How To Increase Your Golf Cart Speed - Does a 36v to 48v Upgrade Make It Faster?
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
- I'm going to show you if upgrading from 36v to 48v on a stock motor will increase the speed on your golf cart. I'll show you what components I upgraded, and take you on a trip to show you how much faster that made it. I'll also throw in a few tricks and one free hack I learned along the way that you need to know if you're thinking about doing the same thing. This is a 36 volt PDS SepEX drive cart with the forward/reverse (F/R) switch in the dash.
Links:
Diodes: amzn.to/2HtJzIG
48v Solenoid: amzn.to/33Y2169
48v Charger: amzn.to/347floW
48v EZGO Receptacle: amzn.to/3438KM5
2 guage cables: amzn.to/2Lv9IIT
8v Trojan T-875: amzn.to/323ERcw
48v Batter Meter: amzn.to/2ZlpzTJ
Alltrax XCT Controller: amzn.to/2HrVxCE
48 volt Converter: amzn.to/2ZtKpeM
Notes:
New battery orientation for the batteries.
You will need new cables.
If you don't have a voltage converter, you will need one. You can't get to twelve volts out of 8v batteries.
Some other components you might not think about - if you have a battery meter, you'll need to replace it with a 48v meter
You will need a new solenoid - there are 36v/48v heavy duty solenoids available, but chances are you don't have one.
Ensure you have a 3 amp diode across your solenoid
You will need a new charger - a 48v charger
You will need a new charging port if you don't keep the same charging cable
If you don't already have a controller, you'll need to upgrade your controller. Alltrax XCT controllers are great but will need to be reprogrammed.
You will need to rewire the interlock cable to the positive terminal on your battery. The new charging port has different wires in it including a temperature cable. But no interlock safety, so you'll have to rig it to work without that protection.
_________________________________________________________________
Subscribe: / @andiwofford
Instagram - follow me at / hermakeupandnails
Follow me on Twitter / woffoja
__________________________________________________________________
That's impressive, and I appreciate the advance notice of lessons learned.
I love that you take the kids to school on a souped-up golf cart.
Wiring is touched on quickly in video on replacing old 36v to 48v receptacle. Any chance I have a diagram of how it should be done when upgrading a 36v EZGO txt to 48v ? Thanks
Your video content is great! They’ve been a huge help with my rebuild and upgrades. I’m interested in switching from a fwd/rev handle to a toggle switch. Do you have a video or recommendation?
Hey, thank you so much! scottyb sells a couple of the reversing contactor switches with carts unlimited. He's got some great instructions there too. - "Each Reversing Contactor Conversion Kit includes complete Scottyb instructions, One Reversing Contactor, one F&R rocker switch and one F&R switch housing shown. Mounting hardware included for contactor and switch. And mount bracket supplied where needed"
Thanks for the video, I'm in the midst of this now. With the charger replacement, it's got 3 wires, and the plug. Red, Black, and another black with a big dodad on the end. I assumed the regular red and black go to the first red and last +/- but what about the extra one with the big black box before the connector? Is that for a chassis ground? I'm not aware of an existing chassis ground. I could make one or do I just hook it up to the first red. Couldn't find any real instructions that came with it, as is the norm these days.
Hello, Thanks for the great videos! I am just starting my journey. Just picked up an ezgo txt. found out the batteries were bad so, i put 3-12 volt marine batteries in it. I've noticed it sucks going up hills with like 400 lbs on it. Could that be because i put 12 volt batteries in? Thanks for your time!
What brush bar is that? Do you have an install video for it?
Love the sparks/fire at :40 LMAO
I want to know where I can live and drive my kids to school on a golf cart? Haha good video! Keep it up!
Love to see a video on brake upgrades.. I can hardly stop mine with the oversized tires.
Thank you! That sounds like a good next project!
@@AndiWofford That would be a good one! I converted my 48V to use Nissan leaf li-ion batteries and upped the peak voltage by 7.6V. I’ve changed my brake pads twice since that upgrade and I’ve never changed them before that. Thinking I definitely need a different braking system!
I have the brakes, just need to take on the project!
You *can* add air to your tires to get a couple more MPHs, but your tires will wear unevenly. Overinflated tires prematurely wear down the center of the tire while under-inflated tires wear out on the edges. Same goes for tires on cars/trucks.
