Hey all, looking at buying my 17 year old daughter a Briggs LO206 race kart so she can learn high performance driving and basic wrenching in her last year before college. Kind of a Daddy-Daughter bonding thing before she is out of the house. She got hooked on Drive-to-Survive, started watching F1 with me, and I reminded her that when she was 5 or 6 I offered to buy her a Kart and take her racing all across the country if she gave up gymnastics. So now she wants to take me up on that, and I am all in on maximizing the fun and learning until she goes off to school.

Any advice from karting addicts or former racers? I wrench on all my own cars, track my EVO in HPDE events a bunch, and know my way around a car and race track, but I've never touched a kart, know zero about them, and have never even worked on a small 4 stroke or tuned/rebuilt a carburetor.

Have multiple books incoming on karting, and karts, but if there is anyone that has gone down this trail before I'd love any advice you can give.

Thanks in advance.

Where are you located? There's a popular track up near Conroe that's fairly new. There is one in Katy as well and I thing MSR Houston has karts as well.

If in Dallas or Austin area, I'm sure there are a few options as well.

I am actually in Lake Charles due to a recent move. There is a club track near Lafayette, about 1:15 hrs east of LC that I have already checked out and will be joining. It will be our local track and our jumping off point. They race about once a month, LO206 exclusively, and for $250 a year younger the run of the place anytime there is not an organized race going on. It is kind of a MSR type deal for karts. Nothing fancy or elaborate, but a great place.to.get our feet wet. It's called More Park Motorsports or Raceway or something like that. I've talked to the local organizer, and been to a race. I'll probably try and buy a used Kart from one of the locals.

Buying used from a local is a great start. You may be able to find gear and most things to get you up and running. Maybe find a local kart shop and see if they have any old gear they're letting go of as well. You'll need different gears, a kart stand, basic tools, will need to figure out if you'll do your own tires or if a shop is close enough to do tire changes for you (if doing yourself, you need the tire tools).

If you're on Facebook maybe you'll find a local group. There is a Texas Karting Gear For Sale group that you may be able to take advantage of since you're close.

Find your local Kart Club. Karting folks are super helpful and very eager to help new people get started.

My Son has raced since he was 5, mostly at Waco's HOT Kart Club. Awesome place there and well worth a visit.


If you are your own mechanic, forget everything you know about suspension and handling. Its completely different on a kart. Chassis flex is your only tuning suspension. Moving the wheel track 1mm changes the grip level.

Its so addictive.


Also I'd get your daughter to start training her forearms and maybe neck muscles. These things really tax those muscles and you need some endurance there. Also get a ribvest, put it on and pick a seat she can barely fit in. No wiggle room allowed. Also get a neck collar or better yet, a hans device. Its a very safe sport, but sometimes wheel to wheel contact is made and then you are riding a bull for the next couple of seconds!

Remember going to those races all the time as a kid. Loved it and wanted to get into it so bad - but we didn't have the funds back then. Saw someone flip one over before so proper gear is important.

Thanks, good info on the muscle groups and the rib vest / seat sizing. I wondered about the rib vests, and I'm not even sure what they are for?

I assume you have to use the Simpson Hybrid type HANS since it doesn't require seatbelts to secure it. Do many people use a HANS? I asked when I was at the track but didn't actually see any. At first I thought the rib vests were the hybrid type HANS but then I saw they did not have helmet tethers and were just rib vests.

What about fire resistant underwear / baclava under a drivers suit. A little afraid in LA that she would get so hot that she would be miserable. She has a tendency to over heat easily during outdoor sports. But safety is for sure my primary concern, don't want her to be burned or have neck problems as a result of our quest for fun.

Roger350 said:

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Thanks, good info on the muscle groups and the rib vest / seat sizing. I wondered about the rib vests, and I'm not even sure what they are for?

I assume you have to use the Simpson Hybrid type HANS since it doesn't require seatbelts to secure it. Do many people use a HANS? I asked when I was at the track but didn't actually see any. At first I thought the rib vests were the hybrid type HANS but then I saw they did not have helmet tethers and were just rib vests.

