36v DCS Sepex - xct & bandit - slow

[bronsonj]

Your Throttle Rate is at 25%, you may want to try it with a higher value. That won't help your tops speed but IIRC that will affect how fast the cart will take off.

[WalterM6]

I wouldn't expect any big changes since the Bandit is just a cleaned up stock motor.

[bronsonj]

In my lithium cart I have the three mode personality switch. In kiddie mode I have the throttle rate set to 25%. In Mamma mode I have it set to 40% and in daddy mode it's set to 60%.

If you set it to 60% with the Turf selected you won't snap your neck back but it still accelerates nicely, put it to street mode and in my cart you pop wheelies.

[scottyb]

The pack drops from 38.4 to 33 volts. That is borderline red flag battery performance unless the file was collected launching up a steep hill with 2-3 passengers on board.

3 things to consider when building a performance cart.
1. 36 volts is an obsolete operating system. Nobody makes a 36v cart today because 48v produces more torque and more speed more efficiently.
2. As mentioned already the Bandit is just a reworked stock motor. Not a purpose built performance motor.
3. Batteries are the life blood of the system. Lower voltage will reduce rpm

[mgraham112]

So what should I have expected from the bandit and 500amp controller upgrade? I will upgrade to 48v if I need to, but I cant gamble on spending another $1k just to assume this is my problem. I'm in too deep now to back out of this project.
Shouldn't I be pulling more than 200 amps?
I hear of wheelie popping at 60% throttle and carts running 25mph with ease and while that isn't what I expected, I was hoping for something.

[WalterM6]

Another observation and questions. Why is the "speed limit" selection grayed out. Is the speed sensor connected? What kind of speed are you getting? Maybe you were already maxed out. What kind of terrain are you driving on flat or hilly.

[bronsonj]

If I were you I'd do two things, first I'd set the throttle rate up significantly. You have lead acid so you have the extra weight to deal with, I'd try it at 60%. You may need to go higher/lower but should see a big difference in off-the-line acceleration. I would also attach the voltmeter to the individual batteries and do a few runs to see if your pack has a bad battery in it somewhere, each run being attached to a different battery. Write down the starting V and lowest V for each battery and that'll tell you a lot about the health of your pack.

Also, I apologize for adding confusion about the wheelies. My cart is lithium so it weighs a lot less and the voltage doesn't sag. I crossed up my threads a bit. So while you won't see wheelies you should be able to make the cart launch pretty hard *if your battery pack is healthy*. Even at 36V, if you are on flat level pavement it should accelerate very well. Although to Scotty's point the higher the V the more efficient, less loss due to heat because fewer amps are required at the higher V to do the same work. Higher V will also increase the top speed.

One last thing to do, with your FNR in Neutral and nobody in the cart and on flat level pavement, give it a push... It should take a little effort to move but you should be able to roll it relatively easy. If you have dragging brakes it could impact your performance no matter what battery/motor/controller you have.