2001 PDS for field and hauling... looking for setup advice

txdm

Well, after getting hooked on carts with a free 3-wheel resistor cart, i started shopping for something newer with 4 wheels and found a VERY good deal on an 01 PDS.

You can see from the pics that it has a fixed truck bed and ladder hooks, which is right along the lines of what I use the cart for...hauling materials and tools around my acreage.

This cart will rarely if ever see a smooth roadway. It will be mostly on rough dirt and gravel paths/roads, sand, mud and grass with mild hills. The tires are stock and pretty close to bald on the fronts.

Is it absolutely necessary to have a lift for 20" tires on the 8" stock wheels? Is the 10% size difference noticeable in torque?

On the topic of torque, the PDS has the blank "all-terrain" module in it. Would this benefit from the mild hill or steep hill chips, considering what I plan to use it for?

I'll be honest, the stock speed limit is more than fast enough to throw you out of the cart on my terrain, so high speed is not a priority compared to ability to do things like haul bags of concrete or pull a utility trailer.

thanks for your input.

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scottyb

We use a pds cart at the ranch with no lift ans 20" Scorpian knobby tires in the rear with a cargo box on it... It has an aftermarket torque motor, Alltrax controller, 42v (7/6v) batteries, and it does absolutely anything you would want to do with a golf cart.
So yeah, with a little improvement you can have a good farm type cart with this model

txdm

Thanks scotty,

If I wanted to keep the stock motor for a while, would it be bad to put on 20's (to get that inch of clearance? Do the yellow/blue chips really help with torque or traction?

An extreme example use for me is carrying four 80lb bags of concrete, some hand tools and my 150lbs self with a 150lbs passenger.

I might haul a dump trailer full of logs or something occasionally too.

JohnnieB

It'll most likely take 20" tall tires without a lift.

Going from 18" to 20" will increase cart's top speed by 11.1% and reduce the torque were rubber meet road by 10%, which is noticable. That is the opposite of what you probably need for your application.

If you don't need more ground clearance, go with smaller tires. My 17" tires increase the available torque by 6% and up the motor RPM by 5.5%, which is a good thing if you are going to be hauling heavy stuff at low speeds.

Also, a 20" will only give you 1" more clearance at the bottom of the differential, which is cart's lowest point.


As for the different PDS modes: Only the top speed and amount of regen braking is different. They use motor RPM limiting to limit carts speeds in the various modes, so the torque is the same in all of them. (See attached chart)

If you get the freedom chip, you can add switches to the jumpers and adjust the mode to meet your needs at the time. (Attached chart show which jumpers give which mode)

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Fegarex

Thanks for the info on the chips. I am new at this and assumed the "Steep hill" chip would give me more climbing torque. All it does it add or remove braking? I assume the "all terrain" chip is actually just an empty plug?

txdm

Thanks again Scotty.

Looks like I'll stick to my stock 18" tire size, and if I get bored, I'll try a freedom chip and play with a switch in it.

Figarex, the "all terrain" chip is a blank plug that just covers the pins. It's what's in mine already.

JohnnieB

The PDS controller limits motor RPM to about 4400 in Freedom mode (18 MPH on 18" tall tires), about 3300 in Mild Hill (~14.25 MPH) and about 3100 in Steep Hill & All Terrain/Golf (~13.25MPH).

In Mild Hill mode you get mild regenerative braking when you lift your foot on the pedal, in Steep Hill you get strong regen braking. In the other two modes, the cart will coast.

In all modes, if the cart speed (Motor RPM actually) tries to exceed the max RPM for whatever mode it is in, by more than a few percent, the controller turns on max regen braking to keep the rpm limit from being exceeded.

Assuming a healthy battery pack as well as good cables and connections, the amount of torque the motor generates is determined by the amps the motor is capable of drawing at the RPM it is spinning at and the max amps the controller will pass to the motor.

A stock PDS controller (Curtis 1206MX) will pass a max of 300A to the motor, but the faster the motor spins the fewer amps it is capable of drawing and in each of the four PDS modes, the controller limits the motor to an RPM that is above the RPM at which a Stock PDS motor is capable of drawing 300A.

JohnnieB

Be aware that the tire size embossed on tires is very approximate. Mine are marked 18X8.50-8, but are physically 17.04" tall. Also, the MTD (Mounted Tire Diameter) list on some tire store websites may be off considerably.

IE: Carlisle's website says my Turf Master tires have a MTD of 18.3", yet they are only slightly over 17" tall.

FWIW: You get better run-time in the mild and steep hill mode due the the regen braking returning some energy back to the battery pack.

txdm

I'm looking into either the Scorpion (knobby) tires or Wanda Sports (half-bars). My "lawn" is mostly wild savannah grasses, prairie weeds, and sandy loam / sand. Some low muddy areas in there too, but not too sticky.

Fegarex

Thanks JohnnieB.
Now I know. I bought a steep hill one and I guess I will keep it on as any extra run time would be good.