[ATrain]

Originally Posted by 3doghouse

Maintaing 30MPH takes way more power than 20MPH.

For ballpark calcs, see http://www.apexgarage.com/tech/horsepower_calc.shtml

I used.9 Cd, 16 sqft, and 638 lbs (https://buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=107285).

20MPH = 1.1HP
30MPH = 3.1HP
40MPH = 6.8HP

Recalling my old high school/college physics, isn't that just the force needed to move the 639lb cart 1 ft/second?

After the cart has reached speed, moving horizontally, it just continues at that speed unless acted upon by an external force (friction, wind, etc).

So to maintain speed, it should be trivial...whether it be 25mph or 35mph.

That's why uphill, heavy load, initial acceleration, etc are the major battery drain events. Frequency of stop/go events would be a big drain even too...hadn't thought of that, but it is also irrelevant because turning up your carts speed shouldn't increase/decrease the frequency of stop/go events in your typical drive.

I think those HP measures are only true if you were moving directly vertical against gravity.