Obvious upgrade for '78?

[TerryH]

Pardon my newebieness but what is/are the obvious upgrades to an '78 electric cart? Do I gain perfomance by simply upsizing cables? The cart has '09 Interstate batteries that seem strong so I think I have that covered for now but I'm just wondering if there is something simple and fairly easy for the 'lectricaly challenged new guy that would boost the performance of the cart. Cart does fine now but.....well....you know.....

TIA,

Terry

[scottyb]

There is no silver bullet for improving performance.

Up sizing cable can help deliver the amps your motor craves but it is not going to make a seat of the pants improvement in the way the cart performs..... that would take a 48v conversion. Enjoy the forum and reading all this electric cart stuff.

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by scottyb

There is no silver bullet for improving performance.

Up sizing cable can help deliver the amps your motor craves but it is not going to make a seat of the pants improvement in the way the cart performs..... that would take a 48v conversion. Enjoy the forum and reading all this electric cart stuff.

Thanks Scotty. I have read a ton of 'lectric stuff but it's mostly Greek to me. I actually understand Grekk better now that I think of it.

t

[scottyb]

Those old carts are heavy and slow. really the only way to improve them is to modernize their drive system. You can mess around with having the motor rewound for speed but you will give up torque .... I think the conversion to 48v and modern electronics is the only big improvement you will ever need for one of these. GL

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Those old carts are heavy and slow. really the only way to improve them is to modernize their drive system. You can mess around with having the motor rewound for speed but you will give up torque .... I think the conversion to 48v and modern electronics is the only big improvement you will ever need for one of these. GL

So where would one start if one was thinking about upgrading to modern stuff? New motor too or could you use the stock motor? I see all kinds of kits on your site but is there a fairly simple way to upgrade the electronics on one of these ancient carts? Simple being the operative word here. Would be really cool to have an old cart with modern guts.


Just thinkin'

t

[scottyb]

A lot of members have upgraded their old resistor coil cart to a solid state speed control.... first step is understanding why you would want to do this


Early carts ( pre 89-90ish) use a series of graduated sizes of speed resistor coils to regulate speed. Each coil in the group offered less resistance than the previous one. When you stepped on the gas 100% of the available battery power (amperage) was drawn and speed was regulated by how much of this amperage was burned off (wasted) by the resistor coils. So even if you push the peddle a little it drains the batteries same as wide open throttle. The gas peddle operated a wiper which swept a contact across stationary lugs which connected to the resistors. The solenoid merely switched power on /off to the speed wiper.
This is why it does you no good to just upgrade the solenoid....

Modern carts use solid state speed control. These controllers only draw as many amps as you ask for with the peddle.... If you push the peddle down 10% they deliver 10% of their capacity. I say their capacity because a controller is like a gate valve (or a hose bib) to the amperage stored in the batteries... We have different size controllers(valves) available so 10% of a 400 amp is less than 10% of a 650 amp controller. Amperage = Torque.
The solid state controller does not waste any amps and this increases the run time.Hope this helps?

Add to that the increase in voltage from 36 to 48v and you have a a cart that will smoke most all factory carts. The standard motor will run on 48v and deliver 25-30% more torque and power.
Search around for 36v conversion: 36 to 48v conversion; solid state conversion... use those tag lines in your search...

[TerryH]

With ya so far. Makes good sense to me. What's the next lesson?

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by TerryH

With ya so far. Makes good sense to me. What's the next lesson?

Electric car speed improvements aren't cheap... what kind of budget are you working with? $1000 $2000? Things you are gonna need to convert to 48v controller mode...
48v worth of batteries (Find a few ways to get here)
48v charger (Find 2 ways to get here)
48v controller ( Choose a size and make)
a throttle input device (must talk to controller)
48v Solenoid ( matched to the controller)
A Towel (to wipe the grin off of your face)

Alright go out and read~read~read

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Electric car speed improvements aren't cheap... what kind of budget are you working with? $1000 $2000? Things you are gonna need to convert to 48v controller mode...
48v worth of batteries (Find a few ways to get here)
48v charger (Find 2 ways to get here)
48v controller ( Choose a size and make)
a throttle input device (must talk to controller)
48v Solenoid ( matched to the controller)
A Towel (to wipe the grin off of your face)

Alright go out and read~read~read

Well, $1000 ain't gonna go very far now is it? Back to reading.....and saving.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by TerryH

Well, $1000 ain't gonna go very far now is it? Back to reading.....and saving.

LOL I dunno? I did my first one with 2 used batteries and a used controller and potentiometer.... used charger.... you know?