Legal Gas Powered Golf Cart
 

This is a question for those of you who have gas powered golf carts that are set to go over the legal 20 mph limit. Our cart was capable of doing up to 25 mph on a flat roadway, so we decided to have the governor set to 20 mph. But the cart now will only go about 16 going up hills. Is this what the rest of you are experiencing with your 20 mph carts?

Another issue is going down those same hills, it is almost impossible to keep it from going over 25 (if I give it half throttle, it will easily go up to 30), which by definition makes it an illegal vehicle. Our mechanic says there is nothing he can do about this.

I would just like to know if this is normal for a golf cart.

You did didn’t mentioned what brand cart and you must have speedometer to be about to judge speed? My Yamaha does not problems maintaining 20 mph speed with governor, yes it may speed up to 23 going done hill or my hit 21 or 22 on slight down grade but stays pretty close to 20 mph. Course if I go down steep hill ( I feather gas pedal or none at all going down steep hill to control speed) it may pick up more speed which I just use the brake to slow it down if needed. I would Put back close way was and use the gas pedal to control speed same thing do in car. I would think slight advancement of the govern control spring would find happy medium point?

What hill are you testing this on?

Speed measurement for determining legality is made on a flat surface.

I’m surprised that pressing on the throttle would increase speed going down a steep hill but I haven’t actually tried that.

My cart works hard climbing out of tunnels and up some of the steeper overpasses. I don’t believe it makes it to 20mph but I’ll have to pay closer attention ext time to see how fast it is capable of going.

2018 Yamaha

Stillwater Trail approaching Odell Circle is the worst one.

Just need to fine tune the govern setting unless they changed engine performance from my 2013? If same system as mine very easy to adjust. Plenty to Utube videos on that. It will run faster in cold mode due to more fuel required used till engine warms up. If you want it to pull hill at 20 MPH the flat speed will probably have to be set around 22. Gravity vs weight going up hill needs little more throttle to maintain speed desired.

If cart governed at 20MPH it won’t climb steep grade maintaining 20MPH due to throttle not in wide open.


Gravity going down hill the throttle pulled back by governor, so it basically free wheeling, only thing slow down is braking.

that's faulty logic. . .

the torque/power created go 20 Mph over flat land cannot maintain speed when climbing a hill, because more torque/power is needed to over come the additional gravitational pull. More torque/power is needed than the engine can provide.

simple. .

the governor on a gas engine is not the same as auto pilot on a car, where the computer uses the speedometer to increase or decrease power to maintain a constant speed. .

The OEM spring in the secondary clutch of gas Yamahas is optimized for golf course usage, without high speed gears. Yamaha’s Personal Transportation Vehicle line of golf carts (the carts used in the Villages) have high speed gears, allowing them to travel at 20 MPH without stressing the engine, but still come with the softer secondary clutch spring found in their line of Fleet Carts. An easy fix is to swap out the spring in the secondary clutch with a stiffer spring and replace the OEM drive belt with a heavy duty belt (G Boost and Kingzilla both make excellent belts). The fix doesn’t increase speed, just torque, which helps with hill climbing. I swapped out the secondary clutch spring in our Quiet Tech last winter, with a green spring from power equipment man .com, and have noticed a significant improvement in hill climbing.

OP, you might want to check the main drive belt, we have a 2017 Yamaha quietech and it was set for 19.5 to 20 mph, then the secondary clutch failed and while in the shop for repairs the tech noted we had the wrong belt, changed the belt and now the cart goes up to 23 mph...

Not really if you under stand how lawnmower engine works, the load isn’t enough to pull throttle wide open due its close to max governed speed.

If I take governor out my cart will accelerate going up all street grade in villages till the engine torqued out or it can’t take in any more air.

I tried heavy duty belt made by gates. It was hard to get on due to the stiff beefed up design, it had extended delay when you stopped and started back up. I didn’t like that even though it would lasted very long time, the down side IMO would be extra wear on clutch face disks IMO due to harder material. did I mention it extremely hard to get off. Nearly impossible. I thought i was going to have remove mount bolt on secondary clutch just get it off.

I buy OEM belts they last about two to three years and I’m careful with jackrabbit starts and taking off in steep grade. I also clean belt and clutch faces every 6 month or so. Even after 2 years or more on the belt starting to separate. I can feel when my belt starting to go bad, feel slight vibration during acceleration knowing it’s either needs cleaned or getting bad enough to change soon.

If you happen to be on MMP and your really old drive belt separates and falls off. Maybe you’ll be lucky if I’m traveling by? I carry extra good used belt, take about 4 mins to install.

2024 Quiettech. Speedo says 19 on flat, 17-18 on slight grade, 22 down long hill but will slow itself up like a cruise control in a car back to 20. Even with a good tail wind and my hat turned backwards for less drag, I can't hit 23. Of course I'm pushing 370 so it struggles

This is a rebuilt golf course fleet cart. I know that they had to change some of the mechanical parts because if you open the governor all the way the cart can easily go over 28 mph on a flat road, but I'm starting to wonder what parts remain from it's fleet cart days. We had to have the secondary clutch replace last year, the starter replaced last month, and just yesterday, we had to have the battery replaced. The battery was from 2017, so it was the original battery in the cart. That is also when I asked mechanic to set the cart so it wouldn't go faster than 21 mph.

We've used Todd Casey from the start and have been very pleased with their service. I'll contact them to see if they think that installing a stiffer spring and a heavy duty belt will solve the.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Why wouldn’t you just reset it to where it was before. Just because it will go 25 mph doesn’t mean you have to drive that fast. You didn’t get you auto set to 65 mph because if the speed limit.

Check the "spark arrestor". It may have "collapsed" due to rust. This will definitely restrict the engines power. Easy to remove - it is on the outlet of the exhaust pipe.

