Donor Cart For AC Conversion LSV

[Volt_Ampere]

For higher speed carts, I would want disk brakes on the fronts. You need to increase the stopping power when you increase the go speed to stay safe.

[I_Love_Golf]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

For higher speed carts, I would want disk brakes on the fronts. You need to increase the stopping power when you increase the go speed to stay safe.

Kind of what I was thinking.

So correct me if I am wrong. From looking at Jake's and some other places it appears to get disc brakes requires a 3-inch lift kit and changing out wheels to make room for the disc and calipers?

[sunking]

FWIW there is another option to consider that requires no work on your part and might even be less expensive to get everything you want with a warranty. How about a brand new EZ-GO 2Five?

It is an AC 48 volt LSV which means you can be title and tagged it if you want. Just cost a little extra for tags and title, but not required. It does 25 mph (hence the name 25) without doing anything to it. Being a LSV means it has factory 4 wheel hydraulic disc brakes, curved DOT windshield, mirrors, lights, turn signals, and all the other DOT requirements to make it street legal. It also has a 48 to 12 volt converter to run all your gizmo's you will want to add on later.

Want 30 mph to go with that cart? Easy have the dealer change the differential gear. Lot of folks in my community have them and all do about 36 mph and outrun everyone except me. Wished I had done that after doing my conversion with a HPEV motor and lithium as it would have been less expensive. Only downside I know of is it comes in any color you want as long as it is black.

If you want lithium just wait a couple of years for the factor Trojan batteries to die and replace them. The lithium option is going to cost you around $2200 to $2600 at today's prices. However for the last 3 years lithium (LFP) prices have dropped 50% and expected to keep coming down in price so 2 or 3 years from now should be considerable less money.

Don't let the LSV fool you into thinking it cannot be used on a golf course because it can. The 2-passenger model has a 2-bag rack option available, and yes you can get an ice chest installed on the cart.

IMHO there is no better cart on the market especially at its price point.

Good Luck

SK

Edit Note

Not sure where you are in north TX, but the cheapest EZGO dealer is Doug's Corner in Whiteboro TX about 1 hour north of DFW metro area out in horse country. They are a high volume dealer and do a ton of custom work. Where I live between Dallas and Whiteboro is where everyone goes and there about about 500 carts in my community and half of those are EZGO from Doug's.

[HiTechRedNeck]

SUNKING seems to have hit this on the head.

You can take an EZ GO RXV and have 20-22 mph speed with no lift and stock motor/gears.(slight speed increase from larger tires)
This causes no problems.

EZ GO 2Five gives higher speed with 4 wheel brakes.

A/C conversions and monkeying around with differential gearing can cause
many unintended effects.

Changing gear ratios on RXV's cause torque and brake issues as well
as potential handling problems as carts were not intended to go 30mph.

Handling could be affected on other carts at substantially higher than designed speeds.

GOOD LUCK !!!

[sunking]

Originally Posted by HiTechRedNeck

You can take an EZ GO RXV and have 20-22 mph speed with no lift and stock motor/gears.(slight speed increase from larger tires)
This causes no problems.

EZ GO 2Five gives higher speed with 4 wheel brakes.

I did not mention the RXV because it is not a good candidate for th eintened purpose. It has NO BRAKES, it uses REGEN BRAKING of the motor and if you add larger tires or change gears affects the braking. The 2Five is basically the same cart. It has a slightly larger controller but same motor, higher gear ratio to get that extra 6 mph to 25, DOT requirements for LSV, and REAL 4-WHEEL DISC BRAKES.

What I do not know about the 2Five and maybe someone else can answer is: Does the 2Five have a better suspension than the RXV and other carts in its class of PTV. Probable a moot point on this forum because the whole theme here is to break all the rules and **** the consequences of safety. Who needs safety when you can kill yourself going fast.

As for adding a higher speed gear in the 2Five may not be the greatest idea from a safety POV, but I know it can be done, but you will have to sigh a wavier to have the shop add it, and if you do it yourself will void the warranty. Depends on how bad you want that extra 5 to 10 mph.

