I work on em for a living. Get gas. The only reason electric carts are even sold at work is that of the 4 local golf courses, 3 of them prohibit gas powered golf cars.

Set of batteries is $1500 installed for the inexpensive ones. About every 5 years if you take care of them. Still the same technology that's been used for decades. Lithium cars are a little better, haven't had but one of those batteries fail (problem with the BMS), $3300 to replace one battery. Plus shipping costs which are outlandish due to DOT laws and such. The total bill on that one was right around 3800.

on FLA carts (flooded lead acid), you have to be VERY careful with the batteries as all of the terminals are right on top. Seat falls off, shorts the high current terminals, and you will have a fire. It has happened quite a few times, has burned many a trailer and race car up.

if you are shopping used electric carts, the deal breaker is the age and condition of the batteries. If they're more than 3 years old, you are going to have to deduct an amount to cover the cost of the new ones that will be needed. In some cases that cost deducted can exceed the cart's value, so be careful there. This same deal is going to be an issue with electric road cars as well. As battery condition degrades over time and usage (and it will..), the value of the vehicle will fall off--and with the cost of new battery packs or even rebuilt ones, the car could be absolutely worthless.

Thank you M80 for bringing up the subject of "used" carts, as well as used automobiles being on the same track. If this Nation proceeds on the electric pursuit, then the automotive structure of our Nation will take a drastic change. Hence, as it stands, we will be more dependent on others to provide our needed supplies. Besides, who is going to take an electric plane, let alone ride in an electric boat. Bet the kids will like skiing behind those fast suckers.
Now back to batteries, today people sell or trade in a vehicle when it startes to experience problems. Now we have Car Shi-ld and other insurers to get you over the breakdown hump. Will they have affordable premiums for electric vehicle repairs? Hard to tell since premiums are based on loss experience. Thus, the used car market will begin to go away. How many employed in that area? How about the "kids" at our parts stores and others that work in that field.
Now when the batteries go bad, where will we dispose of them. Grand Canyon? Just joking. Has someone thought that through? Do we send them back to the country that will make them for us. Better start buying up copper stocks, gonna be a run on the price of that in order to wire these vehicles.
I'm too old to start thinking of how to develop this change, while needed, this Nation should have gradually been leaning towards renewables years ago. That may have been where my millions would have been to make, so I could have spent it on drag racing. Ha Ha

quote:

Originally posted by Runner-up:
Thank you M80 for bringing up the subject of "used" carts, as well as used automobiles being on the same track. If this Nation proceeds on the electric pursuit, then the automotive structure of our Nation will take a drastic change. Hence, as it stands, we will be more dependent on others to provide our needed supplies. Besides, who is going to take an electric plane, let alone ride in an electric boat. Bet the kids will like skiing behind those fast suckers.
Now back to batteries, today people sell or trade in a vehicle when it startes to experience problems. Now we have Car Shi-ld and other insurers to get you over the breakdown hump. Will they have affordable premiums for electric vehicle repairs? Hard to tell since premiums are based on loss experience. Thus, the used car market will begin to go away. How many employed in that area? How about the "kids" at our parts stores and others that work in that field.
Now when the batteries go bad, where will we dispose of them. Grand Canyon? Just joking. Has someone thought that through? Do we send them back to the country that will make them for us. Better start buying up copper stocks, gonna be a run on the price of that in order to wire these vehicles.
I'm too old to start thinking of how to develop this change, while needed, this Nation should have gradually been leaning towards renewables years ago. That may have been where my millions would have been to make, so I could have spent it on drag racing. Ha Ha

It's my understanding that currently there are VERY limited recyclers for the batteries. Our little dealer deals with Interstate and Trojan, and Roypow for Lithiums. Occasionally we'll have a customer come in wanting a lithium conversion done on their FLA cart(s) or Electric UTV (I do those too). Our battery supplier who we get our FLA batteries from, will NOT sell a Lithium of any type (Li-ion, LiFePo, etc) and the explanation as to why was this: Shipping, storage, and handling. Lithium batteries in any form are bombs, albeit slower expansion rate of course (I am on bomb squad, I could go into this but don't need to at this point). Basically the chemicals used to make them can and sometimes do ignite and thus far there is no way to put them out. The fire department is advised to somehow safely move the vehicle and/or battery away from a structure and pour as much water on it as possible, while letting it burn itself out. Shipping companies know this and they don't want the liability, if there is a 48' trailer full of goods and one battery, and that one battery fails and touches off everything else, it can be a bad deal. Hazmat required. I've only had to do one Lithium battery replacement, and getting the new one (came from RoyPow) was an act of congress. They want everything tested, and I mean everything. I had to buy a hydrogen test kit for work, and give them the readings so that they could ship the old battery back. I asked them what they do with the old ones, and they said it has to be crated up properly, then they send them to...Ukraine, where they are disassembled and the good parts are used for drones and such.

our nation and it's many private companies have been working on renewables for decades. THe problem is our economic system. We can't sell them because the cost is a lot more than a comparable ICE vehicle. On ICE, they've had over 100 years to perfect alternative fuels that may not pollute as much, and guess what we're still using? The tree huggers are saying that they're going to put more taxes and such on ICE, and if that happens the vast majority of us are doomed. But "they" don't give much care to the majority, only a small group of people that just happens to be the "loudest".

