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Old 05-29-2019, 09:51 AM   #1
freshdaymusic
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Default Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

Just picking up my G16 from Plowman’s. Once I’m home and can drive it I’ll post my thoughts. I already have some thoughts that I’d like to share but I’ll summarize them when I get home in 30 minutes. In the meantime, chew on that healthy bill for a while [emoji15]




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Old 05-29-2019, 02:36 PM   #2
Dave in VA
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

That's money well spent, in my opinion. Top notch parts and work performed by an expert makes a big difference. I'm sure that Don thoroughly tested your cart before delivery.
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Old 05-29-2019, 08:47 PM   #3
freshdaymusic
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

Ok so I’ve had a chance to drive it around the block and take it on a wooded trail. Here are my thoughts:

1. Don fixed my alignment issue that was making the cart dart all over and it was just downright scary to drive more than 15mph. This alone is amazing because I fiddled with it a ton and couldn’t get it aligned. I can now drive 22mph with my hands off the wheel. I give this job an A+

2. Fixing random stuff. I had drilled my governor, removed my governor cable, ran my throttle pedal cable directly to the carb and put a Yamaha drive belt on the cart. Also I installed a new CPP American made primary. I spliced the throttle stop switch so that the cart would “idle” when key was on and I also messed with the carb adjustments several times. Basically I had a cart that ran like junk. It was slow, missed all the time, would die when I mashed the throttle pedal and would not go up any slight hill to save its life. I also had a choke cable that was pulled so tight from the 4” lift that it was breaking.

Don fixed all of this insanity. He moved the choke down and replaced the cable. He fixed my ghetto idle spliced wiring and disabled that feature. He replaced my Chinese knockoff carb with a genuine Mikuni. He of course rejetted the carb and tuned it. He adjusted the valve and replaced the spark plug. He modded my airbox and gave me his new high perf air filter. He recabled everything back the way it’s supposed to be and installed a new governor. He replaced the Yamaha way too loose belt with his plowman belt and replaced the secondary clutch and spring with his high torque version. The gas in my tank was bad so he drained it and put in fresh ethanol free gas. He replaced my aftermarket gas cap that actually didn’t tighten at all and leaked gas all over with a brand new Yamaha vented cap. My lugnuts weren’t tightening and I never knew why. They were the wrong ones. He replaced those with proper lugs.
A+ for this work.


Driving impressions:

Cart has substantially more torque. Way more. As in, I turned the tires, and floored it and dug up the dirt driveway. I also lifted it almost on two wheels when I did this. I absolutely lifted one of the front tires off the ground. It doesn’t completely break loose or spin out because the engine weight is keeping traction on the rear tires but it is right on the edge of breaking traction on dirt and does dig it up with Safari aggressive tread.

Driving off-road on some trails is actually quite thrilling. I spent a couple of weeks recently riding a KTM 350 enduro, Suzuki 300 quad and a four seater Kawasaki side by side on a friends 300 acre tract so even though that’s a whole different world it does give me a metric to use for thrill factor lol.

The golf cart really cruises through thick brush and grass/mud quite effortlessly now. Before, it would bog down and I’d have to back up and take a running start at a muddy ditch or heavily brushy area. Now, it literally plows through with no drama. I was trail riding today at speed and never ever got close to maxing out the throttle. I attempted to and hit a bump and almost launched myself off the seat so I slowed down. Really really fun to rip around on wooded trails now. Really fun.

Drove cart up a nice steep hill from the riverbank to the road and it climbed it without any perceptible loss of speed. That was quite amazing actually. Surprised me when it did it.

My final summary:
Cart is absolutely a joy to drive now. Very linear acceleration. Torquey acceleration and even the ability to just creep along slowly at the touch of the throttle without any jerkiness is so so nice.

Top speed is 22mph right now and don said removing the governor would raise that to a hair above 30mph with my current setup/tires but I’m not feeling the need for it. 22 right now is plenty but if I ever feel like we need to raise the top then I’ll remove the governor.

The price for all of this isn’t for the faint of wallet. I cringed a little when he read me the total. It’s hard to quantify if it’s worth $1200 to make my golf cart run and drive better but truth is, I was out of my league in terms of getting this thing to drive better so being able to drop off the cart and pick it up a week later driving this well is worth something for sure.

My cart budget is fully depleted so no more upgrades at this point. We have a nice soft sided enclosure, side mirrors and 84” roof. I need to paint the body but will wait until later in the summer to do that. Right now, I’m absolutely thrilled with the performance and according to Don, this cart should drive like this for many many years without needing any work.


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Old 05-29-2019, 08:54 PM   #4
jdavila99999
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by freshdaymusic View Post
Ok so I’ve had a chance to drive it around the block and take it on a wooded trail. Here are my thoughts:

1. Don fixed my alignment issue that was making the cart dart all over and it was just downright scary to drive more than 15mph. This alone is amazing because I fiddled with it a ton and couldn’t get it aligned. I can now drive 22mph with my hands off the wheel. I give this job an A+

2. Fixing random stuff. I had drilled my governor, removed my governor cable, ran my throttle pedal cable directly to the carb and put a Yamaha drive belt on the cart. Also I installed a new CPP American made primary. I spliced the throttle stop switch so that the cart would “idle” when key was on and I also messed with the carb adjustments several times. Basically I had a cart that ran like junk. It was slow, missed all the time, would die when I mashed the throttle pedal and would not go up any slight hill to save its life. I also had a choke cable that was pulled so tight from the 4” lift that it was breaking.

