You have 3 real choices for 'regular' karting.
TKM Rotax Formula Blue.
To be competive Rotax is the most expensive because the engine has to be maintained by a service engineer.
The speeds of all three are roughly identical from the driving point of view, most people are working so hard as a novice that they really can't tell the difference, and teh techniques between teh karts differ too.
for example you start braking on a TKM with the harder tyres much earlier than a Rotax and slide through the corners, where a Rotax tyre sticks. This means that you need the same degree of skill to drive both well, but take different lines.
Formula Blue has an advantage that it compensates for driver weight, so that regard of your weight you can race with everyone else on equal terms.
All the engines say they need maintenance at about the same time (eg: nominally 20 hours) and all the classes benefit from new tyres. Generally TKMs and Blue can be made to run longer on their tyres than Rotax, but at the top level, drivers by a new set for each meeting.
TKM rules are currently more restrictive than Blue or Rotax (you can't have caster and camber changes for example).
In any case, you will be on a second hand chassis for at least the first year until you learn to make use of 'the newness'.
We usually advise people to go to several local kart meetings to find out what classes are being run and to talk to other drivers about things like costs. Most of us are willing to steer you accurately.
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