That's a great point! Thank you for bringing up that caution to people who are watching this video. Another poin is that overinflated tires are rough to ride on. It makes - especially a high speed ride - very uncomfortable. Thanks for sharing!
Great video, thank you so much for sharing! I have a EZGO TXT "Series" golfcart - Do you know if I could do the same thing as you? I know you said "Regen" diode came with alltrax at one point. I'm a total newbie here - any advice would be appreciated at my 36v batteries are about dead :)
Thank you - yes, you can do the same thing to your cart. For the series carts, all of the motor current flows through the F&R switch, so you'll want to upgrade that switch and all of the cable sets. If you want the same controller, pick up this one from Amazon: amzn.to/3akOJny and find a local company that sells the trojan batteries to get the best price on those (most distributors have pallets of them).
@@AndiWofford Thank you! I purchased the entire package - Heavy Duty F&R, HD Soldenoid, Controller, and a new D&D motor (combo of toque & Speed) as well as the 48v converter, all new 2g cables, on board summit 2 charger, and batteries! time to get to work ;)
@@ciott1am Wow - you really do have your work cut out for you! Good luck - your cart is going to be awesome!
A good thing to remember, that even though you can get your cart to GO faster and maybe quicker, you are still stuck with the rear brakes only! That will not stop you any better! Actually they can make the cart a bit more dangerous! I own what I believe is the in my t cart with good brakes. A Tomberlin SS Coupe, 48 volt AC cart that comes with 8,6v Trojan T105 Deep Cycle Batteries. But most importantly 4 wheel hydraulic brakes with drilled an slotted disks in front! The cart will go 25 quicker than any other I’ve driven and get to 26-27 at times How do I know? Built in speedometer and PH GPS.
Might I suggest ABYC for upskills on wiring. The guidelines are very sensible.
so I have a late 90s ez go that doesn't have a fancy controller but it a bit more modern. that one I might not upgrade but I do have an older 70s or 80s club car that uses contactors. Do I need anything special for something that archaic or can I just drop in the extra battery and go? It uses contactors. Not an ounce of computer in this one.
I'm going to have to let someone else answer this comment as that's not a cart I'm familiar with. Sorry 😐
All those upgrades are all good if your just wanting to do something. My gas G29 motor does everything I need it to.
I'm glad you're happy with your motor!
I did the same upgrade with a purchase of a high torque motor from D&D Motors out of Syracuse New York. We are at 23 miles per hour which is plenty fast...
Did you get the 170-502-0002 motor from D&D? I'm considering doing a motor upgrade to this one: amzn.to/2SpfCPR
But any of those would be a great choice. I did it a while back ago but we love it
Mine was an ez-go...Haha my bad
Hello I have a 1994 Yamaha G9e. It is missing the wire assembly which is now discontinued. I want to upgrade it from 36v to 48v lithium. I have a single 48v lithium battery, 500a Curtis controller, and a new heavy duty 48v solenoid. Can I just use any golf cart wire assembly? I can’t find the discontinued one but does it matter which one I use? Thank you
Hi Vicky - that's a good question I would probably lean more towards a forum than this video for your question (like buggies unlimited or something). I don't have a Yamaha and don't want to steer you in the wrong direction.
Im trying to think of the most cost effective way of going from 11mph to 15mph....36 volt 6 seater with an old curtis 300amp controller which im not 100% sure is programmable
Thanks for the thorough narration. Looks really cool, Andi. Women engineers rock :-)
You held my interest right up to the point I realized the truth about you... I wish there was a way to filter folks like you out of my suggested videos! The moment I seen that Aubie sticker on your dash I immediately felt sick to my stomach! The fact that I gleaned any knowledge from an Auburn fan is unfathomable! ROLL TIDE
Side note: before I get raked over the coals, please everyone read the entire post. This has nothing to do with any other aspect of her life, only that she’s an Auburn fan! YUK!!!
All joking aside, thanks for the very informative video. I’m trying to get more speed out of my golf cart!
