2012 G29 is awful slow!

Hooscrat

I am new to the cart world but I am looking to upgrade my 48v g29. It is right off of the course but I had the shop put in new batteries and make sure its all together. I am planning on adding the backseat, lift kit with wheels and tires. The cart on flat roads does ok but gets very slow going up hill. I have read that taller tires will help add some mph but what else is there for this cart where I don't have to spend 500 for controller's or motors? Any help is greatly appreciated!

BGW

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Dave in VA

Taller tires will get you more speed, but you will lose torque--hill climbing ability.

Hooscrat

Thanks for the reply! I guess I should make sure nothing is wrong with the cart first... Would you know what the avg mph should be?

Drrhein

If it came from a golf course it was probably set to a slow 9 to 13 mph. I do a lot of refurbs and the first thing we do is add lights and then take the cart to a friend with a Yamaha dealership who has the programmer for the controller. We have PTV mode (Option "A") set up - 19 MPH. That's all you're going to get with a stock controller, period. Some people have had success with a speed sensor magnet change but all they're doing is tricking the controller and that can shorten its life by a bunch.

If you can part with about $600 you can skip the PTV speed mod by getting a 400 amp (XCT-48400-YDRE) Alltrax controller and a set of larger battery cables, 400 amp is all the stock motor can take and you'll probably get upward of 22-25 mph on the flat. This is probably the best option.

If you need more speed then you're looking at about $1500 worth of stuff (Cables, Solenoid, 500 amp Controller and a motor)

Just like cars, the more power you want, the more it costs and don't forget more power and speed uses the batteries more and shortens the time between charges and range.

Good luck!

Dennis

Hooscrat

Thank you Dennis! Is it possible for me to find a dealer around here and just pull the stock controller to take to them or do i have to take the whole cart? Also is there any way or any information that you know of where I can perform this task? I see the upgraded controllers have a usb interface and some use pin selection.... do you know how this is performed on stock controllers?

Drrhein

Nope, They need the whole cart. They need to verify the lights and reflectors are installed. Plus the programmer port is actually part of the cart. It's hanging down aft of the batteries.

What I've done may or may not work in your area. I call the dealer, tell him what I want and provide him the cart serial number and the controller part number and serial number. Then I pay the $120 over the phone. When the code and sticker come in he calls me.

I take the cart over there, he verifies the lights are on and the serial numbers (If not I just lost $120) then he programs it (He has to provide the programmer the code sent from Yamaha) and then puts the PTV sticker on the controller. (The sticker means you can forever do programming changes without having to go through all that again)

Is this a royal PITA? Yes... Why? I have no earthly idea. But $120 is better than $500 plus for an Alltrax and there's only a small mph difference between the two. Your call.


Dennis

Hooscrat

Thank you! That is the best info I have read yet!

cgtech

The big difference is hill climbing torque. The yamaha ptv speed code does zero to help stock controller with hill climbing (which will be horrible with oversize tires). The upgraded controller pretty much doubles the speed the cart can maintain up inclines. I have also done many PTV speed codes, it is just as he described.

Drrhein

CGTech and Dave in VA are right. Almost everybody who has been down this road has learned. One thing begets another and the next another and another and before you know it you have several grand in a cart worth a quarter of that.

In the end analysis a better strategy is to figure out what you want from a cart and buy THAT cart to start with. Saves a lot of money, believe me.

If you want to go up and down hills with a lift and big tires you probably aren't going to be happy with a PTV mod. You'll need the big controller and wires. But if you want speed for a community (Like the Villages) than a PTV mod is what you need and the big controller would be overkill. Also I believe the Villages and similar communities frown on the big tires because they are hard on the grass, so the lift is wasted.

I think DC carts are going to be replaced with AC carts in the very near future, if not already. The systems are more versatile and the big wires and huge fan-cooled controllers are not necessary. I continue to be impressed with how these carts perform.

dbmachine

I heard that the villages will give tickets to carts that go over a certain mph???