My Honda Big Block Evaluation

mastercylinder63

I own a 2005 Club Car DS. Because of the lack of power on the trails with the FE290, I decided to go with Jake's Big Block Honda engine kit based on prior ownership of many Honda products. Prior to my purchase I called up Jake's and spoke with a technical representative asking him many questions. First and foremost, what kind of power can I expect from this kit. He told me out the crate I'd be able to climb a hill at a steady 25mph and up to 40mph on the straightaways with the governor disconnected, but that would void the engine warranty. He told me to check out the Youtube clips of their product, which I did and I was impressed. There was a guy popping wheelies etc..
So I was hooked and I ordered a kit from a retailer. When I received the kit I couldn't wait to tear into it and begin my new project. Kit comes with almost everything that I needed for the engine swap. First thing that I noticed was the Honda box which read: HONDA GX630 "MADE IN CHINA". This really blew my mind and I was pissed. The Jake's brackets were really made well. Plus it came with an aftermarket exhaust. With the Club car kit, you use your stock clutch. The kits for EZgo and Yamaha, Jake's supply you with an aftermarket clutch; but yet the prices are the same. I think the Club Car kit should be $200 less because you use your own clutch.
I started the engine swap. The directions are horrible and are not thought out too well. Many steps are missing. Calling Jake's for technical assistance is useless. My hot rod building skills really helped me figure the steps out. So I get it all together and try to fine tune the engine to idle and to go full throttle. It's a fine balancing act! When going full throttle, the governor kicks in early. The engine sounds great but only revs up to 3600 rpm, kind of wimpy. So I tested it out on my block with the GPS and all I could get on a flat surface was 17mph. I got 20mph with my stock engine and with a machined torque kit. Again that stupid governor kicks in way to early. Remembering the tech guy at Jake's told me 25mph up hills all day, so I called this guy again and asked him how do I disconnect the governor, because all I get is 17mph. He told me that "WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY". OK this is Great news. Looking through Buggies Gone Wild, I found out that I really can't beat the governor and that the B&S engine is the engine of choice.
Not giving up I brought my cart up to the country and tried it out on the trail hills. I did notice a torque increase when climbing hills over my stock engine, but it was more like 7mph and not 25mph as I was told prior of purchase. Power wise, I was on par with my stock Yamaha G9 with a torque kit. Looking at the engine I knew there had to be a way to beat it. there's a right angle throttle linkage plate which has a few springs connected to it. Looking at it I noticed that a rod connected to this plate. This rod sticks out of the front left side of the block and it turns every time the throttle is pushed. I took off this plate and I noticed the hole that the rod sticks through is moon shaped. So I drilled out the moon shaped hole in the throttle plate and re installed it. The linkage now functions without turning the rod. There's still a rev limiter I believe inside the stock ignition coils which still prevents the engine from exceeding 3600rpm. But at least the mechanical portion of it is done, which permits me to adjust the idle. The result is 25mph on the straightaways, which is an improvement over the 17mph.
So my conclusion is "DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY"!!!!!!!!!! It does not go up hills at 25mph or pop wheelies. For $2,500 this kit should offer a lot more the 25mph. The Youtube video's have to be engines that are highly modified, which Jake's will not tell you how to achieve. I should have went with a B&S kit, I feel like a sucker!!!!!

BGW

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sassycat

maybe you have a stock clutch problem? old or not up to par with the power you have now? id call tom at cartpartsplus.com and tell him where your at and maybe he can help..
i installed a 13hp honda and was WOWed by the difference and torque and take off power..from what youve said i will smoke you in a race lol..and thats not right,,there has to be another problem or something
hope you figure it out..have you checked the color of the plug to make sure its not white/leaned out..

mastercylinder63

Thanks for your input. The clutch is brand new. The over priced motor's ignition coil built-in rev limiter blows. And yeah, you will smoke me. I guess I have to search for aftermarket ignition coils, if they even exist.

sassycat

hard to beluve but anythings poss these days..the 24hp hondas ive seen were bad *** in my book..theres folks on here getting 40-50mph from these motors is whats hard to understand,and i never read they had these problems..then again there are a few that had to re jet theres then they were fine..good luck and i hope it gets better soon for ya

sho305

You have to get a tach and make sure the clutch is running at less than when the limiter kicks in, say 3500 it shifts at. If the clutch shifts over 3600 you wont get full power. Still wont get speed but at least power. Though with a limiter you know if you are hitting it, a governor you don't necessarily. Not sure anyone has come up with a fix for the limiter, those coils on the new hondas are electronic. They advance the timing some like the vanguards do, but have limiters in them. They are not like the old ones you can't just swap on the previous model coils. The new engine design is really nice, except the heads don't come off so hard to modify anything there. You put a long spring in the primary clutch it might pop wheelies, but likely not very nice to drive that way. You can put HS gears in it, with all that torque it should run fine that way with power and speed. Will give you at least 10 mph or something. An aftermarket clutch might work better, but you have to research that. CC with 1" belt are a pain it is an uncommon size. If you can change the secondary to run 1 3/16 then you can run whatever primary you want as most use that its very common to sleds. Whatever the case, you should have piles more takeoff and hill climbing power than stock. If you don't the clutches are not right, or its not giving full power for some reason. Most stock cart engines are 9-10hp. My 15hp clone feels like double the power, it spins the tire in dirt far better lol.

sassycat

thats what im after,,spining the tire and dounuts and thought 5 hp wasnt worth the engine change..i feel like it was double power also..

have ya jacked it up and watched the clutches while they both engage to see if they both seem to open up properly yet..may give it a try

mastercylinder63

Yeah thanks guys, I will invest in a tach. The clutch seems to function fine, but I don't know @ what rpm the clutch engages. I didn't want to spend another 500 bucks for two new clutches without knowing the result. As a cheap option, I may change the clutch spring. The Yamaha & Ezgo kits come with the aftermarket clutch @ no additional charge, so perhaps that does make the difference. The Youtube video's shows an EzGo and Yamaha that was converted to the BigBlock. I would like to talk to someone who installed this same kit on a Clubcar who had better results! Jake's Tech help sucks. You read what I told you about what the Jake's tech person said, so I'm pissed about the false advertisement. It's sad that a stock FE350 can blow me away, which I could have bought for almost 1k less. So if anyone reads this, don't waste your money on the Big Block lift kit for the Club Car. They do make excellent lift kits!!!

fstg21

BTW the videos they reference on you tube were of their previous GX670 kits.

Easy to remove the rev limiter. I'd call that false advertising and false claims and want a portion of my money back.

There are people who claim to have defeated the new coils for higher revs but I call BS.

Unlike the previous version that where the coils were grounded to stop the engine, the GX630 requires the coils to be grounded for the engine to run. As soon as you remove the ground, it stops. I worked one extensively trying to get it cracks, but no luck.

Check with tom at CPP. THey may have a clutch that'll give you more range out of that powerband.

sassycat

if mine id have to remove it if poss..i couldnt stand the thought of all that power and not be able to tack it up to 5 grand once in a while
7 grand seems easy for that motor

mastercylinder63

Thanks fstg21, I'll contact Tom @ CPP and check on their clutch or even ask about modifying my clutch. I'm kicking myself for not going for the CPP Big Block kit. At least this guy is willing to give full tech support. Jake's needs to stick with lift kits and cup holders!!!