[cdail314@yahoo.com]

I recently rebuilt a 1997 Club Car DS with a Kawasaki FE290 Gas engine. I have used this site for so many little questions that I probably already new the answer to but wanted to be sure. I was able to be confident in my decision everytime I had a question. I wanted to thank everyone who has had a question or comment before me for the great source of information.

I have replaced or repaired the following items.

1. GCS 6" double A Arm lift.
2. 12" rims 23" tires with 2" spacers all the way around.
3. New topsail bimini top 84".
4. New tinted windshield.
5. Rear seat kit.
6. Front seat back replaced and bottom will be done soon.
7. New Paint.
8. Street legal light kit with air horn and turn signals.
9. Steering wheel.
10. Brakes and cables.
11. All wheel bearings.
12. New dash.
13. Double 2.0 USB with digital Volt meter. (This proved to be the a great addition when the voltage regulator went out)
14. Voltage regulator.
15. New stock belt.
16. Red spring on driven or secondary clutch.
17. Rebuild the gearbox and added the 8:1gear ratio.
18. Front brush guard.
19. LED glow under lighting with additional lights for the wheel wells.
20. Replaced the oil light.
21. New muffler.
22. I also unhooked the micro switches so the cart would stay running once started. I learned that when in maintenance mode it will on start in neutral and seems much safer this way.

At this point I started test driving the cart to see the performance changes to the cart. I was mostly concerned about the reduction in torque but who doesn't like to go fast. The first thing I check was the speed 27 mph on flat ground. When I stopped under a tree I rolled the left rear tire up to a 3" diameter oak limb like a chalk. When I went to leave it would not roll over it. I had to back up and get some momentum. Also with out a running start I couldn't climb any hills. I never tried pulling a trailer but I'm sure it would not have been good either. When I made this change I asked my local CC dealer and the gentleman said go with the 6:1 I'm glad that I didn't. Since then I have made some significant changes and was able to get alot more torque.

23. Driven clutch resurfaced, ramps and performance spring from Cart Parts Plus.
24. Advanced the timing.
25. Drilled out the carburetor main jet.
26. High flow fuel pump.
27. Rebuilt the primary or drive clutch and add a heavier spring so the clutch would engage 200 rpm higher.
28. Tachometer
29. K&N air filter.
30. Fender flares.
31. Upgraded the drive belt.
Now it was time to try it again. I was able to increase the torque significantly. It now climbs hills and ran over the same log with ease. I haven't towed my trailer yet but feel it will be a struggle. It is a 1200 lb trailer. Definitely not going to pull the john boat out at the ramp anymore. I did gain some more speed 32.9 mph at 2800 rpm on flat ground. We were running some Florida hills on a poker run Saturday and hit forty going down one and maintained 27 mph on the way up the same hill. I have a few more things to check but as of now I can only get 2800 rpm out of the fe290. I'm going to do a valve adjustment and governor adjustment this weekend and hopefully get a little more out of it. If I'm still not completely satisfied I think I will install new rings and get the head milled for a higher compression ratio. So far its been a really cool build and I have received so many compliments.

Thank you all for help!