Don fixed all of this insanity. He moved the choke down and replaced the cable. He fixed my ghetto idle spliced wiring and disabled that feature. He replaced my Chinese knockoff carb with a genuine Mikuni. He of course rejetted the carb and tuned it. He adjusted the valve and replaced the spark plug. He modded my airbox and gave me his new high perf air filter. He recabled everything back the way it’s supposed to be and installed a new governor. He replaced the Yamaha way too loose belt with his plowman belt and replaced the secondary clutch and spring with his high torque version. The gas in my tank was bad so he drained it and put in fresh ethanol free gas. He replaced my aftermarket gas cap that actually didn’t tighten at all and leaked gas all over with a brand new Yamaha vented cap. My lugnuts weren’t tightening and I never knew why. They were the wrong ones. He replaced those with proper lugs.
A+ for this work.


Driving impressions:

Cart has substantially more torque. Way more. As in, I turned the tires, and floored it and dug up the dirt driveway. I also lifted it almost on two wheels when I did this. I absolutely lifted one of the front tires off the ground. It doesn’t completely break loose or spin out because the engine weight is keeping traction on the rear tires but it is right on the edge of breaking traction on dirt and does dig it up with Safari aggressive tread.

Driving off-road on some trails is actually quite thrilling. I spent a couple of weeks recently riding a KTM 350 enduro, Suzuki 300 quad and a four seater Kawasaki side by side on a friends 300 acre tract so even though that’s a whole different world it does give me a metric to use for thrill factor lol.

The golf cart really cruises through thick brush and grass/mud quite effortlessly now. Before, it would bog down and I’d have to back up and take a running start at a muddy ditch or heavily brushy area. Now, it literally plows through with no drama. I was trail riding today at speed and never ever got close to maxing out the throttle. I attempted to and hit a bump and almost launched myself off the seat so I slowed down. Really really fun to rip around on wooded trails now. Really fun.

Drove cart up a nice steep hill from the riverbank to the road and it climbed it without any perceptible loss of speed. That was quite amazing actually. Surprised me when it did it.

My final summary:
Cart is absolutely a joy to drive now. Very linear acceleration. Torquey acceleration and even the ability to just creep along slowly at the touch of the throttle without any jerkiness is so so nice.

Top speed is 22mph right now and don said removing the governor would raise that to a hair above 30mph with my current setup/tires but I’m not feeling the need for it. 22 right now is plenty but if I ever feel like we need to raise the top then I’ll remove the governor.

The price for all of this isn’t for the faint of wallet. I cringed a little when he read me the total. It’s hard to quantify if it’s worth $1200 to make my golf cart run and drive better but truth is, I was out of my league in terms of getting this thing to drive better so being able to drop off the cart and pick it up a week later driving this well is worth something for sure.

My cart budget is fully depleted so no more upgrades at this point. We have a nice soft sided enclosure, side mirrors and 84” roof. I need to paint the body but will wait until later in the summer to do that. Right now, I’m absolutely thrilled with the performance and according to Don, this cart should drive like this for many many years without needing any work.


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Wish he was in Texas


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Old 05-29-2019, 09:03 PM   #5
Crackback
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

Very thorough review of a lot of things that Plowman did to correct various issues with your cart! It’s not cheap. But cheap work isn’t good. And good work isn’t cheap. At least you have peace of mind that things are done right and you won’t be let down!
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Old 05-30-2019, 03:10 PM   #6
stevet13
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

your article was very helpful to me we have the same cart and I have done much that you have done. I'm trying to solve jerky starts and improve torque. I did put in a high torque secondary clutch but still need more torque. Myself I have a 2000 g16. we might need disk brakes its hard to stop now with large tires
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Old 05-30-2019, 05:28 PM   #7
slonomo
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

I have made several purchases from Plowman's, and have spoken to Don on three separate occasions. His parts are always top notch and they do what he advertises. He also is always willing to give advice and help out when you have problems. I don't live nearby, or I would have probably used his services too.

Glad you had a good experience. Money well spent. Enjoy the heck out of that cart!
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Old 05-31-2019, 07:58 AM   #8
Dave in VA
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

Very good write up. Yep, money well spent. I'm not surprised at the bill, considering all of the extra parts that were involved.

Enjoy your new cart.
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Old 05-31-2019, 08:06 AM   #9
Dave in VA
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevet13 View Post
your article was very helpful to me we have the same cart and I have done much that you have done. I'm trying to solve jerky starts and improve torque. I did put in a high torque secondary clutch but still need more torque. Myself I have a 2000 g16. we might need disk brakes its hard to stop now with large tires
Replacing worn out brakes with new OEM shoes, hardware and drums makes a HUGE difference. If the brake cables are old and stretched, replace them, too.
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Old 05-31-2019, 10:04 AM   #10
jclark138
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Default Re: Plowman’s Performance Kit Review

[QUOTE=jdavila99999;1619764]Wish he was in Texas

If I could justify the shipping, I’d send him my cart . . .
but from California it would be a little “spendy ”
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