Columbia Par Car Question....

[Graytop]

I see a lot of these driving around The Villages and have to listen to PC the cat every day on the radio!:doh: Do these REALLY get 80 miles to a charge with the premium batteries or is that BS?....I'd like to hear from some owners about real life performance with these carts/batteries.....:smiley:

[asilver]

As a future TVer (hopefully by the end of the summer), I too am interested in the Par Car golf cart, -basically because of their claims of longer range. Their cart specifications do indicate a larger controller and more HP than other brand's electric models. But is the longer range only with "premium" batteries? And what do they mean by "premium", is it the AGM batteries? What if you get the standard eight 6Volt regular lead-acid batteries, - is the range still enhanced? Lets hear it from you Par Car owners.

[kirk1]

Yes, a Par Car led by a police escort got 80 miles before the batteries went completely dead. The cart was using lead acid batteries of unknown specifications. Be aware it is highly recommended not to go below 80% to prevent damage to the battery pack.

I have an '08 Par Car with Trojan T-125 Plus batteries that are about 15 month old. I can go about 45 miles without dropping below 80%. I try to run at about 23 mph and not push the batteries more than is necessary. Just remember the faster the cart will go, the shorter the distance it will travel.

As far as gas verses battery power, easy choice I don't like the smell or noise of a gas cart.

[vicaroo]

We have an 08 Par Car that is street legal.We usually run it 25 mph and I have no problem going 45-50 miles.We have went over 50 miles a few times and always make it home! If we go that far we know that it will take longer to get back to a full charge for the next day. We have replaced the batteries twice(prorated,bad batteries the second time) and we have 20,000 miles on our cart.

[aljetmet]

We have an 08 Par Car that is street legal.We usually run it 25 mph and I have no problem going 45-50 miles.We have went over 50 miles a few times and always make it home! If we go that far we know that it will take longer to get back to a full charge for the next day. We have replaced the batteries twice(prorated,bad batteries the second time) and we have 20,000 miles on our cart.


That's quite impressive! Any other problems?
We have about a year before we're frogs and want a street legal but felt that 8 - 6 volt batteries are the way to go. I know it's quite expensive to convert say a Tomberlin to 8 batteries.

Your thoughts?

[JoeC1947]

Yes, a Par Car led by a police escort got 80 miles before the batteries went completely dead. The cart was using lead acid batteries of unknown specifications. Be aware it is highly recommended not to go below 80% to prevent damage to the battery pack.

I have an '08 Par Car with Trojan T-125 Plus batteries that are about 15 month old. I can go about 45 miles without dropping below 80%. I try to run at about 23 mph and not push the batteries more than is necessary. Just remember the faster the cart will go, the shorter the distance it will travel.

As far as gas verses battery power, easy choice I don't like the smell or noise of a gas cart.

Isn't there some kind of an electrical cutoff device that will prevent the batteries from going below 80%?

[kirk1]

Isn't there some kind of an electrical cutoff device that will prevent the batteries from going below 80%?

A digital DC voltmeter would probably be the best to let you know when your approaching 80%. I use an led meter that is pretty accurate. My batteries are 50.4V after charging and I prefer to not go below 40V.

[ajbrown]

A digital DC voltmeter would probably be the best to let you know when your approaching 80%. I use an led meter that is pretty accurate. My batteries are 50.4V after charging and I prefer to not go below 40V.

These numbers seem a bit out of whack, maybe a typo? I am surprised a cart will even move at 40V. Per Trojan discharging a 48V pack voltage to less than 46.63 (20% SOC) will do serious harm to the pack. I do everything I can to never discharge my packs to less than 48.4 (50%).

Couple of links folks should read and understand:

Trojan Battery Company - Discharging guidelines (http://www.trojanbattery.com/BatteryMaintenance/Discharging.aspx)


See chart at bottom of this link....

Trojan Battery Company - Testing and SOC (http://www.trojanbattery.com/BatteryMaintenance/Testing.aspx)

[rubicon]

the OP asked if the par car did get 80 miles on a single charge. As I recall the par car did but only under very controlled circumstances using premium batteries.

As to the voltimeter I'm told by a repair guy that an analog is more reliable than a digital. Is there anyone out there that can shed some light on their preference and why?

