How to Make an Electric Golf Cart Faster (Ultimate Guide)

Are you a golfer who nowadays feels frustrated and annoyed due to the snail’s pace of your golf cart on the course? The frustration is real for a pro golfer who knows that an average golf course is about 6000 yards long, so it can take them 20-30 minutes more to complete their round with their slow-speed golf cart while trying to keep up with fellow players. 

As someone with years of experience on the course, I understand your frustration with the slow-speed golf cart inching its way to the next hole. This can be a real drag on your game, and in my novice era, I had to deal with a similar situation. But by dealing with trial and error, I finally discovered how to make an electric golf cart faster and what works and what does not. 

To increase the optimal speed of your electric golf cart, it is essential to keep a tight check on the tire pressure and timely maintain the battery and brake to function efficiently. Detailed cleaning and tunning of the cart once a week also work to make the cart run smoothly. 

But that’s not all! There are many more factors to consider when making golf carts faster. In this guide, you will explore effective methods to do so and enhance your overall golfing experience. 

What’s a Good Speed for a Golf Cart?

Are you wondering if your golf cart moves at a perfect speed or has a lower speed than average?

The golf cart’s speed can go down due to the lack of maintenance and also due to terrain. This makes it important to know the average to good speed your golf cart can offer. 

A new or properly and timely maintained golf cart can averagely attain a speed ranging between 15-20 miles per hour. If your golf cart offers a lower speed or you wish to maintain or increase its speed for years, you can do it by following simple but effective tweaks. 

Continue reading because there is a lot more to know!

Understanding the factors influencing the golf cart speed

Before looking into how you can increase the range of electric golf carts, it is crucial to know all the factors that can contribute to reducing your golf cart’s speed and making your golfing time less enjoyable. 

Reading this section will give you extensive knowledge that can help you identify the areas of improvement and maximize your golf cart’s speed. 

Tire Pressure

Tire pressure is the first and most common factor that can drastically reduce your golf cart’s speed. When your golf cart’s tires are under-inflated, the tires rub against the ground, increasing friction and reducing speed. 

In the opposite scenario, it causes reduced traction and less stability, affecting the cart’s performance. Hence not using worn-out tires and a daily check on the tire pressure is a must to avoid the issue. 

Battery health

When was the last time you checked your golf cart’s battery?

Ensuring proper monitoring of the cart’s battery is important if you look forward to speeding up an electric golf cart. Suppose you observe your golf cart offering a reduced distance traveled per charge than the average. In that case, it must be because of over-charging, inefficient charge, or overheating of the battery cells due to poor battery management and manufacturing detects. 

Ensure installing a high-grade battery in your electric golf cart to obtain maximum speed. 

Check Out the Guide About Golf Cart’s Battery Lifespan

Aggressive driving habits

You may never know, but your aggressive driving habits reduce the performance of your golf cart. Trying to accelerate the cart beyond its limit without any modification or suddenly pulling a brake adds strain on the motor. This action can significantly impact the life of the motor and result in reduced speed.

Terrain and slopes

If you have ever driven a golf cart over rough terrains, you must have experienced a decline in speed. If your golf course has many terrains and you have to drive uphill, this may put an extra drain on the battery and reduce its performance.

To deal with such cases, it is recommended to accelerate slowly to conserve the battery. 

So here ends the common factors that golfers usually neglect, resulting in the deceleration of their golf cart. Keeping a check on these minor factors and proper tuning of the cart can conserve the life span of your favorite golf cart for years.

How to Make an Electric Golf Cart Faster? – 7 Strategies To Unlock The Speed Potential

Now let’s dive into the section where I will share my experienced tips and tricks to make your golf cart fast and boom the pace of your game.

So sit back in your chairs and learn to speed up your golf cart; that will have all your fellow golfers on the course turning their heads in envy. 

1. Upgrade your golf cart’s controller 

One of the simplest and most economical ways to boost the speed of your golf cart is to customize or upgrade the cart’s controller. The controller of an electric cart is responsible for delivering a fixed amount of power to the motor, which regulates the car’s speed.

An electric golf cart has motors with 5 to 10 Horsepower; on average, the controller passes 300 to 600 Amperes to the motor, which controls the vehicle’s speed. 

You can speed up your golf cart by doing little modifications to it.

Here is what I would be doing in this scenario.

• Upgrade to the high-performance speed controller – Upgrading to a high-performance controller is a considerable method that speeds golf carts by up to 20%. However, a high-speed golf cart has its own safety concerns, and it is advised to balance the speed with safety regulations on the course. 
• Install a GPS Speedometer – Also, consider installing a GPS speedometer to keep a check on your driving speed and drive safely. This will help you keep an eye on the speed you have achieved and offer an overall improved experience. 