Lol - I don't think other people will be able to appreciate the bitter hatred we share for each other as opposing fans 😂. The Auburn vs. Alabama rivalry is one of the strongest in the nation - and unless you live in the state, it's really hard to grasp. People are poisoning/killing trees and shooting each other over this rivalry - and having grown up in Alabama - I'm familiar with the passion. I also got my undergrad from Auburn, so I have a passion for my school that runs deep. I totally appreciate the joke though - thanks for giving me a much needed laugh this morning.
Yep, the rivalry is definitely palpable! Bama is my second favorite team as I am a huge FSU fan (that probably will ruffle your feathers too)! I’m from Florida but live in Alabama now and was taken back by this rivalry! It’s crazy.
What’s your range with these mods?
Great question - I can easily still get at least 20 miles with the controller and new batteries in this cart. And that's with some left over to spare - I've never really pushed it any further or run completely dry. To be honest, those 20 miles are a very rough ride, I need a new suspension or something for this higher speed.
I have a 400 amp speed controller and
A club car electric motor.
I'd like to build an electric chopper any pointers
I'm going to upgrade the gears on the cart next. So stay tuned for that video 😁
I was just wondering if you could add two more 6 volt batteries to make 48 volts instead of spending a fortune on a set of 8 volt batteries because the 6 volt batteries on my old ezgo arrent that old.
You definitely can - if you don't have anything else under the seat, I believe you can actually fit the extra batteries down there on the drivers side. I've also heard of people fitting them in the back rear compartment, but I believe you could just put them below the main seat by the battery well if you can fit them. You'll also get more distance if you do it that way due to the increased capacity! Best of luck and make sure you keep the levels up on those batteries!
Thanks I really appreciate it, I had a hard time finding anything online with that sort of battery configuration except for maybe Bad Boy Buggies.
@@sambo9855 JohnnieB also added from bbuggiesgonewild on a thread (and something to consider): As for performance a six T-875 48V battery pack weighs 378 lbs and a eight T-105 48v battery pack weighs 496 lbs, so the latter has more range, but the cart performance (acceleration and maintaining speed going uphill) is less due to having the equivalent of an additional passenger (118 lb) onboard all the time.
If you put two extra batteries in the bag well make sure you secure them. Mine bounced around and broke and it was a nightmare
I just upgraded to 48v using 8 brand new T105's. They fit like a glove in the bag well compartment. I just made a spacer to wedge them in. I installed a SR48600 alltraks controller with HD Solenoid with proper diode and resistor, stock 2hp Black case motor still in the vehicle. Performance is awesome. It will spin the back tires on take off on hard pack gravel. Under stock configurations it wouldn't spin the tires on wet grass, uphill.. It would simply bog down.. The extra weight of the two extra batteries will be a mute point, because if you are upgrading to a 48v from a 36v system, you will be amazed at the performance gains over the stock 36v. It literally feels like it has 10x the torque of the stock set up. So you will never be comparing a 6 battery 48v system to a 8 battery 48v system to realize the difference. You will however notice a huge smile on your face from the torque and nearly double the run time over the 6 8v setup.
8v Trojan T-875 =170ah x 6= 1,020 total AH of stored energy
6v Trojan T-105 =225ah x 8= 1,800 total AH of stored energy
That translates into a lot of additional run time!!!
Where did you get all these parts to change to 48V? Also can you post that list?
I put all the links in the description - here they are:
Links:
Diodes: amzn.to/2HtJzIG
48v Solenoid: amzn.to/33Y2169
48v Charger: amzn.to/347floW
48v EZGO Receptacle: amzn.to/3438KM5
2 guage cables: amzn.to/2Lv9IIT
8v Trojan T-875: amzn.to/323ERcw
48v Batter Meter: amzn.to/2ZlpzTJ
Alltrax XCT Controller: amzn.to/2HrVxCE
48 volt Converter: amzn.to/2ZtKpeM
You should always use a converter for 12 volts loads never tap into a 24,36,48 volt bank
The batteries will go out of balance and fail early
I'd love to see you make a video upgrading those cart batteries to lithium.
Great suggestion!
Im doing a similar upgrade but using a 48v lithium battery pack, im aiming for 30mph out of the electric motor. Then im having a supercharged 15hp Kohler that'll engage after the electric motors topped out. My main goal is 70mph, cheers ✌🏻
Umm, wow! That's impressive. I've heard of the lithium batteries and it's definitely intriguing (I did just drop some new batteries in, so it'll be a few years on my upgrade there).
