Choosing a Custom Built Motor

Voltage:

If your cart is 36 volts I would highly recommend converting it to 48 volts. The voltage effects two main areas.  The lower the voltage the higher the amp draw on the motor and excessive amps equals heat in the system also, voltage equals rpm’s which effects motor speed. You can run a custom motor on 36 volts, but you’ll get much more performance on 48 volts. You could upgrade to 48 volts in stages while still running the stock 36 volt motor. Install larger gauge wires first, use your cart, then a 36/48 volt main solenoid, use your cart, next a 36/48 volt controller, use your cart, 48 bolt battery pack and a 48 volt charger, use your cart. Now the last addition is the custom built motor.

Batteries:

You’re looking for performance or you wouldn’t be looking into a custom built motor. Batteries are the heart of the golf cart and to get the most out of your custom built motor you need a high quality battery pack. Don’t skimp on batteries! For the best results consider one of our lithium battery sets. With an 90 amp hour or higher quality lithium brand you can increase your range, top MPH speed, and increase efficiency and performance! All batteries aren’t created equal, there’s a reason you pay less for off brand batteries!

Supporting Components:

Here’s a good comparison. The battery is like a gas tank. The controller is like a carburetor and the wires (battery wires, controller wires, solenoid wires and F&R wires in a series cart) are like fuel lines. Any one of these not properly upgraded can and will starve the motor system of performance.

Torque vs Speed:

First off, if you use your cart for any amount of time hunting, trail riding, pulling a trailer or boat you need a high torque motor. It doesn’t matter if you only use it for one of these condition 10% of the time or less! It only takes a few minutes to burn up a motor caused by a high amp stall. High speed motors draw more amps and when put under a high amp stall the motor can be damaged beyond repair. High speed motors are designed for flat terrain and slight hills.

Tires:

Don’t go crazy with tall tires! The taller the tire the more amps the motor will pull. You’re changing the gearing in the cart with tire height. Yes, taller tires can give you some more speed, but only up to the point that the battery pack is pushing all the reserve it has and then you’ll get too much voltage drop and the lower the volts the more amps the motor will draw and you’ll get overheating issues. If you’re going to lift your cart then 22″ tall tires are very common and should work fine. If running taller tires, inflate to 25+ psi, this way your tires can spin under a load while climbing hills. Running slack tires will get a better grip, but the cart is more likely to stall under a large load while inflated tires will spin and help prevent a high amp stall.

Thanks,

Plum Quick Motors