Advice on purchasing my first LO206

[Daniel Lopez]

Does anyone have any advice on buying a brand new LO206? I am currently in a shifter and am looking to move to a 206 mostly due to the lower cost of operation. I also know very little about karting and the more I learn, the more I think I would have more fun in the LO206. Less stress, more racing. Know what I mean? I just ran my first race this past weekend, the Run Your Rust Off event, and with the large field and lower cost to run, I am strongly considering buying a 206.

Does anyone have any opinions on certain chassis manufacturers over others? I am looking at the Margay K3 Ignite. Is this a decent chassis? I will be honest, I am mostly looking at this kart as they have a clearly listed price and easy to find information on their site. I am open to just about anything, but I want to start with a new (or newer) chassis that is a capable performer. Are there other good 206
“race ready” chassis in that $4k price range I should be considering? I am open to any and all advice. Strong opinions welcome. I am a total noob here, please help.

 

This is the kart I am looking at right now: https://www.margay.com/karts/models/ignite-k3.html

Thanks.

• This topic was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Daniel Lopez.

[Daniel Lopez]

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on buying a pre-raced kart from Margay? See the link below. I am assuming these would already be safety wired and truly ready to go?

https://www.margay.com/karts/used-margay-karts-for-sale.html

[The Colorado Karter]

Danny,

Great post! I think the Margay is a solid chassis. However, there are many other options out there, and you should carefully consider the positives and negatives of a variety of brands.

Some good guidelines for purchasing a kart:

• Do you realllllllllyyyyy need a new kart? Especially as a newer driver, the answer is likely no.
• Find a chassis that has great local support. Often, you can get the best of the best kart, but without local parts support or a solid online store or customer service, you can be dead in the water if a brake caliper or spindle breaks or needs replacement.
• With the harder tire in 206, I have seen a lot of karts be fast in the category. This is good news for you, as it means you can afford to take your time considering multiple options before pouncing on the ‘secret sauce’ kart that everyone in the class runs. I say this because there is no more diverse class in terms of chassis utilized as 206.

[Daniel Lopez]

Thank you for the reply. I guess I just want something competitive. I don’t reallllly need a new kart, but I definitely don’t want anything more than a year or two old if I can avoid it. I am open to any and all advice on who makes a decent chassis for the 206, any sort of place to start. Either my google fu is weak or there is a serious lack of information on karts out there on the web (Or, I haven’t found the information sources quite yet).

I looked at Intrepid last night and those are pretty sweet looking as well. From what I understand, there is local support which I can imagine will be huge. Thank you for your reply.

[The Colorado Karter]

Daniel,

You may want to consult a couple resources on here. Yes, the karting industry is appallingly behind the times when it comes to online presence by manufacturers and local karting shops:

• Our “Helpful Links” area has web links to all major service and parts suppliers in Colorado, and many nationally. This may be a great place to start your search!
• Our “Contact | Karting Businesses” Page allows you to read more about a variety of business product lines and retail options for Colorado-based karting industry businesses.

[Greg Welch]

Daniel,

I believe that especially for your first kart purchase, you will find an invaluable amount of help by buying it from someone that can support it locally and help you at the races.  The learning curve in this sport is steep, and having someone on your side to help you learn the driving, mechanics, and the other ins and outs will be highly beneficial.

We sell and service karts (Compkart and Tony Kart) at the track, Dustin Courter runs an Intrepid Dealership in CO, Action Karting, GJMS, SBR, and IMI could all also be good resources.  My advice would be to talk to as many shop owners/people as you can on the phone or in person and buy locally with whoever you feel the most comfortable with or feel you will get the most support from.  At the end of the day I don’t think you can go wrong with a local dealer, but I do believe that buying any product from out of state just to save a few dollars will end up costing you more in the long run.

 

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