Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

I've heard that there have been some issues in the first roll out of the Onward lithium from the factory: range not as expected, charger issues.

Has the factory fixed those? Are people still having problems? Should new Club Car buyers get regular batteries for now and do a drop in conversion eventually or wait for the factory lithium to get the kinks out?

Thanks for any experience on this.

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

I have a new Onward Lithium and there are a couple big problems. First and foremost is the hesitation upon acceleration. This did not happen at first but I have noticed it the last couple of months. You put your foot down hard and it takes off but then looses power and goes down to almost nothing. Then it will zoom off again and down again. I sent it back to the dealer who could not duplicate this however, yesterday in fact I saw him on the course and he said if I still had the problem he knew what was wrong. I did not ask but told him to come out Monday and bring it back to the shop. I am sure it is an on board computer fix and he probably got wind of it from CC who (I assume) has had many complaints about this. Basically, it is similar to turbo lag in a car.

The second major issue is the ride quality. It sucks. Every little bounce is noticed and amplified. The dealer told me to drop my tire pressure to 18lbs but even that did not make it much more comfortable. I have a two seat model which means it is just standard and two seaters are not lifted, at least not by the factory.

The charge is nothing to brag about either. You barely get two rounds in. A round of golf from my home and back is seven miles, give or take. It does not take as long to charge the battery as traditional batteries but if you are like me and plug it in over night that is not a problem.

The technology is great and the performance is (or at least was at first) very good. If they can fix that herky jerky problem I can live with the harsher ride. And I love not having to worry about watering the batteries. Bottom line is I should have waited a year or two before buying the Onward Lithium.

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

I converted mine to Lithium (Allied Batteries) and my ONLY issue is the ride quality. I've discussed this on other threads but, long story short, the stock suspension is built for about 200 more lbs from the battery compartment. To date, I've seen nothing on the market, suspension wise, for lighter carts.

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

Suspension is a big issue when you lop off 250 pounds of weight. Not sure if the factory carts are modified to take this into account or not.

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

I know this thread is somewhat older, but I solved my previous harsh ride after going from 8 Trojan T-105's (so that's 65-lbs x 8 = 520-lbs) to my now 14 module Leaf setup....weighing about 160-lbs....so the net weight loss of about 360-lbs.

I had HD 4-leaf rear springs on my cart. So, I removed two leafs from each side (I removed the shortest leaf's) and the ride is WAY better. My kidneys actually sent me a thank you card!!:lhmo::lhmo::thumbup:

If you have a 3-leaf setup I would remove one leaf and see how it rides.

FWIW

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

The hesitation issue I referred to in my previous post has been fixed. The dealer said he was working on another Lithium Onward whose owner complained of the same thing and he was able to duplicate the problem and find the solution. It was just a bad batch of some module thing. He replaced the part in both carts and problem went away. I don't know exactly what it was just a bad part that caused the herky jerky issue. So far so good but the harsh ride of a lithium cart coming from the factory is more the nature of the beast than a defect.

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

My wife's 2000 Mustang had severe "suspension bounce" when braking hard on a washboard surface. It was the factory shocks. I replaced the rear shocks and the front struts with gas adjustable shocks and it rides very smooth now.

My point of using the auto "fix" is that just because it came that way from the factory, doesn't mean you have to live with it. Whatever the fix may be....either new springs or new shocks or a combo of both, you can certainly fix the cart to have a much better ride than factory. :thumbup:

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. It's brand new and I plan on having it for at least six years (the battery warranty expires at that time) so why live with that kind of ride? I will talk to the dealer to see what can be done about the ride. So far, all he suggested was reduce the air pressure in the tires to 18lbs but that helps only a little.

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

Glad to hear they corrected the hesitation issue!

I am shocked the factory lithium cart doesn't have it's own suspension setup or at leasdt tuned for the rediced weight. Seems like poor thinking all around. The parts would have sold well in the aftermarket too for those converting their carts to Li-Ion with drop-in replacements.

Re: Is lithium from the factory ready for prime time?
 

Sad to say that factory lithium are not prime time ready or lithium for that matter...those that do buy these outrageously priced factory carts with lithium are unsuspecting beta testers. At a huge expense to the buyer at that!!

Haven't even touched on all the above challenges and issues and baggage lithium batteries bring with them..

If buyers want reliable maintainance free batteries go for the unheralded agm..
yes they are heavier...but very reliable if nightly recharging regime is diligently
followed...with the appropriate charger....I have them in my cart ....enjoying them a lot:thumbup: