Here goes the upgrade, ideas please!

[Springlake]

Well. I am thinking power upgrade but I could use some ideas.

I have a 95 Medalist that has a rebuilt controller, new solenoid , new 36 volts batteries, rebuilt (cleaned ,new brushes) stock sepex motor, new key switch.

The Medalist is a DCS and from what I've read the sepex does not like the slow poky riding i am doing. The motor is getting too hot. I have some inclines and the wife and I like to cruise the lake and enjoy the SLOOOW ride. I am doing good on battery volts up and down the lake side, But I know the motor and other parts will not make it. I had hoped when I bought the used cart that just adding batteries would suffice for a year at least. Running the 23's and slow poky like i do is taking its toll.

So I am thinking of an upgrade motor, 42V batt's. With the batteries being less than 2 months old and having a-as recommended break in. I think I could add another battery and not have problems with the pack.

Question? How far do I need to go with this? Motor, controller, solenoid, battery, 48v charger? All or part, or let it die trying? Money is an issue........

Fire away with the professional tech stuff, please..

THANKS

[shaffer88]

I'm sure others will weigh in by here is my opinion. You need to upgrade your electronics first and foremost before you ever think about doing batteries. I. E. Cables controller fnr switch. If you do the battery first you will possibly fry all the electronics and then you'll be out of the cart at least with getting the electronics lined out first you can still drive as you upgrade. Just my two cents

[Springlake]

shaff

Cables are new (scotty 4ga) sorry forgot to say that.

Its a shame really. I thought this buggy would be a hunting buggy. cruise to the stand, hunt, come home with the prey.

NOT, wifey, likes the cruise around and lookey see.

I think 48V will not be cost effective,(unless I can get a friend....to buy the 36's,NOT) new batt , but will a 42 do (cost effective) for this application?

[Sir Nuke]

Considering your logic on the one new battery (I think that is sound and doable since they are pretty new), get 2 and go 48v, put the extra two in the bag well as a lot of people have done.....Personally I think you should go with 2 ga, cables.....500 amp controller, SD Solenoid, HD FnR.....etc

[pete959]

i would find a controller first 36 to 48 volt that way u can use it now
then get motor then batt and charger and noid

[Knothead]

Do what I did......I was in the same situation. Batteries were like-new, so I bought two more batteries, ordered a controller/solenoid package & 48v charger from ScottyB. Your stock motor will surprise the crap out of you when hooked to 48 volts! It will also run cooler (& longer per charge) on 48v, because it will actually pull less amps than at 36v (at the same speed). I creep around in the woods with mine all the time & accelerate up hills that I could barely climb with the 36v setup & my motor seems to be running plenty cool enough. You'll also pick up several mph, if you decide to stretch it out occasionally! I'm still planning on a D&D motor eventually, because I do use this one for hunting, & am a power/speed freak, but it is night & day difference between what I had at 36v & what I've got now!

scrap the batteries go v6 Buick

[Springlake]

Crash, once you go quiet you never go back...

KnotHead, Did you put your two new batts in the bagwell? Do you see any adverse effects from that weight back there?

Thanks for all the input so far?

[JohnnieB]

The 23" tires are the killer in the equation.

IMHO: The only three reasons for tall tires are:
1. Higher Speed.
2. Ground clearance.
3. Cosmetic.

If the cart is used at low speeds (IE: cruising the lake and creeping through the woods so you don't scare away the wild critters, and/or hauling home the prey), tall tires are the opposite of what is needed.

Except for axle height, a lift kit will give you ground clearance without altering the final drive ratio.

As for the vanity stuff, there are nice looking wheel/tire combos that aren't as hard to turn as the 23" stuff and aggressive tread patterns do come on smaller tires.

------------
On the other hand, you could change the rear end gears from the stock 12.44:1 to 15:1 and gain over half of the lost torque back or go to 17:1 and actually gain a bit.

------------
Alltrax DCX controllers run on 36V, 42V and 48V and so does the Super-Duty solenoid. (400A continuous/1000A Peak)
I'm running at 36V at the moment, but will be upping it to 42V in the next few days just by swapping out the batteries.

-----------
The higher the pack voltage, the cooler the motor runs (with the same load).
A seventh 6V battery (42V system) will fit in the space in front of the driver side rear tire and all that is needed to tie it in, is one short cable.

[Knothead]

Originally Posted by Springlake

KnotHead, Did you put your two new batts in the bagwell? Do you see any adverse effects from that weight back there?

Thanks for all the input so far?

No, I fab'd a mount for the controller up over the motor, & put a battery on each side under the seat. Not really that hard, but not THAT easy, either....I considered putting one battery under the driver's seat & one in the bagwell so I could have the controller in the original location, but the DCX500 is larger than OEM, so would have had to fab a bracket anyway. I honestly think I could pull the front wheels on flat ground if I had the extra weight of two batts at the rear of the cart.....