[BobBoyce]

I can't rely upon waiting for alpha and beta testing to be completed. I have to work with what is available and working now. If I did not take the bull by the horns and hack the Curtis controllers, I would be in the same boat... waiting for others to introduce something workable for the RXV.

Every time I apply tweaks to an existing setup, I learn more about which tweaks make the "most bang for the buck". Even though I don't charge for programming, travel costs, so I try to do the most that I can while I am there. Every setup is different, otherwise I could just keep tweaking on the single RXV that I have access to, my own. Well I've done that, and the results are predictable, as expected. Some things stand out from all of the tweaking that I have done.

Tire diameter is important. Larger tires reduce torque to the ground, and torque is more important to moving you than theoretical top speed. If the torque required is too great, you cannot overcome that in order to increase the speed. Motor RPM limits can be raised. The theoretical limit on the RXV motor is 12,000 RPM, based upon the maximum frequency of the AC inverter within the controller. A guess has been that the armature would destroy itself at rotational speeds in excess of 10,500 to 11,000 RPM. A glimpse into the truth was provided by my experience with my Runaway RXV incident. The motor peaked at 11,750 RPM a few times during that event, and survived. This is not to say that it would survive for long. The truth is, we don't know how long it could survive at any particular RPM that is over the VCL limit.

The RPM limit in the E-Z-GO RXV VCL is 9500 RPM, which equates to about 28/29 MPH with the stock tires. Tire size, inflation, and rolling resistance are the greatest variables here. With 20" tires, I have seen speeds in excess of 30 MPH, and with 23" tires I have seen speeds in excess of 35 MPH. The biggest problem is terrain. If there are any inclines at all, smaller tires will give the best performance.

Bob