The easiest solution is to upgrade from the stock 36 Volt battery pack to 48 volts, either by adding two batteries (which I did) or by switching to expensive 8volt batteries. I took the cheap route, obviously.

But what to do with the extra voltage? The easiest solution is to buy a new 48volt controller and a new 48volt higher torque motor. Easy, but pricey. The cheapest controllers are about $500 or so, and the motors about $800 apiece (!!!) or a total of $1300 to spend on a $299 golf cart. In my mind, not worth it.

I found a fellow on the "Buggies gone wild!" discussion group who found a cheaper solution. Just add a "booster pack" of batteries and wire them around the controller via a relay so the motor sees direct 48V from all of the batteries combined. This requires you buy a 48V relay ($55) and a hugeass power diode ($48) to prevent the current from feeding back into the soldstate controller. The 36V stock motor will take the excess voltage (I am told) although it may shorten the service life somewhat. This raised the top speed from 12 mph to 15 mph, which is not a bad jump. Total cost, with batteries, battery boxes, relay and diode, about $325 more than we paid for the cart!


See my blog posting for links at:

http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2016...

Wiring diagram at:

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/extrem...