Kart tyres: how to choose, and what 16 UK shops charge
We compared 246 kart tyres listings across 16 UK shops. The typical cheapest price is £42.95, and the same part number can cost up to 41% more depending on where you buy it.
UK edition2026-11-015 min readData: PitHunt weekly scan
Key takeaways
- 16 UK shops list 246 parts in this category; 21 part numbers are stocked by more than one shop.
- The typical cheapest price is £42.95; a tenth of parts cost £4.00 or less, a tenth £254.95 or more.
- Biggest gap for one part number: £185.17 on A1220-5i-pack. 4 Tire Pressure And Temperature Sensors For Alfano 7 – 5 Inches (Karting).
- KKC Kart Components had the lowest listed price most often — 15 of the 21 part numbers stocked by several shops.
- Shops
- 16
- Listings
- 246
- Typical cheapest
- £42.95
- Biggest gap
- £185.17
- 41% on one part
What a tyres does
Tyres are the only part of a kart that touches the track, and on a kart with no suspension they are most of the suspension too. In almost every racing class the tyre is a control item: the championship names one make and compound, and a barcode on the tyre ties it to the driver for the event, so the choice is rarely which tyre but which compound and how to run it.
A compound is a rubber mix with a hardness and a temperature window. Softer rubber grips harder, warms up faster and wears out sooner; harder rubber lasts longer but needs more heat to work and can feel greasy in the cold. Pressure is how you move the tyre into its window on the day: a tyre that is too cold needs more pressure to build heat, a tyre that is overheating needs less. Construction differs between makers as well — sidewall stiffness changes how the tyre grips and how it lets go.
How to choose
1 · Your class rule
Most classes run a control tyre. The wrong one is not slower, it is illegal.
How to judge it: Check the regulations. For Rotax MAX Challenge, MOJO C2 is for Micro and Mini MAX, D2XX for Junior MAX, D5 for Senior MAX and DD2; the wets are CW for the cadet classes and W5 for Senior and DD2.
2 · Compound for the conditions
Grip, warm-up and life all trade against each other.
How to judge it: Soft compounds give the most grip and about 1-2 heat cycles at their best, with a surface window around 75-100°F; mediums balance grip and life at 3-5 cycles, around 80-115°F; hards run 5-10 or more cycles but want 90-130°F and may never come in on a cold day.
3 · Pressure for the day
Pressure is the one setting that moves a tyre into or out of its working temperature.
How to judge it: Low-grip, green or cold surfaces need higher pressures to build heat; rubbered-in, hot surfaces need lower. New tyres are run in over 2 laps at a medium pace without sliding, and the pressure should rise no more than 0.35 bar as they come up to heat. Mojo quote 1.0 bar for the W5 wet and 0.85 bar for the CW in full wet conditions.
Compatibility. Tyre size and rim width have to match, and the compound has to be the one your class names. A control tyre carries a barcode registered to you at the event, so a tyre bought elsewhere may be fine for practice and not for the meeting.
Types, and the trade-offs
| Type | For | Against | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft compound | Highest grip, fastest warm-up. | Shortest life and a sharp cliff when it goes off. | Qualifying, short finals, cool tracks, and classes that mandate it. |
| Medium compound | The balance of grip and life; the safe choice when unsure. | Neither the fastest nor the longest-lived. | Most race days in temperate conditions. |
| Hard compound | Longest life and the cheapest per session. | Slow to warm and can stay greasy in the cold. | Hot weather, long races, practice, club budgets. |
| Wet | The only tyre that works in standing water. | Wears fast and can chunk on a drying track. | Full wet conditions only. |
- Hardness (IRHD)
- How hard the rubber is on the International Rubber Hardness scale; lower is softer. Published figures put the MOJO D5 at 34.1 front and 37.6 rear, the D2 at 54.4 front and 51.2 rear, the CW wet at 39.5, and the Vega XM and XH at 40.
- Matters when: Comparing two compounds you are allowed to run, or judging whether a used set is a softer or harder spec than yours.
- Heat cycles
- One cycle is a heat-up and cool-down. Rubber hardens a little each time, which is why a tyre loses pace before it loses tread.
- Matters when: Deciding whether a set is a race set or a practice set, and when buying used.
- Slick vs wet
- Slicks have no tread; wets have a treaded, softer compound that channels standing water.
- Matters when: Only on a wet track. Wets on a drying track chunk and can fail.
