How much performance is lost when lifted?

[jimvol]

We picked up a SWEET 2003 Club Car DS 48v yesterday.

It has the rear seat that folds out into a little utility bed, windshield and rear view mirror, headlight and tail light kits.

The cart is in excellent condition, the batteries are 2 year old Exide batteries and seem to be holding good charge.

Anyway, I know very little and am going to try to read through the stickies this week so I can learn everything I can about this thing.

Ok, here is my three main goals with this cart.

1) Use it here around the house
2) Haul it to the campground (hauling it in the bed of the dually)
3) Use it to get back to my hunting spots during deer and tree rat season

Our local campground is a TVA park and the campground managers have miles and miles of off road trails that they let the golf carts use while camping.

I want to lift this thing, I am thinking about a 6 inch spindle lift and 22x10 (???) tires.

My question's are, how much performance am I going to lose by going to the bigger tires? Will the cart still pull the four of us ok? (Wife, two sons, and I)

How much "range" will I lose by adding the bigger tires?

I am hoping that adding the bigger tires will have minimal performance impact, but the practical side of me says that is not possible.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate you taking time to read my post.

Jim

[erict]

Originally Posted by jimvol

We picked up a SWEET 2003 Club Car DS 48v yesterday.

It has the rear seat that folds out into a little utility bed, windshield and rear view mirror, headlight and tail light kits.

The cart is in excellent condition, the batteries are 2 year old Exide batteries and seem to be holding good charge.

Anyway, I know very little and am going to try to read through the stickies this week so I can learn everything I can about this thing.

Ok, here is my three main goals with this cart.

1) Use it here around the house
2) Haul it to the campground (hauling it in the bed of the dually)
3) Use it to get back to my hunting spots during deer and tree rat season

Our local campground is a TVA park and the campground managers have miles and miles of off road trails that they let the golf carts use while camping.

I want to lift this thing, I am thinking about a 6 inch spindle lift and 22x10 (???) tires.

My question's are, how much performance am I going to lose by going to the bigger tires? Will the cart still pull the four of us ok? (Wife, two sons, and I)

How much "range" will I lose by adding the bigger tires?

I am hoping that adding the bigger tires will have minimal performance impact, but the practical side of me says that is not possible.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate you taking time to read my post.

Jim

Congrats and welcome to BGW... Hilly or mostly flat ground?

[jimvol]

Hilly for sure. :), not extreme, but its not flat anywhere we go. Gotta love Tennessee. LOL

Thanks!

Jim

[erict]

Originally Posted by jimvol

Hilly for sure. :), not extreme, but its not flat anywhere we go. Gotta love Tennessee. LOL

Thanks!

Jim

I would give Scotty a call and he will guide you in the right direction. With taller tires you will gain top end speed but suffer torque. A motor, controller and battery cable upgrade would be a good route to take giving your needs.

He is a site sponsor.
http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Custom_Options.html

[shadowman]

Originally Posted by jimvol

We picked up a SWEET 2003 Club Car DS 48v yesterday.

It has the rear seat that folds out into a little utility bed, windshield and rear view mirror, headlight and tail light kits.

The cart is in excellent condition, the batteries are 2 year old Exide batteries and seem to be holding good charge.

Anyway, I know very little and am going to try to read through the stickies this week so I can learn everything I can about this thing.

Ok, here is my three main goals with this cart.

1) Use it here around the house
2) Haul it to the campground (hauling it in the bed of the dually)
3) Use it to get back to my hunting spots during deer and tree rat season

Our local campground is a TVA park and the campground managers have miles and miles of off road trails that they let the golf carts use while camping.

I want to lift this thing, I am thinking about a 6 inch spindle lift and 22x10 (???) tires.

My question's are, how much performance am I going to lose by going to the bigger tires? Will the cart still pull the four of us ok? (Wife, two sons, and I)

How much "range" will I lose by adding the bigger tires?

I am hoping that adding the bigger tires will have minimal performance impact, but the practical side of me says that is not possible.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate you taking time to read my post.

Jim

congrats on the cart......how much will you lose? i,m guessing 20 to 30 % depending......and those excide batteries your gonna reall need to stay on top of them as far as maintence i mean baby them sorry but i think they are one of the crappiest batteries they ever sold for golfcarts.......if they get down to far theres no bring them back...............i mean this as no insult after all you said thats what it came with i mean it as a heads up because all the excide golfcart batteries i have come across very few sets ever made it more then a few years most no longer then 18 months.......if cart has backseat which will be used and your gonna lift it and its hilly terraine.......yes your gonna want to upgrade, motor, controller, cables, solenoid and F&R you,ll than be a happy camper............good luck with it and enjoy..................................

[customcracka]

Are you going to want to upgrade eventually? Maybe. Do you have to right away? I don't think so. I say lift it and see how you like it. My buddy and I have the exact same carts, except his has the stock motor (speed code 3) and 22x11x10 with a 6 inch lift and mine has the commander motor with 22x11x12 with 6 inch lift. His pulls hills better than mine does and would do just fine off road. But on flat ground or down hills I leave him in the dust.

So since you have the stock motor (I'm assuming) I think you'd do fine with just lifting it and putting bigger tires on it. For a while at least.

[jimvol]

Originally Posted by shadowman

congrats on the cart......how much will you lose? i,m guessing 20 to 30 % depending......and those excide batteries your gonna reall need to stay on top of them as far as maintence i mean baby them sorry but i think they are one of the crappiest batteries they ever sold for golfcarts.......if they get down to far theres no bring them back...............i mean this as no insult after all you said thats what it came with i mean it as a heads up because all the excide golfcart batteries i have come across very few sets ever made it more then a few years most no longer then 18 months.......if cart has backseat which will be used and your gonna lift it and its hilly terraine.......yes your gonna want to upgrade, motor, controller, cables, solenoid and F&R you,ll than be a happy camper............good luck with it and enjoy..................................

Hi Shadowman,

I REALLY appreciate the reply. I have zero experience with batteries and maint and brand, etc. so I appreciate the input. I have a philosophy that cheap means more expensive in the long run. I have read that Trojan and US Batteries are the best. My buddy has an 01 Club Car DS with Trojan batteries, I may see if we can put them on a scale and compare the weight of the Exide and the Trojan batteries to see what gives. (Heard that is what matters or something like that)

These batteries are about 2 years old, seem to be in decent shape. I hope I get 3 more years out of them, but it would not suprise me if I need to replace them after I lift the cart. I'm going to check and see what the price of the Trojan's are in my area. As far as maintaining them. I will be ON TOP of that.

I leave the cart plugged in when not in use. Today I am going to pick up some distilled water to top off the batteries, clean them off, and make sure all the posts are clean. Hopefully, I can get the best life out of these batteries possible.

Thanks!