Let me say this though, my cart feels shaky at top speed. Like I wouldn't want to push it anymore. The wheel base is closer together than cars and now that it's lifted, with big tires, I feel like the chances of having an accident have increased dramatically. It just feels unstable. So be careful pushing anything like 70mph! Cheers!
@@AndiWofford Yeah I know what you mean, anything over 25-30mph and the shaking gets a bit bad- not to mention it's a 3 wheeler. But I do plan on putting some form of new suspension ( im sure most aftermarket shocks will be a bolt in, if not I'll have to make something.) And honestly my carts so low to the ground (only have about 2-3 inches of ground clearance) that im not to worried about crashing, it feels stable is it so I'll just go from there 👍🏻 also thanks for the like and reply!
@@petrolmonkey1973 Question???? If you are installing a " Supercharged" 15hp gas engine, why in the world would you bother with a battery pack/electric motor/wiring/controller/solenoid??? They will slow you down compared to the " supercharged " engine!! and how are you going to do this? Electric motor bolts the the rear end. Its completely different than the rear end of a gas cart, so you cant have both? I have never heard of Supercharging a single cylinder engine? Turbo, yes! A supercharger has to be propelled by the Crankshaft by belts and pulley's, then routed into the intake. This is why you never hear of them. No room and nearly impossible to make it work. That's why ZERO manufactures have ever attempted to supercharge ANY side by side or ATV. They Turbo them!! A turbo simply plugs into the exhaust plumbing, then gets rerouted back into the Head of the engine, and then goes back out to Exhaust. Way more efficient/practical/reliable/cost effective!!!!!
Weird bc my MZJ400A solenoid is a dual stage 36 or 48v. You just need the proper resistor and diode for 48v. If you haven't already swapped out that SW180 which is also dual voltage I would go back to the MZJ400A.
When I looked at the specs of the MZJ400a, they said you could buy it in 24v, 36v or 48v. But while the SW180 I bought was marked at 48 volts, the rated voltage was 6 to 80 Volts DC. I don't know enough about them, but I had a reason I switched and it may have been the type of solenoid I was moving from.
@@AndiWofford Yeah mine is marked as 48v but it works at 36v as well. Yours seems marked differently. I know the diode and resistor need to be a certain voltage. Might be you had a specific 36v solenoid. In any case the MZJ400A at 48v is the better solenoid if you decide to change at any time.
I’ve been all over CZcams looking for what type of cart to get for big lift. Suspension looks easier to customize with a ezgo but anybody know which golf cart has the most power or capable of most power for turning big tires? I know nothing will be real reliable but as long as I get a few good beach trips I’ll swap the stators and everything every time. Had one with 30” tires and want one with 36” tires now!
This ezgo isn't bad for that type of upgrade. You'll need a bigger lift on it. I would also put in a high torque motor (like D&D 502-1) and swap out the Dana 12:44 rear end gears for 15:1. Also look at replacing the two drum brakes with four wheel disc and you'll probably have something amazing!
Andi Wofford I appreciate your response and ya my buddy had 48v with 30s bc he couldn’t have gas in his campground but I can go either way just figured gas would allow me to upgrade performance stuff. His would blow stators I think it was. Like $100 every few beach trips. I really don’t care how fast it iswith the tires so big I’d rather it pull better up hills.
Andi Wofford I’m wanting to try and fit the 36” tall gorilla silverback 2 tire. I would rather it go fast but if it means staying somewhat more reliable I’d be satisfied as long is it goes around 15mph I didn’t know you could get gears for it but if I got a gear low enough to pull it then it would be like 5mph
I think the thing you need to consider (and you probably already know) is that with tires that size, you're upping the gear ratio already, so if the motor could pull it, you'll get crazy fast speeds and have very little torque if you ever do manage to get it up that fast. I don't know that you can change gears on gas carts, but I know you can on electric, which is why I recommended it (needs more research). I think the lowest you can go is 15:1 but you can gear up to 8:1 or 6:1. But it would be crazy to do that on those size tires. I have a gear upgrade video to 6:1 on my 23's with an upgraded motor coming out soon.