2. Shift to an AC motor

If you drive an electric golf cart, you must know that the best performance motor is an important factor on which the speed of your cart depends. The motor is responsible for delivering enough power to drive the cart, and if it does not function properly, you will get frustrated due to extra minutes and a slow-paced game on the course. And below, I am sharing my best tip to avoid it. 

I had a DC motor in my golf cart, offering sluggish performance, and when I was looking for tips, I got the best one, shifting to the AC motor. 

Most of the electric golf carts manufactured are provided with DC motors. They are quite cheap, easily customizable, and low maintenance. However, the DC motor’s revolution per minute (RPM) is less than that of the AC motor. The RPM determines how fast the motor’s rotor is rotating. The fast the rotation, the faster the speed. 

Upgrading to an AC motor offers a high revolution per minute of about 1800 RPMs. This may be expensive to you, but once upgraded, it significantly increases the speed of an electric golf cart. 

3. Upgrade the cart’s tires

Upgrading the cart’s tire according to your specific needs is another easiest and simplest way to boost the speed. Here is what to consider while upgrading the cart’s tire.

• Tread patterns – Multiple tread patterns are available for the tires; however, while picking the perfect suit, it is essential to consider whether you will be running the golf cart on sloppy or smoother ground. Upgrading to tires with high quality tread patterns will offer better traction, and you can enjoy the ride on uneven, sloppy surfaces. 

• Tire material – The tire material also needs attention to increase performance and durability. 

• Tire size and pressure – Next comes the tire size and the pressure. Choose the tire size (whether 8, 10, or 12 inches) according to your needs, and ensure it has adequate air pressure to increase the turning radius and overall performance.

4. Upgrade to high-performance batteries

Did you know that the battery’s energy density impacts the golf cart’s speed?

If you find issues of quick charge level falling with your existing battery system, it is high time to upgrade it and increase the range of an electric golf cart. 

Replacing your worn-out batteries with a new one offering higher voltages and amp-hour ratings is one of the common methods to achieve increased speed. This works by offering more power to the motor to function efficiently. 

If you are not tight on budget, consider replacing the lead acid batteries with lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are comparatively more expensive than regular lead-acid batteries. However, they offer better performance and have a longer life span. 

5. Upgrade the suspension system 

When it comes to how to make an electric golf cart faster, upgrading its suspension system is always considered an effective method to achieve the goal.

An electric golf cart suspension system mainly consists of the following accessories: 

1. Springs 
2. Shock absorbers 
3. Struts 
4. Control arms, and 
5. Bushings

All these accessories work together to minimize the shock waves produced if your vehicle runs on uneven surfaces. This also reduces the drag force, resulting in improving the cart’s aerodynamics and making the golf cart fast. So you can achieve improved traction just by upgrading your favorite golf cart’s suspension system. 

6. Time to upgrade the gear ratio

Another method that worked in my case to get the best driving speed of my electric golf cart was to upgrade the gear ratio. Your electric golf cart’s gear ratio value determines the relationship between the motor and the relation of the wheel. The motor and wheel performance are interconnected with each other and defines the speed of your vehicle.

Upgrading your golf cart to a higher gear ratio can effectively offer you increased speed.

7. Install a roll cage for safety concerns at high speed

Above everything, safety comes first! Riding a high speed golf cart may be a thrilling experience for you, but safety should never be compromised.

While driving a high speed electric golf cart provided with a roll cage, you will not be ensuring your safety in any unwanted event. Still, you can also avoid body flexing and control the steering easily to achieve high speeds. 

I am sure you will not be disappointed by considering my above shared personal tested strategies for speeding up an electric golf cart.

How to make an electric golf cart faster without upgrades

If you are someone who, for now, is not considering updating any accessories of your electric golf cart to achieve high speeds, do not worry!

I have got your back and sharing some easy tips and tricks below on how to make an electric golf cart faster without any updates.

Adjust the potentiometer

As mentioned earlier, the amount of power delivered to the motor regulates the speed of your golf cart. If you are not considering the option to upgrade your golf cart’s controller, you can still achieve high speeds by increasing the amount of power supplied to the motor. This can easily be done by adjusting the potentiometer. 

Here is what a potentiometer is and how it will assist you in making a golf cart fast.  

The potentiometer is a manually adjustable resistor or an adjustable voltage driver. By turning the knob of the potentiometer clockwise, the amount of power supplied to the motor increases, and so does the speed. 

Consider rewinding the motor

If you have a tight budget and it is not a considerable strategy to upgrade to an AC motor, there is another way to boost the speed.