Yes EV will open up a huge market for used vehicles, and used ICE vehicles will likely become worthless except for a very few collectors' cars. Notice how the many old vehicles that were flooding the market are getting bought up? Ask ourselves why. It's not because young'ns are more interested in them. Because people aren't willing to drive glorified golf carts, that's why.

Insurance costs will and already have gone way up, and that is due, on part, to EV's. If you T-bone a Tesla and destroy the battery, you just did $20,000 worth of damage. In a couple years that car is not worth what the replacement battery costs, thus it's a total loss. And if the insurance company won't total it, the owner's gonna take the insurance company to court, based on all of the many attorneys who keep advertising "we will win your case or you don't owe us a dime". This stuff costs all of us, and rates will likely continue to keep going up until noone can afford it. It's close to that now. My little Mustang's insurance went from $530/year to $710 every six months, and nothing changed (no wrecks no tickets nothing). It costs more to insure it than it does for me to put fuel in it! And it's not coming down anytime soon either according to the agent. Bad deal, and no end in sight. Depressing. This in itself will hurt the economy a little but I dont' think our leaders who keep pushing EV realize the many implications of doing so. Some of the congresspeople keep telling them that it's not a good idea to force it on people, but "they" don't seem to listen. Unfortunate.

Thanks for all the feedback. I ended up getting a 2018 Yamaha gas cart, turns out my neighbor owns the local Yamaha dealer. He had a 2018 that was completely redone with a new EFI crate motor from Yamaha, new clutch, new wiring, new body, new top, new seats, new front suspension, etc etc. it was a frame, and they put together this cart. Basically it's a brand new 2018. California stopped allowing gas carts on public golf courses in 2018 apparently and no longer allowed to be sold as of 2024. So there won't be any new gas carts in this fu(ked up state anymore lol.

As for the ev vs gas, I daily drive a Tesla, bad ass car, and I love it. Battery maintenance on that is extremely easy, so I have no concerns about that. A golf cart is a different deal, it's likely not going to get a battery charger put on it like it should every few days, good chance it would get forgotten low on charge at some point, I don't want that headache if it's damaged from it. And also, Tesla tech vs golf cart EV tech is drastically different. If Tesla made a Golf cart, that might be very different.

Tesla IS a technology company, moreso than a car company.

nonetheless, the comparison between Yamaha cart and Tesla, there are more similarities than differences. Biggest difference is the sizes of everything and the voltage/amperage. Where a Yamaha runs at about 50 volts, Tesla can be 300-1000v. Of course that means different MCU, wiring, etc but the principles are identical. They're taking a DC pack and inverting it to 3 phase AC which is what powers the motor (or motors on some of the teslas). The battery technology is almost identical between the Li-Ion yamaha and tesla, as is the MCU. Biggest difference is the volts/amps and the tech that tesla uses to run all of the many nannies and power/convenience equipment (touch screens power locks/windows, hvac, etc).

also the motor design is a little different, same exact principles but done a little differently. Yamaha's 3ph ac motor is a little less efficient. It's an old school design where tesla's is more modern. Yamaha can (and likely will) update everything sooner or later but the price will also change, and they're already stupid expensive for a golf cart (14 grand+ for the lithium models). Problem is, as I've outlined, that battery pack-when it's time to replace it, and it will be sooner or later, the cost of the pack exceeds the value of the running car and thus resale will reflect that. Ain't nobody gonna pay 10 grand for a used cart when it needs a $5500 battery replacement, thus the car's value with a used battery will be basically zero. I've got a bunch of abandoned Yamaha drives out back (DC FLA power) that owners didn't want to put $1500 worth of batteries on, and when the day comes when we have to replace a Li-ion battery car, I'd imagine those will sit out back for a while too.

We started looking at gas golf carts, specifically the newer style Yamaha EFI units. After some thinking/research, we decided to go with a Polaris RZR. It will fit other needs besides the racetrack. It has a small bed on the back to fit support equipment. We are going to unbolt the rear portion of the cage & remove the doors while using it at the track.

We went & looked at one today. Then after some research we found some better deals locally by 1-1.5K.