What about fire resistant underwear / baclava under a drivers suit. A little afraid in LA that she would get so hot that she would be miserable. She has a tendency to over heat easily during outdoor sports. But safety is for sure my primary concern, don't want her to be burned or have neck problems as a result of our quest for fun.

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Rib Vests will help spread the load of any side impact so you don't take a point load right on one or two ribs. Those seats fit very tight and the carts pull 1.5 G's pretty regularly. That load is right into your rib cage mostly due to the seat holding you in place.


The Neck braces may not technically be called Hans devices, but thats what they look like. We always used a foam neck collar. The whole idea is to limit your head/neck movement in a crash to avoid whiplash. They make big carbon fiber things that do the same job (but better) than the foam collar.


We never went crazy with the fire ******ant underoos. The fire suit, gloves, and balaclava are enough. Driving shoes are beneficial, not only for the fire ******ant but also it makes the kart easier to drive. You have to have a high level of "touch" with your feet. Driving shoes have thin soles and are flexible to give you more feel. Weirdly, wrestling shoes are very similar and you can buy those at Acadamy, but they aren't fire resistant.

No info, but I was behind a truck in New Braunfels today pulling something in a trailer that (from a quick google) looks to be one of these. It was badass and I remember thinking how awesome it would be to drive one.

Have fun!

How often does your son race?

Do you have any general guidelines on a consumables budget for a competitive campaign? I assume tires are the huge expense, and I don't know what else besides fuel and oil changes there are?

Someone at the track I visited said $1k / weekend, and I could not tell by their tone if they were serious or not. That seemed high at first blush to me, but I have no idea.

I'd estimate a track weekend is about $1500 - 1700 for my EVO, including a 400 school fee and the rest for maintenance and consumables, amortizing the tires and brakes across 4-8 weekends. But honestly, I don't throw away tires in search of lap times on that car, being that it has traction everywhere, so I probably use my tires beyond their useful track life.

I'm fully prepared to absorb whatever cost is necessary to make sure her equipment is not holding her back, but her ability and learning curve will be the limiting factor on results as long as she has average equipment. I'm not going to chase tenths by shelling out money for trick parts, I'd rather shell out money to maximize her seat time so she gets the most time on track as possible, knowing that means more tires and wear items for all those practice laps.

I really appreciate all your input! Thanks.

LO206 is cheap, cheap. The class was invented to be cheap, fun, and non-intimidating to the noobie. It is still serious racing though and many people have gone from higher classes down to 206 just because of the cost and the competition is better.

206 was intended to sun older, used chassis' and used tires and such. Like cast-off tires from serious racers that could be had for cheap. For us racing every other weekend we would get 5 gallons of gas (regular 87 from the station, some tracks require it to be from a certain station) and some snacks. That was it. Plenty of water, and gatoraide. We'd change the oil every two races (less than one quart) with B&S 4T oil which is spec for the class.

Tires for us would last a whole season. We ran at minimum weight (360 lbs). My son was heavy enough that if we put about half a tank of fuel in the kart we'd weigh in at 361-362 at the finish no ballast needed. If you aren't worried about money as much as we were you could do 2 sets of tires a season and be very competitive.

I think we spent about 150-ish a weekend.

But yes, when you are serious and running the serious classes you can easily spend $1k a weekend, which is why LO206 was designed as the "approachable" class.....

This is music to my ears. The $1k / weekend comment must have been a bad attempt at a joke. Yeah I think we can splurge for more than 1 or 2 sets of tires per season, but we'll kind of see what people in her races do and take our cues there. I don't want to be the new guns from Dallas accused of buying wins, not a good way to make friends. Thanks again for all the time and answers!

Roger350 said:

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This is music to my ears. The $1k / weekend comment must have been a bad attempt at a joke. Yeah I think we can splurge for more than 1 or 2 sets of tires per season, but we'll kind of see what people in her races do and take our cues there. I don't want to be the new guns from Dallas accused of buying wins, not a good way to make friends. Thanks again for all the time and answers!

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If you are going to NTK you'll see some folks that will outspend you no matter what you do. If you come down to Waco it's much more laid back and less cutthroat feeling.


Honestly my Son is in engineering at A&M and hasn't had the time to race the last couple of years. I can't wait to get back to it, and I might be buying myself a kart too.

