2 stroke vs 4 stroke pros and cons

[kandlclark]

Okay I have been doing some reading and searching and have established some facts but i wanted some opinions, pros and cons surrounding the 2 stroke vs 4 stroke carts.

We are looking to purchase a cart in the near future and our primary use for it will be crusing gravel roads, pastures, trails ect. That being said we will of course lift it and have larger tires.

We have some friends who currently have an early 90s EzGo with the 3pg 2 stroke lifted 4" and I think 22x11x8 tires. Their cart seems to run pretty good and can get anywhere they need it to go. This particular cart is what I compare to everything that we look at or consider buying.

So this leads me to the 2 vs 4 question. I know that the 2 stroke carts run the engine backwards for reverse, and 4 stroke carts have a transaxle making future engine swaps possible while retaining reverse operation, an obvious PRO for the 4 stroke carts. However I've also read here that the 2 stroke carts run so much better than the 4 stroke carts that it leads me to believe that the performance would be less than adequate. Also I know 2 strokes are easier and cheaper to rebuild but how reliable are the 4 strokes found in the ezgo carts?

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to try and not leave anything out.

[BrewCityMusic]

From what I've seen, the 4's aren't so bad providing you keep the valves adjusted a couple of times a year - however if speed is your thing, a Marathon with the 2PG or 3PG will run circles around the 4-stroke models hands down. The 4's have a bit more torque and low-end though, so for hilly terrain, carrying loads, etc they do have an edge (although there are cheap and easy upgrades IE: shorter drive belt to drop clutch ratio, etc that can add quite a bit of beef to the 2's performance)

To quote some numbers, my buddy has a 1993 4-stroke, the governor is removed and the cart is basically stock except for a 4" lift and 22" tires. I have an 88 2-stroke, stock except for the same lift and tires only 5" height and also sans governor. I can hit 22.3mph on flat pavement, he tops out right about 16.9 (both numbers ascertained by GPS).

If we start out side-by-side and mash it to the floor, my takeoff is enough that I can actually pull ahead and swing out directly in front of him without being silly or taking any undue risks.

On the flipside, I live at an old ski resort, and heading up the switchback trails to the top of the hill if we start exactly the same he will generally beat me over the top by about a cart length and a half due to him outpulling me on the really REALLY steep stuff.

Now, as to the future engine swap, YES the transaxle model is going to save you tons of headache in that instance, and it's really almost worth considering as you can grab a clone 16hp engine for just a few hundred bucks, and with marginal fab skills and tools can have a pretty serious cart built over the course of a weekend or two and for well under $1k front to back - the "Big Block" guys over in those threads can give you more detailed info on that though.

A total top end on a 2-stroke will run you under $200 so keeping the engine fresh is an easy 2hr task at anytime - even a full kit with crank, etc is around $400 and that's basically a NEW engine - from what I understand you can basically double that plus change on the 4-strokes, and it's not as easy of a task for one guy to do with hand tools (the 2's can be pulled, new top end, replaced and ready to drive in well under 2hrs by yourself, if You know your way around engines and tools, add an hour or so if you don't)

Hope some of this helped - if it were ME and I could only have one cart it would be a 2-stroker all the way, but now that I have 2 of them my next cart will likely be a 4, strictly with the eventual plan of doing an engine swap/upgrade

[kandlclark]

Wow! Thanks for low down Brewcity! That really clears up alot and gives us something to chew on.

[RSP]

4 stroker for me, 94 ezgo medalist with 295 4 stroke engine, 97 ezgo txt with 295 4 stroke engine, 91 club car with the old flat head 4 stroke, they all run flawless, to each his own, I`ve had both.

[devast8ing]

Based on my experiences, I would stay away from the 2 stroke. Been out trailing quite a few times with guys that have had 2 strokes and they get hot and quit running till they cool down. 4 strokes have more power and are better for trailing. Everybody I ride with avoid 2 strokes like the plague, after seeing how they perform offroading.

[southerntidefan]

Im not hijacking the thread I just have a question pertaining to the subject. I have an 85 2stroke that was given to me. How fast should it run? Seems weak to me.

[southerntidefan]

Its an ezgo marathon

[JcXtreme72]

I'm going to put golf carts to the side real fast and get back to it.
2 vs 4 in general. 2 stroke is 1/2 the weight and per cc makes twice the power but has twice the maintence (mostly spark plugs). You do a top end rebuild as often as you would an oil change. 2 strokes will rev twice as high (thus the faster speeds in carts) but require more RPM to get to their torque range. 4 strokes make the grunt right out of the hole and are better suited to putting around. For example I ride a 2 stroke atv at the dune (Long live the ATC250R!) and my wife is learning on a trx250ex 4 stroke. I will burn up 2 plugs before a tank of gas if I follow her around watching her. If I break off and stretch it's legs I can stretch that to 1 plug per tank vs the 3 tanks per plug when I am riding with my friends hauling @ss.
So 2 VS 4 should depend on terrain more then anything. Gotta keep your foot in the throttle to make it happy but will burn the top end if you keep it there too long.
As for the cart part. 2 strokes are in older carts. Parts are getting hard to find for them so if you can't/don't have time to fabricate the parts you want IE lift, rear seat, roll cage or bed on the back you might want to look towards a newer cart. Doesn't have to be brand new but the parts availability between say a G1 vs G2 is crazy and I believe they made them at the same time for a short time. I personally own 3 G2 carts. 1 is my favorite. I call it the Donkey. Has 24" tires and I tow trailers and haul stuff around my property a lot so I am keeping it 4 stroke. The second one I am building custom front and rear long travel suspension with a locked rear end. It will be for sand so I dropped a 82hp Polaris 2 stroke in it for the weight, horsepower for it's size (400cc punched to 442cc's single cylinder) and RPMS that it will turn. The third I got in a trade and I'm just fixing to sell to an older friend that can't really walk any more and needs to tend to his honey bees.
I hope this helps in your decision in any way and please keep us updated on what you decide.

[JcXtreme72]

Originally Posted by southerntidefan

Im not hijacking the thread I just have a question pertaining to the subject. I have an 85 2stroke that was given to me. How fast should it run? Seems weak to me.

That depends on engine, tires and whether or not your governor has been modded. Stock is I think around 12-14mph but don't quote me exactly on that.

[BrewCityMusic]

JcX is correct, stock on the 85 is right around that 12mph mark ... Pull the governor and you can reasonably expect 16-17 on stock tires, lift it and go to 22's and that 21-23mph mark is right in your sights