What it costs across UK shops
£4.00
a tenth cost this or less
£42.95
typical
£254.95
a tenth cost this or more
| Part | Cheapest | Range | Dearest | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1220-5i-pack. 4 Tire Pressure And Temperature Sensors For Alfano 7 – 5 Inches (Karting) cheapest at KKC Kart Components · 2 shops | £447.78 | £632.95 | £185.1741% | |
| Unipro Unityre IR Infra-Red Anodized (Tyre And Track Temp) cheapest at KKC Kart Components · 2 shops | £310.00 | £437.95 | £127.9541% | |
| Prisma HPM5 Digital Tyre Pressure Gauge with Infrared and Stopwatch cheapest at KKC Kart Components · 2 shops | £291.01 | £411.95 | £120.9442% | |
| Side Workbench For Beta C24S Roll Cab Plain/Senzo cheapest at KKC Kart Components · 2 shops | £245.00 | £346.95 | £101.9542% | |
| Alfano Junior 2 Tyre Pressure Gauge cheapest at Demon Tweeks · 3 shops | £149.50 | £211.95 | £62.4542% | |
| Dunlop Sl1A Tyre Set cheapest at KKC Kart Components · 2 shops | £123.96 | £175.95 | £51.9942% | |
| A1220-5i. Internal Tire Pressure And Temperature Sensor For Alfano 7 - 5" Inches (Karting) cheapest at KKC Kart Components · 2 shops | £111.94 | £158.95 | £47.0142% | |
| Heavy Duty Double Ring Kart Tyre Bead Breaker Removal Tool cheapest at LMR Kart Store · 2 shops | £194.00 | £233.00 | £39.0020% | |
| Chrome Tyre Post With Removable Carry Handle cheapest at KKC Kart Components · 2 shops | £50.00 | £69.00 | £19.0038% | |
| Twin Hinge Tyre Bead Breaker Tool cheapest at LMR Kart Store · 2 shops | £80.00 | £96.00 | £16.0020% |
Same part number at every shop in the row. Parts listed at £10.00 or more; ranked by the gap in money, not percent.
Cheapest most often
Of the 21 part numbers stocked by more than one shop — a count of wins, not a verdict.
- KKC Kart Components15 of 21
- LMR Kart Store5 of 21
- Demon Tweeks1 of 21
What this covers
This is a snapshot of kart tyres as listed by UK kart shops on 2026-11-01. PitHunt indexed 246 listings from 16 shops, covering 223 distinct part numbers. Of those, 21 are stocked by more than one shop, which is where a price comparison means something: the same manufacturer part number, different tills.
Prices are the shops' own listed prices in their own currency, captured by PitHunt's weekly scan. They are not quotes, they move, and the cheapest shop for one part is not the cheapest for every part. Each one links to the shop's own page so you can check before you buy.
The price range
Taking the cheapest listing for each part number, a tenth of them cost £4.00 or less, the middle of the range sits at £42.95, and a tenth cost £254.95 or more. The spread is wide because the category mixes small hardware with complete components, so the useful comparison is always like for like — the same part number across shops.
The widest gaps for the same part
The comparison ranks part numbers by the difference between shops in money, among parts listed at £10.00 or more — a big percentage on a tiny part is arithmetic, not a saving.
The largest gap in money is on A1220-5i-pack. 4 Tire Pressure And Temperature Sensors For Alfano 7 – 5 Inches (Karting): £447.78 at KKC Kart Components against £632.95 at the dearest of its two shops — £185.17, or 41%, for the same part number. The full list is in the comparison table above, ranked the same way.
A gap like that is not a judgement on either shop. Listed prices reflect stock bought at different times, different suppliers, and whether a shop is clearing a line. What it tells you is simply that for this part number, on this date, checking a second shop was worth the minute it took.
Which shops were cheapest most often
Across the 21 part numbers stocked by more than one shop, KKC Kart Components had the lowest listed price for 15 of them, followed by LMR Kart Store with 5. That is a count of wins, not a verdict: a shop that is cheapest on the parts you actually need matters more than one that is cheapest on average.
The honest way to use this is the boring way. Find your exact part number, look at every shop that lists it, and let the number decide. Name the part, and PitHunt lines every shop up cheapest-first.
Before you buy — the checklist
Buying used, check
- ☐Ask how many heat cycles the set has done and what it was used for; a used race set can be a good practice set and a poor race set.
- ☐Look for cracking in the tread blocks and sidewalls, flat spots from locking a wheel, and any chunking on wets.
- ☐Check the barcode and markings match the compound being described, and ask how the tyres were stored — cool, dark, out of sunlight is right.
Mistakes to avoid
- ✕Leaving wets on as the track dries — the tread chunks and the tyre can fail.
- ✕Running a hard compound on a cold day and chasing a grip problem that is really a temperature problem.
- ✕Storing tyres in a clear bag in daylight; rubber hardens under ultraviolet light and heat.
Questions
›Why do tyres go off before they wear out?
Each heat cycle hardens the rubber a little, so grip falls while there is still tread left. Softer compounds have fewer good cycles than harder ones.
›How should I store a spare set?
In a cool, dry place at normal room temperature, in a bag that is not clear, away from sunlight and fluorescent light.
›Can I run a different compound to save money?
Only if your class allows it. Most championships name a control tyre and compound, and the barcode ties it to you for the event.
›Where do these prices come from?
From the shops' own websites, collected by PitHunt's weekly scan of UK kart retailers. Each figure is the price the shop listed on the date above, in the shop's own currency, before delivery.
›Why would the same part cost more at one shop?
Stock bought at different times, different supplier terms, and clearance decisions. None of that is visible from the price alone, which is why comparing the same part number across shops is the only fair comparison.
Sources for the buying advice
- Rotax Racing — MOJO tyres (compounds by class, break-in, storage, wet pressures)
- Go-Kart Guide — tyre durometer & IRHD chart
- kart.tires — understanding kart tyre compounds
- KartletiX — setting tyre pressures, the complete guide
Reviewed 2026-10-27. Buying advice comes only from these sources; prices come only from PitHunt’s own scan.
How this was built
Every number on this page was computed from PitHunt’s weekly scan of kart shops’ own listed prices, in the shop’s own currency, captured on 2026-11-01. The text was then checked against that data: any figure not in it fails the article. Prices move after we scan them, and exclude delivery — always confirm on the shop’s page.