Definitely could be the spark arrestor. In general, QT’s don’t have a lot of power relative to other carts since they have a smaller HP engine as part of the design to make them quiet. Also, the spring in the secondary clutch is designed for golf course use where the carts don’t go more than about 12-14 MPH. Yamaha adds high speed gears to their Personal Transportation Vehicles used in the Villages, but doesn’t modify the clutch spring. Adding the high speed gears increases top end speed but can compromise torque (start up speed and hill climbing power). An easy modification will solve the problem, which involves putting a stiffer spring in the secondary clutch and replacing the belt with a premium aftermarket drive belt. I did the modification to our QT using the green spring and premium belt available from powerequipmentman.com and there is a noticeable performance difference (not top end speed, just torque). The website also has an excellent YouTube video showing how to do the modification. It does require some basic mechanical knowledge, and two specific tools that most people don’t have, a clutch compressor and a snap ring tool. My neighbor up north loves to fix stuff and helped me fabricate the clutch compressor and let me borrow his snap ring tool. I’m very happy with the modification, but the cart definitely was a little jumpy for a couple days until the new belt broke in. I keep the old belt in my cart as an emergency backup and hope to be able to use it someday to help someone stranded with a broken belt.
Regardless of the problem, it’s a good idea to remove the spark arrestor next time you change the oil and you have easy access to it. You will be eliminated a potential future problem that is only there because of a stupid California requirement. The cart will run better and you will only notice a slight increase in noise when driving through tunnels or alongside a dividing wall.
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