# Electric racing cart conversion



## Thelastdeadmouse (Nov 23, 2009)

I'm not sure if the electric bikes section of the forum is the proper place for this, but its the one I'm going with since there's already an electric lawn mower thread here. 

My father and a few of his friends have built their own loosely lawn-mower based racers that they drive on the dirt oval he made in an unused stretch of field. The racers use ungoverned lawn mover engines, usually 10-15hp, mower tires and steering wheel and everything else is fabricated. With my father's 12+hp engine directly geared to the drive shaft the mower pushes 55 mph on straights and accelerates fairly briskly.

Since it uses a fixed gear ratio I've gotten him interested in converting it to electric with the promise of higher torque and power at low speeds. I'm having a hard time finding information on how to get started though, since the power demands are higher than EV bikes and golf carts, but well below that of EV cars.

Is there a guide or kit out there that would work for this type of application? If not are there any recommendations for what type of motor would work well for this? This Club Car GE D395 looks like it might fit the bill, but at $600 its closer to what I'd hoped to spend on the whole project, not the motor.


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## major (Apr 4, 2008)

Thelastdeadmouse said:


> Is there a guide or kit out there that would work for this type of application?


Hi deadmouse,

I don't know of a cookbook for you. But look around this forum, and at the evalbum. Not EVerybody does cars and bikes. There are a lot of strange EVs being built. And God knows, if it has wheels, guys will race it.

As for the golfcart motor, yeah, good starting point. Like 36 or 48 volt. 3 to 5 hp real continuous rated, but can be pushed up 3 or 4 times that, maybe more. Big thing there is most GC motors don't have drive end bearings and have an internal spline. So you'd have a challenging machining job. And you can find a lot cheaper GC motors, like on eBay. No since spending big bucks for your first attempt. I've seen 'em go for under $100.

I'd say, jump in. Don't try to build a record setter your first try. Keep it simple. Learn from it and kick ass next try.

Show us what you end up with 

major


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