GX200 engine. The older red seals look like they are valid at Teesside again this year - I just checked the 2024 rules - and they can be converted to a new blue seal by RPM quite cheaply if you want to race elsewhere later.

 

[wotnotv]

.... also, if you're buying a race engine in the North East, make sure you get a cadet engine, not an unrestricted one, as the seniors race Honda Prokart up there also.

 

[wotnotv]

Honda is definitely not dying at Teesside, it's the biggest cadet grid by far there. Grids of 25-30 Hondas are normal.

They race GX200s, not 160s. However, they also mostly race the 900mm chassis and they treat the 950mm as a separate subclass.

You will be able to save money by buying a 900mm chassis rather than the newer 950mm, and a cheap GX200 race engine (instead of a 160) and you will be able to race that setup at Teesside when he's ready.

You'll need a sealed GX200 engine. The older red seals look like they are valid at Teesside again this year - I just checked the 2024 rules - and they can be converted to a new blue seal by RPM quite cheaply if you want to race elsewhere later.

Update for anyone reading this later - Teesside just issued a rule change for 2024 and they are now mandating the blue-tagged engine for Honda Cadets. The engines are the same, but if you have a red-tagged one it will need to go back to a builder to be checked and re-tagged. RPM do it quite cheap.