"Sparky Newbie" hahahaha ... My first Electric, MY G*D I need more SPEEEEEDDDDD .....

[BrewCityMusic]

So after several years of swearing I'd never go Electric (OR Club Car, for that matter) I found a deal that I thought was too good to pass up on a 1998 CCDS - The deciding factor was the 6 BRAND NEW batteries so after factoring in that cost the cart and charger cost me about $400, and the cart is very VERY clean, I happen to have a quart of paint left from the Workhorse project I am wrapping up, etc etc ... Home I came with my first "Sparky".

SO - took my first ride tonight EVER in an electric cart that I didn't rent on the golf course. After fighting to urge to jump out and run because it was, well, a faster way of getting around I realized that on top of THAT, the wet grass and slick mud on the trails (as well as the huge hills) were no match for the stock tires, so now as I sit here the cart is out in the woods waiting for a rescue pull in the AM to help it get out of the valley it's in, just not enough traction to pull me out of the mess I got myself into (it's easy to get spoiled over the years with lifted, performance gassers I guess) ...

SO my questions are simple, I plan on dealing with the tires, etc obviously (maybe a lift and off-road tires, maybe just big Street Meats) however I refuse to drive anything this slow that isn't cutting grass while I drive it. As an initial upgrade to the cart (48v series) I am either going towards a Bandit rebuild, a 10HP Admiral, or dropping a stock 36v Series Motor in there, based on what I've read here so far. I'm sure, knowing me, eventually it'll end up being a 72V monster, etc etc but for now I'd like to keep the price low in case I decide to bail on the electric concept in general - anybody have an opinion as to which of the 3 will be the best overall performer, speed and torque-wise? The whole cart is already set up with 4g cables (another nice bonus I noticed when I first lifted the seat) so at least for now, I'm thinking motor with the stock components - anyone have 2cents to chime in? Thanks as always in advance !!!

[scotter]

400 to 700 amp controller. 400 amp solenoid. HD FnR Switch. Check out Scotty B's /Carts Unlimited sponsor site for intel. Plum Quick Motor. 2ga cables.

That, and tires with a tread, should get you home!

[93yellowclubcar]

Welcome to the Dark Side.

For anything other than a PQ Bandit rebuild or sticking a stock 36er in it, you're gonna want the stuff Scotter listed above. In a series electric cart, VOLTAGE gets you speed and AMPS get you torque (the stuff Scotter mentioned are all amperage delivery items, you gotta have em to get too crazy with speed or torque either one. Welcome to sparkies, where you gotta pay to play ) I get 18MPH top speed on flat pavement in a bone stock 2000 48 volt series cart that I dropped a 36er in, nice boost in torque too - I guesstimate speeds would be low 20s with a lift and 22"or 23" tires, but torque would be back near stock. Can you post the serial # and also a couple pics of the battery area, motor, etc.? Maybe a shot of the controller too - if you're super lucky maybe the PO stuck a higher amp one on along with the cables, never hurts to dream.

A note on lifts - stay away from the cheap Z-lifts - this ain't no EZGO, the front end is more complicated in design and you'll want an A-arm lift most likely to be cost effective. Long travel is real nice, but you pay dearly for that niceness.

[BrewCityMusic]

Thanks guys - I could live with low 20's as this is actually (if it sticks around) going to be more of a "Company Cart" for when we have people over (had a close call last weekend where a friend almost rolled the TXT but that's a 40mph cart so I'm sure something "tamer" might not be the worst idea) ... From what I've been seeing, a Bandit is going to be the same or less than a used 36v so being as that's a NEW motor, I'll likely go that route.

As to the lift, if I do go aggressive it'll likely be an A-arm, I can't see the need for a full-travel on a 20mph cart, even on MY trails - Another reason I went ahead and grabbed the CC was the 8" "off-the-shelf" lifts and the idea of going with 25's (difficult to pull off cost-effectively on the gassers) but wow, if it's going to run me another grand or more to get the cart dialed in for the "look" then a rethink is likely in order.

I'm finishing my coffee and heading out to rescue the cart from the hill, LOL - I'll likely pull it into the barn and give it a good cleaning, will snap some pics and get them up here ASAP

[BrewCityMusic]

Didn't get any pics yet, however I was wrong about the cables, they are 2 Gauge not 4 (which made me pretty happy, although some of the other cables that aren't hooked from battery to battery appear to be smaller, like 4 or even 6g) .... Serial is A9841-704613

Might have found a deal on a 400A controller, a friend of a friend upgraded from Stock to 400, then upped the ante to 500A on his CC and thinks he may still have the old controller laying around - that might just add a new dimension of enthusiasm to actually messing with this thing, I'm heading over there in a bit to see if he was able to find it ...

[93yellowclubcar]

Originally Posted by BrewCityMusic

Didn't get any pics yet, however I was wrong about the cables, they are 2 Gauge not 4 (which made me pretty happy, although some of the other cables that aren't hooked from battery to battery appear to be smaller, like 4 or even 6g) .... Serial is A9841-704613

Might have found a deal on a 400A controller, a friend of a friend upgraded from Stock to 400, then upped the ante to 500A on his CC and thinks he may still have the old controller laying around - that might just add a new dimension of enthusiasm to actually messing with this thing, I'm heading over there in a bit to see if he was able to find it ...

Good deal on the controller (just make sure its for a series cart), since the cart already has cables, to allow it to pass all the amps of a larger controller through, you'll need a HD solenoid and FNR switch. Think of it as a pipeline - the controller is a high volume source, and the 2 ga. cables are large pipes. The stock FNR and solenoid, however, are like small diameter pipe that doesn't allow as much through as the controller is capable of supplying, so no matter how high of a "volume" your controller can put out, you'll be limited by the components the amps flow through unless they are upgraded, like your wires already have been. The battery to battery cables should be upgraded as well - if they're stock ones then they're 6 ga.

EDIT: I recommend Scottyb for the solenoid, FNR, and cables - cartsunlimited.net

[BrewCityMusic]

Bummer - the controller is totally MIA - and it gets worse, all the Battery Cables were swapped to 2G, the rest of the cables are all stock though.

SO, now I'm back to finding a 36v motor or doing the Bandit, I really REALLY can't see any point in investing in this cart to make it go as fast as any of my other ones so I'm going to have to either walk away now or just live with what amounts to a somewhat peppy Hoveround ... We have far too many hills, terrain, etc here for me to justify making an electric cart "competitive" with the rest of the stable (or even for that matter, able to handle the terrain at all) ...

Gonna "Soul Search" before I get sideways on this one, I'm pretty sure a perfectly clean '98 DS with 6 new batteries and a brand new set of Kenda "Speed Racer" tires (leftovers that were never used from another project) and rims should fetch $1600-ish around here, maybe a little more, maybe a little less - that's still a decent profit for nothing more than buying it, bringing it home, and driving it for a few days, LOL - and just find another Gasser to play with