[aljetmet]

These numbers seem a bit out of whack, maybe a typo? I am surprised a cart will even move at 40V. Per Trojan discharging a 48V pack voltage to less than 46.63 (20% SOC) will do serious harm to the pack. I do everything I can to never discharge my packs to less than 48.4 (50%).

Couple of links folks should read and understand:

Trojan Battery Company - Discharging guidelines (http://www.trojanbattery.com/BatteryMaintenance/Discharging.aspx)


See chart at bottom of this link....

Trojan Battery Company - Testing and SOC (http://www.trojanbattery.com/BatteryMaintenance/Testing.aspx)

Alan,

How many miles do you go before you charge your pack? I presume you do not charge every day. Also say that you use your cart a lot which means you have to charge every day. Would that mean that the batteries would last say 500 to 600 days ie the "normal" amount of cycles a battery has?

Seems to me that since we'll be buying south of 466 A, and if I get a sparky, I should definitley get one that has eight 6 volt batteries to max range and to have a set of batteries last at least 4 years...

Your thots please


Allan

[ajbrown]

I see a lot of these driving around The Villages and have to listen to PC the cat every day on the radio!:doh: Do these REALLY get 80 miles to a charge with the premium batteries or is that BS?....I'd like to hear from some owners about real life performance with these carts/batteries.....:smiley:

A fine gentleman from Par Car gave some insight on the 80 mile run in the post below. I heard they used <rumor alert> Trojan T125 batteries in the test </rumor alert>.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/348808-post17.html

[Barefoot]

We have a 2007 Par Car, purchased in 2007. If I drive it for a few hours, the "use indicator" barely moves. We just replaced the batteries for the first time. We now have Trojan 125 batteries.

[Eve2278]

We have a 2008 Par Car LSV and we can start from Bonnybrook to the new home across 466A and then over to Spanish Springs and back home and have had no problems. We always charge it up every night. We were also told to only fill the batteries if needed after a full charge and never before because it could over fill and leak onto your garage floor. Love the ParCar so far...
:pepper2:

[ajbrown]

Alan,

How many miles do you go before you charge your pack? I presume you do not charge every day. Also say that you use your cart a lot which means you have to charge every day. Would that mean that the batteries would last say 500 to 600 days ie the "normal" amount of cycles a battery has?

Seems to me that since we'll be buying south of 466 A, and if I get a sparky, I should definitley get one that has eight 6 volt batteries to max range and to have a set of batteries last at least 4 years...

Your thots please


Allan


<Caveat reader, These are my experiences and opinions based on owning only three carts and need to be treated as such>

We currently have two 2002 Club Car DS carts, one with 6-8v and one with 8-6v.

I do not think about how many miles I go before charging. I charge a cart any time I use it or if it has sat for more than a couple of weeks. It is not good for batteries to sit without a full charge. mrdills and carguys (TOTV) have swung me around to adding BatteryMinders to my arsenal to keep my packs charged. I am looking for a sale :).

As far as cycles, so many things go into it it is hard to know, e.g., how they were maintained, were they left discharged over the summer, etc. IMO making a pack last 4 years is tougher than it sounds, I budget for three years. I have seen two charts that give some insight plotting depth of discharge vs number of cycles.

Depth Chart 1 Chart 2
Discharge Cycles Cycles
80% 750 500
50% 1350 1000
30% 2000 1900

These charts are telling me the deeper you discharge the pack the fewer cycles you get. Makes sense, so I try to not discharge the pack past 50%. A typical day for me is only about 10 miles which is a very shallow discharge.

I expect my 6-8v pack to be able to handle 30 miles.
I expect my 8-6v pack to be able to handle 40+ miles.

I know they could do more in a pinch, but remember my mileage is based on trying to stay above 50% SOC. I test my expectations and condition of pack periodically by looking at the voltage of the pack after a ride with known mileage before charging. As an example, went 28 miles in the 6-8v cart and ending voltage was 49 volts (60%). This tells me that pack can handle 35+ miles easily.

As far as your particular requirements. Map out a few places you will go using googlemaps.com and get some miles for a typical day. My extreme day would be round trip to Lopez for 18 holes of golf, then Spanish Springs for dinner (34 miles). I can do that with either cart. If I only had 6-8v cart I would quick charge it while at home before I went to SS.

