Buying a Precedent tomorrow

[BeckK]

Hello all, This will be my first electric cart after having several gas carts, it’s a 2016 with a 6 inch lift at a very reasonable price. It will be used on the farm in Virginia which is very hilly so I need torque but also want speed.

I’m sure it’s been asked a bunch but what would you do if you were in my shoes, I’m mechanical and willing to put some money into this.

Thanks.

[Cavediver86]

Honestly Google searching your question in various ways will give you thousands of opinions many being the same. If you want increased torque and speed you will have to upgrade the entire electrical system short of the batteries. Motor/controller/ wires/solenoid ect ect. On this site Scotty has explained it 1000s of times far better than I can

[BeckK]

Thanks, Yea googling left me with more questions than answers. Was hoping to find some sort of sliding scale of cost vs speed starting with super simple.


I’ll keep digging since I did pick it up today. Here it is with some other battery powered stuff.

[simicrintz]

Nice looking cart

[Goober11]

I would go to the site sponsors Revolution Golf Cars or Carts Unlimted. They have quality parts and great customer service.

[Cavediver86]

Originally Posted by BeckK

Thanks, Yea googling left me with more questions than answers. Was hoping to find some sort of sliding scale of cost vs speed starting with super simple

Well its not going to be super simple unless you open your wallet and have a shop do all the work. With motors there is a sliding scale with torque/speed. With higher torque you generally lose the top end speed and vice versa. There are great motors out there that can greatly increase both but lime I said before you need to upgrade all other components or you are left with a bottleneck. Just upgrading all wires to a larger size is a simple start.

[jayhrc51]

To pick up on what Cav was saying...Just like any other hobby, it all comes down to budget and what you're willing to spend to achieve your goals. I figured out pretty quick that it's not as simple as upgrading one or two things to get reliable performance. It's a complete system. Just assume that once you start upgrading it's going to take a few parts to get you reliable torque increases without burning up stuff or being disappointed.

Just my opinion, but the performance path I took went like this - new controller and solenoid, followed by new motor (once the old one puked a stinky dust cloud), new larger wires. By starting with a more powerful controller I was able to feed more power to my motor which gave me more speed and torque along with the ability to have full control over my performance. Which is good for your smile but bad for the motor. Do not be surprised if the stock motor fails at some point once you start feeding it more juice. Mine lasted 1 year after the new controller but I always planned to replace the motor as soon as it failed. Either buy it up front or plan for it and use it as an excuse to justify a motor upgrade to something that can better handle the extra power and the terrain that you spend most of your time on.

Wire upgrade is an important piece of the puzzle since it feeds current. Larger wire let more power flow more easily. Similar a water hose, larger diameter lets more water flow.

I don't know about a sliding scale for price/speed but I can tell you that it's not hard to spend about $600 for a controller/solenoid package, another $650-900 for a motor and another $250 for wire upgrade. But once your spend that you should be fairly well set for power-train type stuff. With those upgrades my cart is currently doing 28mph, which is plenty fast for my needs. On a lifted cart I'm guessing that might get a little squirrely. I bought my controller package and motor from Carts Unlimited and the customer service was first rate for me.

Don't forget that you will lose some distance/run time since you're burning up battery power more quickly. You may end up looking for a lithium upgrade at some point for more distance. I don't need that based on my typical usage but something to consider when it's time to replace the batteries.

[BeckK]

That helps! I enjoy wrenching on my toys and I think a measured approach like starting with the controller/ solenoid is the right path and if something breaks (like the motor) it can be upgraded.

I'm going to start even more basic and make sure I don't have a dead cell or worn out battery in the bunch and then move on.

Is there a magnet in the stock motor that can be tweaked for more speed or torque?

[WalterM6]

Is there a magnet in the stock motor that can be tweaked for more speed or torque?

Not in a 2016 Precedent.

[anpgator]

Personally I would do a Navitas AC conversion. I’ve installed Alltrax, upgraded Curtis’ and Navitas AC conversions and Navitas seems to perform the best, IMO.