If it were me to do all over again I would just get the stock 2Five and leave it like it is. Then 2 or 3 years down the road you can chunk those crappy 400 pounds of Lead Acid batteries in the garbage where they belong, and replace them with a 120 pound lithium shaving 280 pounds of weight off. Then replace the speed gear once the warranty has expired.

Lithium batteries have much lower internal resistance and thus deliver much higher currents without voltage sag. The less weight coupled with higher current will more than make up for the loss of torque of a higher gear, and the loss of weight should counter any stability or braking problems and squeeze an extra 2 mph out of it.

Around here the guys with 2Fives and RXV have the speed gears. None complain about torque or loosing speed going up hill as they seem to handle it well. But the RXV guys do say braking can be scary at 35 mph.

Just my 2-cents worth. Good luck and happy hunting.

[HiTechRedNeck]

sunking

I AGREE with you.
I am putting the idea out there that a STOCK RXV gives about 20mph-
most of what was wanted WITHOUT safty/warranty issues- and a 2Five is even better.

[I_Love_Golf]

Sunking thank your for a great option I had not considered. I know where Whitesboro is. I live near Van Alstyne and Gunter at a place called the Bridges and Whiteboro is about a 30 minute drive. I have even heard of Doug's because a lot of the EZGO carts around here come from there. Earlier today while at the golf course the club pro recommended them as that is who they lease their fleet from. So being off on vacation for the rest of the year I think I will pay Doug's a visit tomorrow or the next day.

I hear you about lead acid batteries. Makes me wonder why cart manufactures do not use AGM batteries as they are much lower resistance. My guess is price and shorter cycle life. Curious what kind of Lithium battery you and others are using?

Sounds like you live close by? Maybe we can meet and I will buy the coffee.

THX

[sunking]

Originally Posted by I_Love_Golf

Curious what kind of Lithium battery you and others are using?

Lithium Iron Phosphate aka LiFeP04 or LFP for short. LFP is the safest, least expensive, and longest life cycle of the lithium battery world. It is also the easiest and most forgiving to charge. Only down side to LFP is it has the lowest Specific Energy Density of the lithium batteries. However it is 3 times that of FLA so you get some huge weight savings from going down from 500 pounds to around 120 pounds with longer range and better performance.

Lithium can induce some sticker shock initially. A good 3 year Trojan battery will set you back $800 to $900, and a lithium pack with passive balance boards around $2500. But a lithium pack with proper care should yeild 2000 to 3000 cycles or about 10 years of service. So long term should be less expensive. Lead acid batteries prices have no place to go but up as it is a mature antiquated technology. Lithium is still developing and prices are expected to keep dropping over the next decade or two. Five years ago a 48 volt 100 AH LFP pack would have cost $5000, today $2500, tomorrow hopefully around $1500 or lower.

Rumors are running wild, but as rumor has it Panasonic has made a breakthrough in what is called LiPo or Lithium Polymer. LiPo those used for RC models have extremely high discharge rates, very expensive, and short cycle life. Panasonic is suppose to have a LiPo that will blow away LFP in every category even exceeding LiCo. There has to be something to the Rumor because Tesla the EV manufacture has licensed the technology and building a huge battery plant in Nevada to make the batteries. If half of the claims are true will be a game changer. It would mean EV's would go mainstream, and solar battery systems could compete with the grid. They are talking 20-cents per watt hour cost, 200 wh/Kg, and 10,000 cycle life, recharge times of 15 minutes and 20C discharge rates. In EV terms you are talking a 400 mile range, with all the Bells and Whistles with race car performance and a competitive price to ICE cars.

Originally Posted by I_Love_Golf

Sounds like you live close by? Maybe we can meet and I will buy the coffee.

About 20 minutes west of you on FM 902. Drop me a PM when you come up. I am on the way as you go to Whitesboro.

[cgtech]

2five can be had in all the same colors as the rxv, as far as i know. I am 100% positive that black is not the only color available.

[sunking]

Originally Posted by cgtech

2five can be had in all the same colors as the rxv, as far as i know. I am 100% positive that black is not the only color available.

You are correct. Talked to a dealer a few hours ago. Old info I had. They also did away with 12 volt batteries.