Rewinding the motor is an effective and cost-effective strategy that does not require any update. Rewinding your DC motor will result in an increased number of winding in the armature, which directly means an increased power output.

So get the professional to rewind your motor, and with the increased power output, you can enjoy the ride at high speeds and save time.

Do not overload the cart

Is your golf cart usually filled with much stuff when you drive it on a course?

Overloading the golf cart with unnecessary stuff or riding with extra passengers should be a no if you want to maintain the cart’s speed. Overloading an electric golf cart results in putting additional strain on the battery. The extra stress can reduce the motor’s life and make it difficult for the rider to drive smoothly at higher speeds due to the instability of the cart. 

Ensure proper battery charging

Upgrading to high performance lithium batteries significantly improves the speed of a golf cart and has a higher lifespan than lead acid batteries. However, if you are looking for a cost effective strategy for speeding up an electric golf cart, here is what you can do. 

All you have to do is ensure proper maintenance and charging of the golf cart’s battery. Make sure that the battery is never left completely discharged because it can potentially affect its lifespan and performance. Charge your battery after the ride so it has power for the next round.

Another thing to care about is to charge the electric golf cart’s battery with a compatible charger and never overcharge the battery.

Considering these above factors and the timely maintenance will give you a great riding experience on the course.

🚩 Related: Golf Cart Charger Not Working

Inflate the tires to recommended pressure 

The common proverb, “Excess of anything is bad,” set fit in your electric golf cart’s case. Whether it is your carry-along stuff, charging of the battery, or tire pressure, all need to be properly and smartly managed to enjoy an increased range of your electric golf cart. 

Always read the tire maintenance guide to ensure that you take good care of the tires and inflate them to the correct level. Overinflating or filling the pressure below the recommended level for your golf cart’s need decreases the turning radius and overall performance and poses safety risks. 

Work on your driving techniques

And here is the best you can do from your side to speed up a golf cart. Work on your driving techniques! 

The better you follow the driving techniques and rules, the more easily you can make it to make a golf cart fast.

When driving, try not to take the vehicle to uphill areas as it puts additional strain on the battery. If unavoidable, better to slowly accelerate the cart instead of stomping on it. 

Also, make sure that you are driving in the right gear and not all of a sudden pulling brakes at high speeds, as it can affect the performance of the suspension system, resulting in an overall reduced speed. 

When it comes to comparing whether upgrading the electric golf cart components offers high speed or the techniques without an upgrade, the upgraded system surpasses the other. However, these little tips and tips have their importance and should be considered to give the cart’s battery and motor a longer and a durable life span so that it can gift you back with making your golf cart fast.

🚩 More Golf Guides:

• Speeding Up Your Gas Cart – Best Practices And Advice
• Guide To Removing Speed limiter For Max Speed
• Best Electric Golf Cart Brands Right Now

FAQs

Why is my electric golf cart so slow?

Among the potential factors that are making your cart slow is the poor performance of the battery or the cart’s motor. Improperly inflated tires, poor suspension system, and overloading the cart beyond its maximum capacity can also reduce the cart’s speed.

Will bigger tires make my golf cart faster?

The large tires are an effective way to increase the distance covered in miles per hour. However, it is not in all cases, as it depends upon several factors, including the ground type and cart specification. It is recommended to consult the manufacturer or a professional before modifying the model you drive.

How fast can a 48v golf cart go?

The speed of a 48v golf cart depends varies with the batter type your electric golf cart runs on. With a full charge, the lead acid battery can cover an average of 8-10 miles and around 100, with the exceptional case in lithium-ion batteries.

How do I make my golf cart go 35 mph?

An electric golf cart’s maximum speed ranges between 20-25 miles per hour. However, if you want to boost it up to 35 mph, upgrade the controller and gear ratio of the golf cart, and shift to lithium-ion batteries and the motor running on AC current.

Achieving such a high speed comes with safety concerns, so install a roll cage to avoid unwanted happenings.

How to make a Yamaha golf cart go faster?

To make your Yamaha golf cart run faster, upgrade its controller and gear ratio, and shift to lithium-ion batteries. Shifting to an AC motor, ensuring proper battery charging, and inflating the Yamaha’s tire to the recommended pressure also works to make it run faster.

Summing It Up

In a game like a game of golf, which needs all your attention and energy, having a slow speedy golf cart is a big no! By reading till the end, you have explored effective strategies to help you upgrade your golf cart to a higher speed.

If you are considering upgrading strategies, I recommend you consult a professional. Hence, you have no safety concerns and can enjoy the optimized experience at the course!