How Long Do Kart Tires Last? ( Also When To Change )

Author: E. Silva (aka Mr. Awesome Expert)

It all depends on how committed you are to go – karting, at the end of the day, and you alone, of course, can know that better than anyone. Like with all things in life, wear and tear is wear and tear. I like to say that often. The more you use, the more you will need to maintain, re – place and re – peat. He he he he heh. It’s true.

Now, then, consider this fact : New tires help us go faster, get a better grip on the track, and so much else. So it’s worth the investment. And with go – karting, you will find this to be one of the pricier sports / hobbies out there, in turn, which means you will need to have some money ( and it’s not a passion for the cheap, as some like to say ) . In fact, many go – kart owners spend upwards of $12,000-20,000 a year on just tire adjustments, add – ons and replacements. Now if that alone does not give you an idea ( and read it again, he he he he he heh ) of how much you need to use, spend on and re – place tires throughout the year, then maybe nothing well. Tires need swapping out often… in some cases, new sets of tires for new races is nothing extreme. In other words, some consider it quite normal ( especially those who race professionally ) to change out their set of tires for a new one altogether … get this …. every time they start A NEW RACE. Yup, in fact, racing with the same tires you used in the previous day ( even if it was just a week ago, for instance ) can actually be a risky thing.

You could lose traction, spin out, get into an accident, stall, have slower turn times and so much else when you fail to put in new tires ( of at least $100 or more when racing semi – pro ) after every race. If you do not happen to race often, and just prefer to casually cruise by in your go – kart, from time to time, then it can be seen as perfectly acceptable ( and yes, even normal ) to not really swap out your tires until the next week or so. They should ideally get swapped out before then, but this is pushing it, if money’s a little tight …

Some who race hard on the tracks ( and hit top speeds of 75 miles per hour, or even 100+ ) change out their tires every 2 hours or so. No joke. They know the difference it makes to do so. They also know that, in some cases, if they do not win races, they lose sponsors, they lose money, they lose fame, and they basically lose their career. So changing tires daily / per race is worth the investment.