0 or 2 gauge?

[dmov]

Okay, i have a 36 volt ezgo PDS. upgrading battery cables, controller and solenoid. hope to go 48 volt sometime next year. any compelling reasons or performance increases going to 0 vs 2 gauge?

Thanks in advance

[JohnDaMan]

The Bigger the Better. 2/0 on the battery pack and 1/0 running to the F/R and Motor on mine. They never even get warm riding!

[JohnnieB]

I've got 2Ga (all 10 cables) on my stock PDS. Cables never get warm.

Unless you are going to a 48V controller over 500A, you'll probably not notice any difference speed or torque between 2Ga and 0Ga.

However, I do agree that bigger is better.

The difference in resistance between the two is 0.00005733 Ohms per foot, so do the math.

[Gonkulor]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

I've got 2Ga (all 10 cables) on my stock PDS. Cables never get warm.

Unless you are going to a 48V controller over 500A, you'll probably not notice any difference speed or torque between 2Ga and 0Ga.

However, I do agree that bigger is better.

The difference in resistance between the two is 0.00005733 Ohms per foot, so do the math.

*scratches head? Math? What is that. The bigger the better but there will be a point where your just adding weight for no benifit. 2ga is fine but if you want to go with 0ga then so be it. It's costly and harder to make bends. welding wire is the way to go, either direction. This has been discussed at length in many posts. Many posts. Many. Well a few. OK many.

Did I say many?

[JohnnieB]

Gonk, prepare to be gonked.

Twenty feet is probably about the minimum total length of the high current cables on most carts and a 400A aftermarket controller is a fairly typical upgrade, so I'll use those numbers.

The voltage drop across 20' of 6Ga @ 400A is 3.2V and 1264W of power is converted to heat, or 1.7HP lost.
The voltage drop across 20' of 4Ga @ 400A is 2.0V and 795W of power is converted to heat, or 1.1HP lost.
The voltage drop across 20' of 2Ga @ 400A is 1.3V and 500W of power is converted to heat, or 0.7HP lost.
The voltage drop across 20' of 1/0Ga @ 400A is 0.8V and 314W of power is converted to heat, or 0.4HP lost.
The voltage drop across 20' of 2/0Ga @ 400A is 0.6V and 249W of power is converted to heat, or 0.3HP lost.

Of course, the only times a 400A controller actually allows 400A to pass through it, is during heavy acceleration, climbing steep hills and other situations where the motor is partially stalled or stalled, so some power loss is acceptable to most people.

[bigpoppi]

Huh, The 'Gonk Show', I remember that....lol.. I'm thinking that JohnnieB and ScottyB are both judges.. or the 'Sheldon's' of the cart world.. Bazzinga..! nice info Johnnieb, Gonk, you make reading the posts a bit more humerous, I agree thou. math..lol