What was the total cost to do the conversion??
The batteries were around $800, the controller was $500, the new charger $300, and all the smaller things like diodes, cables, solenoids, were a couple hundred bucks. Probably around $2k for everything. I did it in stages though, controller first, then the batteries a year later. Then the motor another year later. And just recently, I completed a gear upgrade.
Will a 48 volt motor run on 36 volts? Without the other mods?
You'll have to check the solenoid to see if it operates on 36v, and did you replace the controller with an Alltrax or something aftermarket? If so, it should work. It will likely be about 33% slower and have about 33% less torque than it would have with 48V.
@@AndiWofford ok right on . And I have another question . After driving my cart around It all of a sudden stop working all it DOSE is clicks when the accelerator is pressed. What do you think it could be ?
According to a Google search, it seems like: Re: EZGO Gas pedal clicks but wont go:
It is going to be the starter/generator. When you press gas and give the clutch a spin it starts working.
I understand you have a 48v motor now but in this video, we’re you running 48v to a 36v motor?
The alltrax controller I used is for 36 or 48 volts. So I was able to upgrade the battery voltage after I put in a new controller, and still use the stock 36v motor. You'll probably burn it out eventually, but you can do it
@@AndiWofford got it. Thank you!
Is the motor still a 36 volt motor?
I have a high torque motor in there now, it's meant for 48 volts.
You can make them go 45
Upgrade controller,speed motor and gear kit
Bigger tires and increased voltage can have an impact as well. Lots of factors can affect speed, but certainly controller, motor, gears will have an impact.
A lithium ion conversation would be cool it would also make it faster
Thank you! That might be something I consider after I publish this motor upgrade video 😉
@@AndiWofford well im my opinion a motor upgrade is a little silly doing that would make it faster but for a cart that already goes 30ish mph trying to get past that lets say 40 mph its would just be better to just into a car with is why lithium ion battery would be better for weight saving to make the cart accelerate fast but have the same range or better
The thing with a motor upgrade; there's a potential heat issue. You can only run so long on a stock motor that wasn't made for the amperage, volts, and rpms that you're pushing. So effectively you're on borrowed time. Upgrading the motor may or may not make it faster depending on the type of upgrade you put in.
U go from high volt car to the 36 volt motor ever seen the kids power wheels with your 20 volt bat yea same thing
Looks like you live in the Villages, Florida. 30mph is plenty fast in a short wheelbase very "twitchy" vehicle.
😂, not all golf cart communities in Florida are the villages. But that is the biggest of them!
@@AndiWofford I opted not to live there, but not far from it.
I think it's 55+ as well, so there's a minimum age to living there.
@@AndiWofford Yes, it is a 55 and over community, but they have to allow a very small percentage under 55 as well. I live in a 55 and over Golf Community myself though I don't golf or even have a golf cart, I'm interested in all things motor driven, and lately more electric. I have a fat (street) tire ebike and have owned a Zero FX motorcycle in the past. Best motorcycle I ever owned.
How fast was going before with 36 volts
I think I mentioned it in one of the videos. Probably 21-22mph. Not sure, but it should be in a video
Thank you 😊
Good video 👍 however the answer to your question (is 30 mph too fast, what is too fast?) Is NO!! Those two words should never, under any circumstance be placed next to each other in a sentence. Unless of course, they are preceeded by "not" or "never" 😁 😈
Exactly right Kevin! Some neighborhoods allow low speed golf carts up to 35mph. All depends on where you live and what your purpose is. It's unfortunate that some people want to judge others. . .
@@AndiWofford , "judging others" and the Law,
30 mph is just right
Depending on your purpose, definitely. Might be too fast for a golf course, but in a 35mph golf cart community, it might work out well. Thanks Shane!
War eagle!!!!
War Eagle Chip!
Why not take the opportunity to switch to Lithium if you're already doing all this work?
Lithium was just barely on the horizon for me and exceedingly expensive at the time I made the video. It's definitely something I would consider now, and anyone else doing this should be switching to lithium if it's cost effective for them
36v stock club car / I can’t beat 42km/h no matter what I do.
That's actually pretty fast! I'm doing a motor upgrade this weekend and I'll post a video
Andi Wofford you all must have plenty of cash laying around to be swapping motors out !
