# Stuck w/ 6.75" 5hp 48v 100amp motor, suggestions for upgrade to 96v?



## major (Apr 4, 2008)

rmay635703 said:


> 1. Brushes shaved & possibly upgraded if necessary
> 2. Motor advanced
> 
> Any other suggestions?


Hi rmay,

Is the vehicle safe to go faster than it was designed and sold for? Is it legal?

1. I never heard of shaving brushes. Where did you come up with that?

2. Advancing brushes will help. Do you know if they are already advanced or on neutral? Do you reverse with contactors or the tranny?

Other suggestions....if you end up somehow going faster in the vehicle with this motor, you will be running it at higher loads. So consider big time force ventilation thru the motor.

Get a RPM sensor and feedback circuit to limit RPM.

Regards,

major


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## rmay635703 (Oct 23, 2008)

major said:


> Hi rmay,
> 
> Is the vehicle safe to go faster than it was designed and sold for? Is it legal?
> 
> 1. I never heard of shaving brushes. Where did you come up with that?


This vehicle goes up to 80mph in Japan and is a real production vehicle there, I could buy airbags if I wish as the foreign cars have them. It can be fully highway legal by having it retitled in Ohio with the help of a dealer there to be a "normal" car

1.
Many of the old fogies that know more than I do commonly do that when upgrading the old Citicar & some of the older Comutacar motors to tolerate more voltage, they trim the brushes to a slightly thinner width reducing commutation, amp draw and heat. A cheaters way around contactor issues perhaps? I would assume having less contact time and a larger gap to jump must do something eh? Neon John as he called himself claimed to have done that for what its worth.



major said:


> 2. Advancing brushes will help. Do you know if they are already advanced or on neutral? Do you reverse with contactors or the tranny?


I have a F/R contactor currently, I almost think the brushes are retarded at the moment, the motor is somewhat difficult to remove/access due to the way the housing and battery boxes are located on the Front wheel drive (the motors in a cradle of sorts) Anyway if you are wondering how I came up with that going forward I can get up to 30mph in reverse I can get up to about 33mph on the same blank section of straight rural road I use for "testing" If I do take the time to get in there I will obviously set the brushes a little past neutral just to gain a little potential speed anyway. I probably will have to drill a hole though  Needless to say the motor will probably only come out once its time to upgrade the voltage since everything will be out then.

When I have asked miles and the dealers they have no clue what I am talking about in terms of the motor and how the brushes are set.



major said:


> Other suggestions....if you end up somehow going faster in the vehicle with this motor, you will be running it at higher loads. So consider big time force ventilation thru the motor.
> 
> Get a RPM sensor and feedback circuit to limit RPM.
> 
> ...


I am wondering about forced ventilation, what systems are out there and work the best? I haven't seen anything other than homemade.

On the other regards
I have an RPM guage on my instrument cluster and a 300amp analog meter waiting to go in, Anyway this car is a real production vehicle in Japan that goes 80mph or so there. Over here there are a couple of modified vehicles nearly identical to mine that can go up to 120mph in 4th gear, sadly they have just bought the 4th gear as opposed to reenabling the transmission.

I can get this vehicle retitled as a normal car instead of an NEV for a few hundred bucks with the help of the Ohio dealer that sells them, so long as I can prove the vehicle goes at least 45mph.

Its too bad this thing weighs as much as it does, darn crumple area  I can even order driver side airbags for it.

Cheers
Ryan


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## major (Apr 4, 2008)

Hi Ryan,

A few comments below:



rmay635703 said:


> 1.
> Many of the old fogies that know more than I do commonly do that when upgrading the old Citicar & some of the older Comutacar motors to tolerate more voltage, they trim the brushes to a slightly thinner width reducing commutation, amp draw and heat.


Well, the best situation would be line contact to the comm, but then you have no ampacity in the brush or contact patch. So you have to live with a trade-off. I don't see how this would decrease "amp draw". It is possible it'd reduce arcing. Maybe heat, but also might increase heat. I'd advise against this.



> I have a F/R contactor currently, .....that going forward I can get up to 30mph in reverse I can get up to about 33mph on the same blank section of straight rural road I use for "testing"


I'd say you're set close to neutral. I assume you drive forwards mostly, so the brushes will seat to that rotation. Then when opposite rotation occurs, they can cock slightly and give you a "false advance". Either that or production tolerances back at the motor factory account for a degree or two.



> I am wondering about forced ventilation, what systems are out there and work the best? I haven't seen anything other than homemade.


There is a coverband available for the Warp 9 for forced air. Haven't seen one for a 6.6". Hopefully your motor has ventilation at both ends. Fashion a coverband for the comm end with a port to fit like a 2" duct hose and put a 12V automotive HVAC blower on it.

Regards,

major


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## mrcshbs (Nov 25, 2008)

PM Sent... let me know if you got it...

thanks

Marcos.


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