[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by CWGUY

Have you ever driven a "quiet-tech"?

Quiet tech gas carts are still louder than electric. The only noise from an electric cart is road noise from the tires.

[Challenger]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

Quiet tech gas carts are still louder than electric. The only noise from an electric cart is road noise from the tires.

and the noise of the tow trucks that come to pick them up along the paths.

[Tom52]

Question for electric cart owners....with fully charged but old batteries do you lose top end speed? Our rental house includes an electric cart with old batteries. When traveling on level surface I estimate we probably can not go faster than 15-17 mph. Going up up a slight incline the speed drops dramatically to probably 10-12 mph. Is this typical with fully charged but old batteries? Very embarrassing when you can't keep up with traffic and have to pull over to let others around.

[charmed59]

We have one electric and one gas quiet tech yesteryear.

The electric is much, much quieter than the gas with quiet tech. The quiet tech is quieter than an older gas cart without that technology. I find riding over 10 minutes in the older gas models to be unpleasant due to the noise.

Because of the noise, and maybe the seat comfort, if I’m taking a long trip I prefer the electric cart. They charge overnight and then are good to get from our house to any golf course, drive 18, head to a square and then home without an issue. If they still made yesteryear carts in electric we would have two electric carts, but for the cold weather I really appreciate the half doors that keep my legs and feet warm.

[IndianaJones]

Originally Posted by craiglittler

Whats the best option in the villages, a gas or electric golf cart, and why?

People have pretty much covered it here - it's a personal preference. Drive both, make a decision - just understand it's like buying a car, don't pay list! I'm a gas-cart person as I drive a lot of miles, and am the same as others on here, I don't like to risk running out of battery charge. I'm curious about the Yamaha quiet-tech - I've driven 3 of them (with friends) and while my 2016 Yamaha gas cart seems to have next-to-nothing in terms of torque, the quiet-tech seems to have absolutely NO torque - maybe a price to pay for the additional muffler back flow? Just asking.

[Bay Kid]

+50 mpg Yamaha gas cart. Fun travels!

[VillageIdiots]

Noise aside, it comes down to travel range and cost. I've owned 2 gas carts and 2 electric carts. The first cart I ever bought was gas and I chose that because it was used by both adults and kids to ride around our neighborhood. I knew the kids would probably ride it until it died. With a gas cart, it's just a matter of pouring more fuel in the cart. With an electric cart, if it dies away from home or somewhere to plug it in, your only option is a tow. Gas carts are very reliable but relatively easy to work on if there is a problem. The batteries in electric carts have diminishing returns on travel range as the batteries age, so you may be able to comfortably reach certain points and return when the batteries are new and then find you can no longer go that far and return a year or two later. Eventually the batteries must be replaced and they are very expensive. In the electric carts I had, a set of batteries cost between $700 and $800 and each set would last 4 to 5 years. When I moved here, the only choice for me was gas based on my experience with the previous carts I owned. I'd own an electric cart here if it were a second cart that I didn't use as often or to go as far as I would feel comfortable riding a gas cart. I have an EFI gas cart now and it's nowhere near as loud as the first gas cart I owned. Sure, I can hear it, but it's quiet enough that I can still carry on a conversation or hear what's going on around me, so it's really not a negative factor for me when weighed against the cons of electric carts. You have to put gas in every now and then, but electric carts should also have the batteries checked often for water levels and distilled water added when they are low. If you aren't diligent about taking care of the batteries in an electric cart, the faster they degrade and the sooner they will have to be replaced. Another factor with electric carts, that is not often discussed, is the lights and other accessories on the cart have to draw power from the same batteries. As the batteries aged in my electric carts, the extra draw of the accessories became such a problem that I ended up installing a separate 12v battery just to run the lights and accessories. That meant another battery to maintain, keep charged, and eventually replace. With the newer gas carts that are fuel injected, I don't notice the faint gas smell you always seem to get with the older style carts.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by VillageIdiots