@@1known2 To be honest - it's been almost a year since I completed this 48v upgrade and I couldn't afford to do the motor at the same time. I've been told that you cannot run your stock motor on 48v for very long or you will blow it. Most people don't get a month out of their original motor, so I've been very lucky.
Might as well just add 72 volt and just go on the streets 🤣 just got to make sure you don't punch it when you have kids in the backseat🙃
Wareagle!
War Eagle Greg! 🦅🐯
I have a chip on my 36v cart and it goes 7mph fastrr
I've heard that with the 'freedom chip" you can get some additional speed out of it. I believe that's simply a jumper for your controller - and I didn't have a ton of luck with that. I think our controller went bad early on and we actually needed to upgrade it first. We put in this: amzn.to/2zrBV0l
Yeah I really have no need to go 30 mph. I just like to cruize
To be honest - these carts were never built to go that fast and they don't really ride all that great at the higher speeds.
"Chip" would be more accurate yes, because it's nothing more than a jumper wire.
Actual "chips" aren't a thing.
My cart goes 35mph and does it in 6 seconds ! WOW !
That's awesome! What kind is it? Voltage? Motor? Obviously a controller upgrade 😁
This looks expensive. Why not buy a 48 volt Club Car?
Because batteries don't last forever, even in Club Cars. And since I had to replace them anyway, there's no sense in not taking advantage of the 6v to 8v upgrade opportunity. To your point, I wouldn't have done it if my batteries weren't already shot.
You failed to mention you could have saved a lot of time trouble and money if you had just added 2 more 6 volt batteries to cart and 2 more cables. You also would have added more range. You could even save on charger and rewiring charge port if you wanted to put a 12 volt charger on the other t
2 batteries which is a pain I know but costs nothing but 2 batteries and 2 cables and a 12 volt charger most people have. At least make use of the 6 batteries you had until need replacing then convert to Lithium DIY pack and save 300lbs and go a lot further!
I didn't fail to mention it, because it wasn't an option for me. My 6v batteries were shot and had to be replaced. You could, of course, do any number of things to get to 48 volts and the topic of adding a couple of batteries was addressed in the comments 7 months ago. It's a valid approach, but in fact, the discussion revolved around how much weight you're adding (118 extra pounds). Not saying there's any wrong or right way to do anything. This channel is simply called "How I did it" - and this is how I completed this battery upgrade and replacement.
Lithium is an option where you'll save half the weight of lead acid, but unfortunately can be cost prohibitive. I found a good deal on some Trojans and decided to pull the trigger on them since my 6v batteries were shot.
@@AndiWofford go to battery hookup and buy two BMW lithium 16 s packs and you have 4 KwH battery weighing about 60 lbs for $550 which is hardly cost prohibitive in fact saves money or buy 3 packs for 6Kwh for $780 and have more range and probably 20 plus year battery pack and maybe lifetime. Sorry I looked at many of the comments but not every one . Your channel is not called How I did it as far as I can see its named And Wofford and tile How to increase golf cart speed etc which is often addressed by a quality motor rewinding or replacement and or solenoid. I even mentioned this because you said you just bought 2 gauge cables and would need to buy a new set new charger replace with 48 volt battery charge port etc with goal of faster speed.
Thanks Tee Kay. I'm no expert on lithium batteries - but I did a small amount of research and it looked like anything that had 60AH or 80AH and was a quality new battery (like the Trojan's I put in) would be $4000 for a set to get to 48v. That's more than the cart is worth and not something I'm willing to pump into something that drives the kids to school and back. Not sure about the BMW battery that you're referring to - sounds like an interesting concept. I'd be interested in learning more about it and the viability in high amp demand uses like golf carts.
22 seconds into this very video you'll see my "How I did it" intro clip and it's on my channel header - I'm sorry that it may have been missed. There's certainly a number of ways to address speed on a golf cart - but this video deals with how I completed a 36v to 48v upgrade and answers the questoin as to if it would make it faster.
I love input from others and certainly your idea of adding two additional batteries is viable as long as the rest of your battery bank is solid. Lithium is a great option as well for those who can afford it. And finally, motor and solenoid replacements can all contribute to faster golf carts.
WAR EAGLE
War Eagle!!