The path around this tree is getting deeper and deeper. And yet, we keep going round and round.

Do it yourself and stay away from Mando's
 

Don't go to Mando's unless you want to pay a ridiculous bill. I bought four Lithium Iron Phosphate 12v 100ah batteries made by CHINS from Amazon for only $300 each (now $400) and replaced the six 8v lead acid batteries in my 2000 electric Club Car DS using the original cables & connectors. I also bought a Lithium charger from Allied for $300 and bypassed the onboard charge computer (OBC) (easy DIY job - see YouTube). Mando's wanted to charge me triple the amount I spent to easily do it myself. My cart is now lighter and faster than ever and will run forever between charges!

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...1-114806-a.jpg

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...1-114832-a.jpg

You're "The Man"

I just wanted to have it professionally done with one unit.
They also put in a kickass controller and did a tremendous alignment job.
Great Guys

Thanks, I will.

I don't understand the need to start yet another thread on a topic that already has several...

Because THIS time, it'll turn out differently...

Yeah, I know... I had trouble saying that with a straight face...:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

If someone has the time, it would be interested to see a summary of which topics have the most threads and which have the least, and maybe the longest topics. I think longest might be "Nothing"?

Lithium battery thermal runaway is nasty. If you charge at 0.1C to 90% max then the event is near zero.

We bought one in November last year, and it has been good. I did have to send it in for service because the battery management stopped working so I couldn't charge it but TVDGC took care of it. NO issues with the Jump. Look on FB they have an Evolution owners group and they have locking enclosures people have added, not to mention other solutions. I haven't officially tested the range yet. I have had it over 65 miles with about 25% left and I was going on a jaunt the next day so I charged it up.

The piece of advice I would give is have them disconnect the growler, that makes noise until you get to 18mph and keep a long extension cord with you just in case.

I'm an electrical engineer. Look at the actual charge rate for a solar panel that size. It will not provide any significant type of charge for the battery. In addition, during any normal drive you'll be on a multimodal path where you are under tree limbs about 50% of the time, so it's charging even less. A solar panel is just a gimmick on a cart.

We have had our Evolution 4 Pro 180 ah for three months now and so far we like it very much. I am surprised at the comments about Villages Discount Golf Carts. Our experience with them has been excellent. Just this past week we hit a hard bump and a part of our side panel popped out. We called, they picked it in two days and brought it back a day later good as new.
We like the way it rides, the quick start not a problem and we don’t notice any growling noise.
We live in the Village of Hawkins, way down south of 44. Last week we took it almost all the way to the 42 and back and had 68% battery left.
Really, these types of opinion questions really amount to asking people whether they like kale or not. Some people will love it and some will hate it.
As far as all the “made in China” comments…..only partially true. They are built in Chino, California using a mix of components, some made in China and some not. Pretty much like everything else on the road, and in the stores.

I saw one of the new Evolution D3 carts today in Fenny. Took some pics, but unfortunately it was gone by the time I came back. Here is a video from STM. Does anyone have any insight to share on these yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFBz1tmuCpg

Are you sure it isn't 100 KILOMETERS (about 63 miles)? I have a lithium Atomic, actually my second one, and while it doesn't say it (nor did they when I bought it) the odometer is in Kilometers not miles. 100 miles sounds very far fetched from my experience with 2 carts and over 20,000 MILES (not kilometers) over both of them and it also depends on how you come to that number. Did you ever run it down till it died? The battery gauge is not very linear meaning it stays high until it is about down to 4 bars then it takes a dive. Don't get me wrong, I lovei it, but am VERY skeptical you get anything near 100 miles. I record every charge and every mileage reading and average about 65 MILES with some A/C use. Heater kills it. This one is 3 years+ old and the lithium batteries have not degraded 1 bit. Get exactly the same mileage as the day I bought it. I charge it about 1 time very 5 or 6 days. Maybe your is different but doesn't sound right.

Figure on 2.0ah-2.5ah per mile on a 48V system.

I have seen a couple of Evolution D3 carts now. 130ah...figure on 50 miles.

I just got 50 out of my 105 Eco-Battery.
Amazing, that much energy can be stored in that little package.

Eco Battery Store

Evolution. Speed
 

Does anyone know the person who turns up the speed in the evolution golf cart?

Would like to know that myself. I don't want to go 30 MPH, but being able to keep up with the other carts would be a bonus.

The law in Florida is 20 MPH max, but the carts that are sold through the Villages Golf Carts all exceed that by about 3 MPH. Villages Discount will tell you that they follow the law, but obviously, VGC skirts that.

Evolution Electric Plus 4
 

I would be interested in your 2013 Yamaha gas cart, if your electric cart purchase replaces it.

We have the Evolution Pro-4 and we like it very much. The jump start is not an issue for us, we got used to it (or learned to ease into it) pretty quickly. There is a storage locker under the back seat that is pretty specious if you have items that might blow away. We have been from the south end to the north end and back and still had almost 70% charge left so I can’t say exactly the mileage (they told us 70 miles to a charge) but it has certainly been adequate for us for anywhere we have wanted to go. Price was a big factor for us, but so was electric. We didn’t care about high end or all the bells and whistles. Basic was fine enough. The Evolution was the best all around package for us.

FWIW - We have one and have been able to get pretty close to the 80 miles I was told you could get out of it. Live in Hammocks at Fenney and have golfed up by Sumter Landing and it still shows almost 60% charge. I have not been willing to take it bone dry but I've been happy with it. The Service from The Villages Discount Golf Car has been good. I had a charging issue, they picked it up and corrected the issue and returned it inside of a week.

Yuck..

On the Hills
 

Not that there are many hills in TV, how does the Evolution handle the inclines coming out of the tunnels? Have you used it much with four people on it, if so, have you noticed any decease in performance, either range, acceleration or top end?