Noise aside, it comes down to travel range and cost. I've owned 2 gas carts and 2 electric carts. The first cart I ever bought was gas and I chose that because it was used by both adults and kids to ride around our neighborhood. I knew the kids would probably ride it until it died. With a gas cart, it's just a matter of pouring more fuel in the cart. With an electric cart, if it dies away from home or somewhere to plug it in, your only option is a tow. Gas carts are very reliable but relatively easy to work on if there is a problem. The batteries in electric carts have diminishing returns on travel range as the batteries age, so you may be able to comfortably reach certain points and return when the batteries are new and then find you can no longer go that far and return a year or two later. Eventually the batteries must be replaced and they are very expensive. In the electric carts I had, a set of batteries cost between $700 and $800 and each set would last 4 to 5 years. When I moved here, the only choice for me was gas based on my experience with the previous carts I owned. I'd own an electric cart here if it were a second cart that I didn't use as often or to go as far as I would feel comfortable riding a gas cart. I have an EFI gas cart now and it's nowhere near as loud as the first gas cart I owned. Sure, I can hear it, but it's quiet enough that I can still carry on a conversation or hear what's going on around me, so it's really not a negative factor for me when weighed against the cons of electric carts. You have to put gas in every now and then, but electric carts should also have the batteries checked often for water levels and distilled water added when they are low. If you aren't diligent about taking care of the batteries in an electric cart, the faster they degrade and the sooner they will have to be replaced. Another factor with electric carts, that is not often discussed, is the lights and other accessories on the cart have to draw power from the same batteries. As the batteries aged in my electric carts, the extra draw of the accessories became such a problem that I ended up installing a separate 12v battery just to run the lights and accessories. That meant another battery to maintain, keep charged, and eventually replace. With the newer gas carts that are fuel injected, I don't notice the faint gas smell you always seem to get with the older style carts.

Very good and informative post!

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

I choose gas. You only see electric carts off the side of the path.

And we're off with the hyperbole. Hopefully the OP will ignore sweeping generalizations and exagerations.

[Packer Fan]

Originally Posted by Nucky

The Quickest way to see if the Cart that is broken down is gas or electric is to look for the place for the plug to hook up to charger or the lack of a fuel gauge and if you See A Banana in the Tailpipe than you know its gas. BeverlyHills Cop I Banana in the tailpipe - YouTube BeverlyHills Cop I Banana in the tailpipe - YouTube

The Tailpipe thing would have been a surefire method a few years ago but now the Quietech's have no TailPipe and Therefore no place for the Banana and therefore not easy to tell quickly if its gas or electric other than they probably never leave you stranded, probably never ever never. One other way is the person in the Cart is swearing something about never again with these (Bad Words Inserted) expensive batteries.

EZ-Go carts don't have a tailpipe either - I have a 2008 and it does not have one.

[Laker14]

Is there a big difference in initial cost between gas and electric?

How much does it cost to replace old batteries with new?

thanks..

[billmcnall]

I've had both but now have two gas carts. The price of batteries every three years or so plus the diminishing mileage as the batteries start to go is a real hassle. Gas in the long run is cheaper and less frustrating.

[villagerjack]

I have driven the same electric EZ Go for 20 years, never had a tow because my battery ran down. I still get over 30+ miles on my 3 year old batteries and I can steadily do 20+ MPH. We bought the cart in 1998 while we were at another over 55 community. We were part time there sometimes spending less than a month a year for many years. When we bought in The Villages we brought the cart down here with the original batteries....10 years old. Had to change them pretty quickly with the increased driving we do here and the installer was amazed at how long they lasted.

My guess is that if, like cars, we only had gas carts and electrics came out, a lot more electrics would be bought.

[craiglittler]

I didn't mean to start a controversy(:-) I have an electric cart in a golf community I live in here in CA (we're considering moving to the Villages) and it's fine because we don't travel long distances but after visiting The Villages I have a feeling we'll be traveling a lot further there. Also, the batteries only last 4 to 5 yrs. and are around $1000 to replace and a pain to constantly charge. Does anyone know what the maintenance issues are for the average gas engine cart? Also, are they really loud, compared to the quiet-tech?

[charmed59]

I find gas carts really loud. I find quiet-tech reasonably loud in that I can drive them for 20 minutes and not get a headache. For longer drives I prefer the quiet of electric.