2BKING

I have really been considering a bicycle in the $50 and under range. Just haven't found one at the local yard sales yet. When/if I do, I think I am actually ready to finally pull the trigger. Take care. Tom Worthington

You and me both Tom, I ran the whole gamut, from golf carts to pit bikes to scooters, now I have an after Christmas sale Walmart 26" 3 speed bike. I did put a basket on the front to carry my beverage to the losers lounge.

quote:

Originally posted by qtrrcr:
You and me both Tom, I ran the whole gamut, from golf carts to pit bikes to scooters, now I have an after Christmas sale Walmart 26" 3 speed bike. I did put a basket on the front to carry my beverage to the losers lounge.

Best comment on the entire thread right here. I'm a big proponent of the bicycle for a pit vehicle. If you just want something to go to the grandstands and back, why not just ride a bike? Good exercise in short jaunts, lightweight, easy to store, and if it gets stolen, you're out a whopping $100.

Well, shyt; the last sentence of the 1st paragraph sums it up!

I'm pressing on because at my ripe old age, we haven't had the luxury of a nice pit vehicle. I will hardly use the thing at the track; I'm too busy racing. The ones who deserve it is our pit members/supporters!

We also need this style pit vehicle for the boys drag bike with a slider clutch. It needs to be pushed or pulled to staging & returning to the pits. It takes a special kind of talent to do it safely with a scooter.

As for choosing a RZR over a golf cart. I can enjoy riding trails in our backyard mountain range & run to the neighborhood store/gas station.

I'm all for exercise & do plenty at home, at the track I save my elderly energy for winning rounds.

2BKING

After reading what Nim Rod posted I decided to use an old bike that one of my kids won in a Dr. Pepper contest years ago as my new pit transportation. No gas to buy, no battery charger and much lighter to transport. Sounded like a win win situation.

Fun Fact: I haven't ridden a bike in about 60 years so I got about ten feet on the thing before I fell on my azz. Tomorrow, after the bleed stops, I'll give it another try.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by RPROGAS:
After reading what Nim Rod posted I decided to use an old bike that one of my kids won in a Dr. Pepper contest years ago as my new pit transportation. No gas to buy, no battery charger and much lighter to transport. Sounded like a win win situation.

Fun Fact: I haven't ridden a bike in about 60 years so I got about ten feet on the thing before I fell on my azz. Tomorrow, after the bleed stops, I'll give it another try.

Bob

Dang Bob, get a helmet on and be careful man. You'll be okay, it's just like riding a bike.

quote:

Originally posted by B KING:
We started looking at gas golf carts, specifically the newer style Yamaha EFI units. After some thinking/research, we decided to go with a Polaris RZR. It will fit other needs besides the racetrack. It has a small bed on the back to fit support equipment. We are going to unbolt the rear portion of the cage & remove the doors while using it at the track.

We went & looked at one today. Then after some research we found some better deals locally by 1-1.5K.

2BKING

Going tomorrow to hopefully pull the trigger on the RZR. They came down another 1K on price, trying to clear out the 2024 inventory, I guess.

We are paying cash like we do for all our racing purposes. That being said, cash doesn't give you any leverage in buying power.

2BKING

quote:

cash doesn't give you any leverage in buying power.

The money is made on the back end financing money these days, cash does nothing for a dealer.

We ended up purchasing the RZR & paid cash.

I think the SxS/UTV was a better choice over a golf cart, at least for our situation.

2BKING

quote:

Originally posted by AZ:
I have one of each. The electric is 48 volt 2022. The gas is a 2012. I would never consider taking the electric cart. It weighs a ton and has 6 batteries bouncing in the trailer.
I considered a smart car but then found out NHRA will not allow them in TD & TS.

When did this ban start? Here in Div 7 I have seen more than 1 TD TS using the smart car with a push bar.
Just asking. I have not read the 2024 NHRA rule book at this time to see for myself.

Keep an eye on the marketplaces. Folks often throw used carts away because of the cost of battery replacement. Or, they think there's something seriously wrong with a gas car because it won't move, a lot of times a simple fix (hub splines stripped, etc).

The electrics can be hopped up too. Just did one a couple weeks ago, controller, motor, gears. Runs around 34 mph, with some left in it. I was too chicken to ring the last couple mph out of it. Golf cars don't handle very well at those kinds of speeds.

but then again a lot of the scooters can be hopped up too. My Zuma will run mid 70's if I want it to. Gotta do some work to get it there but it's a far cry from the original 38 mph. Multi-time winner at the pit bike races.

I converted my 8 volt x 6 48 volt cart over to 12 volt x 4 dc 27s, saved 184 pounds for less than half the price of 8 volt. I know i'm giving up some range, but I only use it at the track, not going to the grocery store or bingo at the retirement center or to play 72 holes of golf. If I could afford to play golf, I wouldn't be worried about the price of batteries, LOL.