[CarGuys]

I see a lot of these driving around The Villages and have to listen to PC the cat every day on the radio!:doh: Do these REALLY get 80 miles to a charge with the premium batteries or is that BS?....I'd like to hear from some owners about real life performance with these carts/batteries.....:smiley:

Not on everyday use. The demo was carefully crafted. Most EV techs that understand battery depletion will tell you that.

A Chevy Volt could get 100 mile+ range at 65 mph if I wanted to destroy the battery pack! After that 80 mile run I doubt if you could return those batteries to everyday range use.

They do seem to have quite a following. Will give them credit for that.

Ignorance can be fixed with education but stupidity takes great salesmanship!

Hence RADIO!

[00joe]

I see a lot of these driving around The Villages and have to listen to PC the cat every day on the radio!:doh: Do these REALLY get 80 miles to a charge with the premium batteries or is that BS?....I'd like to hear from some owners about real life performance with these carts/batteries.....:smiley:
I have owned a ParCar for over a year and recommended other family members to buy a ParCar. One of the main reasons I bought from ParCar was there service department. However I have some trouble over the last month with the charger. ParCar had it for 2 weeks and sent it back advising they could find nothing wrong with it. Now it is back in the shop and I am told it is being worked on. I returned it to ParCar because the charged should still be under warrantee.

I am interested in knowing if anyone else is having similar experiences with the ParCar service department.

[Barefoot]

I am interested in knowing if anyone else is having similar experiences with the ParCar service department.

I've owned a Par Car since 2007, and have never needed to call the Service Department. I'm sorry that you're having a frustrating time of it. I'll be interested to hear the outcome. Good luck!

[aln]

I have owned a ParCar for over a year and recommended other family members to buy a ParCar. One of the main reasons I bought from ParCar was there service department. However I have some trouble over the last month with the charger. ParCar had it for 2 weeks and sent it back advising they could find nothing wrong with it. Now it is back in the shop and I am told it is being worked on. I returned it to ParCar because the charged should still be under warrantee.

I am interested in knowing if anyone else is having similar experiences with the ParCar service department.


I was taken in the their ad for $75 service this summer (2013).
I have a 2003 Club Car which I've owned since 2006. I'm on 3rd set of batteries, and 3rd set of tires. I use the cart alot.

I felt the $75 service was fair - that's why I called.

As Monk would say "here's the thing".
For this simple service inspection on an electric cart they had it for 8 days!
I knew the headlight switch was acting up so I asked them to look at it to see if it needed to be adjusted in the dash or replaced. They replaced the push/pull head light switch at the cost of $16.40 plus $75.00 labor. (did I say this took eight days).

I would be very careful about asking them for service. I will NEVER go back!

[Frozen1]

Their service ad for the inspection takes 1-3 days. They aren't open on the weekends so can't really count that. I called and they said the had to do more than just replace your push pull switch, that you also had wiring issues they needed to address for it as well.

[aln]

They picked it up on Monday 7/22 and returned it Monday 7/29. Yes, the wiring issue was in the front turn signal light. They charged a half hour of labor for that and 1 hour labor for the headlight switch. Far short of even 5 business days.

[Frozen1]

Still, a long time for some to be without those extra wheels. If you ever have other issues, let me know and I'll make another call.

[blueash]

Their service ad for the inspection takes 1-3 days. They aren't open on the weekends so can't really count that. I called and they said the had to do more than just replace your push pull switch, that you also had wiring issues they needed to address for it as well.

I am to understand that you called a business and they gave you details of the service and problems of another customer? I know they are not covered by HIPPA but really, should I expect they will next be discussing my service particulars with anyone who happens to call and ask? What am I missing here?

[Frozen1]

I work at the factory in Wisconsin. When there's a concern from any customers nationwide, I end up getting the call, so I find it easier to address them right away from you folks on here. That's why I contacted them about this one, I wanted to make sure he was treated fairly and honestly.

I don't push any particular brand or service, I just do what I can to help folks understand electric vehicles and their unique service and maintenance needs.

[cmfjr]

It is very nice of you to possibly pre-empt any major service complaints. As a very satisfied ParCar owner who spends 5 months enjoying the great WI summers, I want to thank you for your service!