Someone already mentioned the clutch spring and they are correct. You didn't mention 2 or 4 seater. I am guessing if it is that sluggish, it's a 4 seater. That would add 250 lbs without extra riders. Spring costs between $60-100 plus labor. That varies sending again on 2 or more seater.
Last spring I changed on 2 seater took about 30 minutes.
Good luck.

Cart
 

After reading all this, I’m sure glad I have an electric cart😎

Are you saying that the pull of gravity is more at the top of the hill then at the bottom?

My drive belt is 9 years old with 33K miles and is still in spec. Part Number JC0-G6241-01. This is not the OEM belt from Yamaha in 2014. Carts and Clubs replaced the OEM belt with the current belt in 2016 because of less than smooth starts from a stop.

Dont worry about what it CAN do. Just observe the speed limits.

Two to three years on an OEM belt? I’d have 10,000-15,000 miles on the belt by then! Which I’m pretty sure the belt won’t last that long. I’m changing the drive belt at 2,500 miles, the starter/generator belt at 5,000 miles. Yes, I can feel a lil funny business with the main belt at 2,000 miles, belt looks fine, but I chalk that up to it perhaps starting to slip a bit.
For traveling distance, I’m full throttle 98% of the time. Same for starts and stops. I don’t baby the throttle. The clutches do the work so it really doesn’t matter how you throttle it.
Im used to CVT’s on high horsepower snowmobiles. Which is safe to say a much higher stressed application for a belt. Heat was their Achilles heal. And a properly maintained clutch.
As for our carts, I’d do a belt replacement by time or mileage. Mileage is a no brainer, every 2,500 miles. As for time, a lightly used cart belt should last for several years without issue. But for piece of mind, I’d keep an eye on it at 3-5 years.

OMG that's why brakes are put on golf carts, cars, bikes ,etc. Just because you can go 150 miles per hour on a car it does not mean you have to because it goes that fast.

I would highly recommend Don Plowman's performance kit. Higher speed and torque balanced. Plowman's Carts in Flint, Michigan. I've trailered mine up there twice for The Master to do his thing to my buggy.

Have a speedometer installed and monitor your speed.

let's try some logic.

1) most gas carts are 1 cylinder.
2) most carts with 1 cyl. has low HP
3) body weight is part of the physics equation for max potential speed
4) hill, degree of incline as that pertains to resistance

5) finally - any 1 cyl. engine has little ability to haul a ton of pounds up a hill without slowing down.

Logic aside, the 1 cyl. engine in my golf cart can haul a half ton of weight up a hill at more than 16mph.
- I’m not sure if it will slow down below 20mph, I haven’t driven up to Stillwater Trl to try it yet
- It would be interesting to see 1,500 lbs of humans in a 500 lb gas golf cart to reach the ton of pounds in statement 5

True electric carts have more torque but less range and less torque when batteries are draining. I’ve had both and both served the purpose.

Can agree or disagree?

Look at belt it will be separated for age and heat friction. Yep, I could made my original belt last that long but I didn’t like slipping and vibration during acceleration. I could still have ordinal tires on my car even it tread worn off, but I don’t like living on edge… :D

Nope. I remove and inspect it regularly. It shows no sign of wear and the width is still in spec. It doesn't slip or vibrate.

Wow, that’s got the best made belt even or? :)

Simple Solution: Schedule your cart in for either a Villager's Service (about $150), or a Full Service (about $250) at the Villages Golf Cars near you. They provide great service and will replace your belts, if needed, and adjust your governor to the correct speed. I highly recommend the Villages Golf Cars for service. Just had mine in for a Full Service and couldn't be more pleased.

Also, there is a monthly Golf Car Safety class, I believe every month on the 2nd Wednesday, where you'll learn great tips related to driving your cart in The Villages. Well worth your time. I hope this helps you!

The drive belt, and the cart in general, have exceeded my expectations for durability.

My cart 13 years old may have 19K at most miles. I replace mine when I don’t like the performance of the belt, it’s just going to get worse. Sure I could keep using it for years but I don’t . I can remember replacing belt 4 times and generator belt once. I have two used belts in good condition in case emergency or neighbors get stranded. Carry one in my golf cart for someone that kicked burn up belt off if I come across them.

My exact thought.

My 2011 Gas Yamaha runs 22 mph on a flat surface. I just played with the governor until I got it to that point. It runs 18-20 uphill and faster downhill, but downhill I just back off the gas and feather the brake if needed. I tried it for awhile at 20 mph on a flat surface but found I had trouble keeping up with the neighborhood golf group when we headed out together to our course. 22 seems to work well and after 15 years in The Villages I have never gotten a ticket for excess speed.

One other item of note: You can have 5 automobiles, for example, and if you check the speedometer against GPS at a steady speed, it is rare that you will get the exact same reading on the speedometer. I owned 5 at one point so I checked this out, and it was true. The difference was only +/- 2 mph, but that tells me that the speedometer reading is not always reliable.

Car Guy

That’s exactly how my 2014 Yamaha is set. Both your 2011, and my 2014, are not Drive2 Quiet Techs, so they can’t be compared to Yamaha QT’s from 2017 to present as far as hill climbing ability. The QT’s have a less powerful engine as part of the redesign to make them run quieter. Even with a stiffer secondary spring and heavy duty drive belt modification, our 2022 QT still lags going over the golf cart bridge into the historic section more than the 2014.

Normal....don't worry about it. Turn it back up so you have the power you need and get a speedometer and just don't drive over 20mph and you will be fine.

Yes ... you'll enjoy driving your golf cart more in The Villages if you have the governor set for 25mph and control your speed on flat roads. This will help give you more speed while climbing bridges

Looks like you’ll get wet when it rains 🌧️😁