How do I get 30 mph out of my 2002 ez go txt

[Noodleokla]

Mine is a 36V with new Trojan batteries, I need to upgrade my stock motor so I am looking for suggestions on which motor would go best with my 440 Navitas controller to give me some more speed, I can get about 16mph on flat ground with just me in the cart. The guy who installed the controller said to go with a Admiral so he can program the controller to match the motor. He said he cant change the mapping on a Plum Quick motor. I don't have much in the cart so price isn't the issue right now. I do not know my tire/wheel size to be honest. Andy

[Capt. Lenny]

First off, most DC motors are designed for max operating RPM of about 6000. Any higher and they start to come apart and can cause bodily harm. The exception is if you get a custom motor that's been banded (EMP custom motors). AC motors can run as high as 9000 RPM. The more volts you operate it at, the more speed you'll get period. If you can only spin a DC motor at 6000 RPM then you have to look at other options to increase speed. A higher torque motor that still has a max operating speed of 6000 RPM will max you out quicker but not necessarily faster. You can go to a taller tire say 23" or even 25" to gain more speed but you'll need more torque to get those bigger tires rolling. As you roll bigger tires for more speed you also lose torque. Another option is a final gear change but that again requires more torque. I have seen AC setups that will go 50MPH @72 volts. Speed KILLS!

You would do best to figure out what your final goal is and how much money you want to spend to get there then contact ScottyB or the people at Plum Quick and have them recommend the right plan to get there safely. Don't forget about GOOD brakes! Doesn't matter how fast you can go, you still have to stop.

[Noodleokla]

I wish I had paid someone to switch mine to 48V from the get go, so in your opinion, if I get the PQ Cobra, am I realistically looking at 25 to 30 mph? Or Do I need to upgrade my controller again and my final gears? I talked with Matt at PQ and he recommended the Cobra, surely I can tweek something on this 36V and get some decent speed out of it. I am not looking for crazy speed, just dont want to slow down to 5mph going up a hill in my neighborhood. I will pay for any setup that somebody recommends as long as it will operate correctly.

[DriftingAnomaly]

Originally Posted by Noodleokla

I wish I had paid someone to switch mine to 48V from the get go, so in your opinion, if I get the PQ Cobra, am I realistically looking at 25 to 30 mph? Or Do I need to upgrade my controller again and my final gears? I talked with Matt at PQ and he recommended the Cobra, surely I can tweek something on this 36V and get some decent speed out of it. I am not looking for crazy speed, just dont want to slow down to 5mph going up a hill in my neighborhood. I will pay for any setup that somebody recommends as long as it will operate correctly.

How big of hills are you talking about? If they are slowing you down to 5 mph, I would imagine that they are significant hills. When you are planning your changes, this is important to bring up. For hills you need torque, not super fast top speeds. I recently replaced our tires and stayed with the 18 inch tire size for better torque to go up hills. Right now, with a stock motor and 400A Alltrax controller, I set the governor to 22 MPH until I do some suspension work. On flat ground I can make it to 22. On downhills, I am glad the regenerative breaking really kicks in to keep you below 22. I am about to do a 48V Lithium swap and am looking forward to better performance up hills. You should be getting better performance out of that Navitas controller, even with the stock motor and 36V.

Remember, a lot of the things that you would do to get a higher top speed are the opposite of what you want to do to have the torque to get up hills.

[Noodleokla]

That is exactly what I thought, it seems like I am getting the same performance that I was out of my stock controller, I literally cannot tell a difference with the Navitas installed. I wonder if it can be tuned or re-programmed or something. It does seem a little responsive from a dead stop but it also wasnt bad with the stock controller in it.

[Capt. Lenny]

On my upgrade route, I did the Plum Quick Bandit upgrade for a 3 MPH gain plus added torque (21 MPH on 36volts). Changed to an Alltrax controller and got more torque. Then converted to 48 volts and gained about 6-7 MPH (27-28 MPH on flat ground. All of these changes were made with near stock height tires, 18.5". By going to 48 volts you should gain 33% more speed and torque.

[DriftingAnomaly]

The Navitas can definitely be programmed. RTFM before making changes though.

[DriftingAnomaly]

Originally Posted by Capt. Lenny

On my upgrade route, I did the Plum Quick Bandit upgrade for a 3 MPH gain plus added torque (21 MPH on 36volts). Changed to an Alltrax controller and got more torque. Then converted to 48 volts and gained about 6-7 MPH (27-28 MPH on flat ground. All of these changes were made with near stock height tires, 18.5". By going to 48 volts you should gain 33% more speed and torque.

I am looking forward to the that gain of 33% torque. I won't see as much speed improvement because I don't want to push that stock motor to those RPMs. I am glad to hear that your projections match up with my expectations going into this upgrade. The FLAs were dying, so it was time.

[Noodleokla]

I guess I need to have someone else look at the Navitas and see if the settings are right on it. Capt Lenny, earlier you mentioned AC motors instead of DC, thats a bit above my pay grade, who all makes a good AC motor and would I need to change anything on my cart to install one?

[DriftingAnomaly]

Originally Posted by Noodleokla

I guess I need to have someone else look at the Navitas and see if the settings are right on it. Capt Lenny, earlier you mentioned AC motors instead of DC, thats a bit above my pay grade, who all makes a good AC motor and would I need to change anything on my cart to install one?

I would get your controller tuned and see where you are at that point. You may be better off selling that cart and buying one capable of what you want.

On the other hand, if you need projects to keep you out of trouble, welcome to the rabbit hole.