One rule of racing that must be understood at all times:
-It is a Monkey see; Monkey do sport. This goes for all levels and it has trickle down effect all the way down from F1.
To quote the great Karl Kinser " If I put a turd on the hood everyone would have one on their hood next week."

As far as the prep, I'm not advocate of it, but if you're going to be up front in karting you better be on it or you'll be .2-.5 tenths off the pace. Thats the reality of it. Tire prep makes a big difference whether you want to believe it or not.