Ah, I remember now, you were trying to see what training to get him in to help his chances at driving the Formula SAE car, did he get a chance? Are they still a tier one semi-dominant team? I remember Dr. Make McDermott retired as the faculty advisor a few years back. He was an awesome guy. I had him for an automotive engineering class back in '96. I always assumed his advising played a role in our consistently high performance year to year.

Roger350 said:

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Ah, I remember now, you were trying to see what training to get him in to help his chances at driving the Formula SAE car, did he get a chance? Are they still a tier one semi-dominant team? I remember Dr. Make McDermott retired as the faculty advisor a few years back. He was an awesome guy. I had him for an automotive engineering class back in '96. I always assumed his advising played a role in our consistently high performance year to year.

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He drove the car during his Freshman year. Just skidpad and acceleration. He also apprenticed that year. Ever since he's been a driver AND an engineer, and last year he was the suspension lead on the electric car. Which he also was the lead driver.

This year he's switched to the ICE team as the engine ECU and tune leader and is the head driver there.

So he's driven both teams every year. Electric has struggled to get their car built and reliable. Gas has been a solid contender every year, but not really too 5. They end up top 10-15ish every year it seems. Still pretty great out of the 100+ teams there.

That is awesome, congrats to you both. It is an awesome program for sure and he is getting tremendous experience.

Regarding the cost of 206 (or racing in general): One of the biggest reasons we raced at HOT in Waco was due to the genuinely nice and down-to-earth folks that ran there. We had a few guys pull up in full race trailers, but mostly you've got folks with the kart in the bed of their truck. Or maybe a 5x8 garden trailer or similar. HOT cancels if there is rain, so you don't need to keep rain tires on hand. Everybody there will lend you a hand or share parts if needed.


What you'll need to do this minimally (besides the kart itself) is some basic tools. A kart-specific tire change setup, maybe a spare tire(s) in case you get a flat, an air compressor and accurate low-pressure gauge. (8-20 psi) and a dolly to roll the kart around on. Here is where I splurge and get one that lifts the kart via gas struts or an electric winch. Pushing the kart itself is hard. Get a dolly.

The air compressor can be a Milwaukee or Ryobi or whatever little handheld pump. The tires only run 12-15 psi in general.

You'll want a spare quart of oil, A few new spark plugs, a spare front and rear tire (already mounted on a rim would be awesome) and a spare tie rod or two, and a spare chain. And most importantly a variety of sprockets to fine tune your gearing for a track. Get the split sprockets. They can be changed without removing the axle.

Thanks, this is super helpful!

Roger350 said:

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How often does your son race?

Do you have any general guidelines on a consumables budget for a competitive campaign? I assume tires are the huge expense, and I don't know what else besides fuel and oil changes there are?

Someone at the track I visited said $1k / weekend, and I could not tell by their tone if they were serious or not. That seemed high at first blush to me, but I have no idea.

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You know how to make a million dollars in racing?
















Start with two million.

Think that joke needs an inflation update, F1 style...

Know how to make $1M in F1...start with $450M.

I just got my 5yo son a kid kart. We are going to be based out of Cresson and probably race in Waco. (I've heard similar things about the Dallas kart scene as previously stated in this thread. We will have a middling budget, might be willing to spend 2-3k per year if necessary.
Any good books or podcasts to help a dad who has near zero experience in wrenching or racing?
I've heard setup is key and I wouldn't know where to start.

average_joker said:

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I just got my 5yo son a kid kart. We are going to be based out of Cresson and probably race in Waco. (I've heard similar things about the Dallas kart scene as previously stated in this thread. We will have a middling budget, might be willing to spend 2-3k per year if necessary.
Any good books or podcasts to help a dad who has near zero experience in wrenching or racing?
I've heard setup is key and I wouldn't know where to start.

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Seriously. Kid larts aren't about being competitive. Just get out on the track as much as possible. Thats the ticket for kids.

The kart in *any* state of tune will be faster than the kid driving it for at least the first year or so.

Waco is an excellent place for Kid Karts. Super helpful and friendly bunch there.

Also Kid Karts are the most fun thing to watch!