Best cart for speed mods

[CT904]

Greetings to all! Our small town has recently legalized the use of carts for local transportation so I am going to buy one to drive the 2 miles to work. I am looking at 2 EZ-GO's, an '06 36v pds and an '08 48v rxv. Would like to know which would be easier/cheaper to speed up. Dealer says he can give me 23 mph with the pds or 19 mph with the rxv. He's pushing the pds but I think it's because he has about 40 of them. Would like to get a solid 30 mph out of whatever I buy. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[JohnnieB]

A completely stock PDS will do about 19MPH and going to 22" tires will up it to about 23 MPH, but the 21% gain in speed is also a 21% loss in torque.

Several forum members are running modified PDS carts in the mid-twenties to mid-thirties and at least one is either pushing or has broken, the 40MPH mark.

I don't know how far the RXV can be stretched, but having not been around as long, RXV drive systems don't have the aftermarket go-faster goodies that are available for the PDS carts.

One thing to remember while pursuing your quest for speed. You gotta stop as well as go and golf carts have brakes designed for golf course trails rather than roads. So don't forget to upgrade the brakes also.

[CT904]

Yeah, will definately upgrade the brakes. Dealer says he'll put a new controller (I think a 400 amp) in the PDS to get the 23 mph. Wondering if I should just get the stock cart and do the mods myself. I really like the looks of the RXV, but it's quite a bit more and apparently won't be as fast.

[creepingtom]

if you change the rear end gears to 8-1 or 6-1 an rxv will run around 40-42 mph- i forget which ratio. my friend done that to his and it ran 41. he found someone with a handheld programmer,for the rxv, and got it up to 45 mph on gps. and that may be with 21"or 23" tires. once they get moving they have plenty of torque

[CT904]

That would be great. I'd rather not have to lift it and change the tire size. Just want to get 30 mph or so out of it. Thanks for the info.

[as350pilot]

My cart is a '97 DCS with an Alltrax DCX 400amp controller with 48v and a Plum Quick Bandit. It's is lifted with 22" tires. I am running a consistent 30 - 32 mph.

I HAD to upgrade the brakes to rear disc. That is darn near a MANDATORY upgrade, as the drum brakes would not stop the cart at that speed.

[CT904]

So then is it true that a 400 amp controller will give a pds about 23mph? And if that's true then adding 6:1 gears should bump it to 35 or better. Seems like the way to go.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by CT904

1. So then is it true that a 400 amp controller will give a pds about 23mph?
2. And if that's true then adding 6:1 gears should bump it to 35 or better.
3. Seems like the way to go.

1. With good batteries, cables and solenoid, probably. A stock PDS controller limits motor RPM to about 4400 and an aftermarket controller that doesn't sense motor RPM will allow it to spin faster. 23MPH would be about 5400RPM with stock height tires and stock differential gears.

2. With the motor spinning at 5400RPM, 8:1 gears would mathematically yield 37MPH on stock height tires and 6:1 gears would mathematically yield about 48MPH on stock height tires. However the torque loss with 8:1 gears would be 36% and torques loss with 6:1 gears would be 52%, so I suspect a 400A controller would have trouble just getting the cart moving if there was much of a headwind and you'd most likely be able to walk faster on the slightest incline.

3. I love my PDS, but it meets my needs as is.

I'm not trying to dampen your enthusiasm, just trying to make you aware that it takes more than just a controller and gears to build a PDS cart that will travel at 35+MPH and still be safe and reliable.

[720Deere]

There is no way I would plan to use any golf cart for 40 mph transportation. They are twitchy enough at 20-25 mph. By yourself a SMART car and not have much more invested than what it would take to build a safe, fast, reliable cart.

[larry1961]

I have a pds stock motor,stock controller,stock gears,but do have up grade chip (or plug) with 26" tires and mine runs 22 mph. I lost low end but not that bad,I have rear seat and loaded on modest inclines does just fine.Upgrade brakes is a must should be done first.I love my pds but dont know much about rxv.not sure I would want to go much faster and I have a need for speed!!!