[Bay Kid]

Dad thinks he wants a new electric golf cart w/ a Curtis cab. Mom hates the noise of our gas, the smell of gas, wind and cold. Dad looked at the new ezgo carts. The Yamaha dealer only had one electric and weren't too keen on electric. Any help on what to do for them???

[coach]

I like the new 2014 par car eagle. It is called the Eagle P5. Very long range, 16 " radial tires, seat belts and very good looking.

[SouthOfTheBorder]

Originally Posted by coach

I like the new 2014 par car eagle. It is called the Eagle P5. Very long range, 16 " radial tires, seat belts and very good looking.

I agree….you should at least take a serious look at Par Car before making a purchase.

Both the new P5 and the P4. Wheel size on both are 13" and with 8-6v batteries, their driving range is the best out there at this time. Drive one and I believe you will be very impressed.

On the downside (from my limited experience), sometimes the dealership can be a little hard to deal with.

Don

[Golfingnut]

EZ GO is top rated on electric. I agree with DAD on the noise and stink of gas. Maintain the batteries properly and you have a much better cart with electric.

[pooh]

Please consider just how easy it will or won't be climbing in and out of a Par Car with 13" wheels. They are great carts, I had one, but the up and down with those larger wheels started taking a toll on the hips.

[rosygail]

We love our EZGO!

[Love2Swim]

Originally Posted by rosygail

We love our EZGO!

Us too!

[Bay Kid]

Dad is now back to leaning towards a Yamaha gas cart.... He is going drive me crazier! At least he is still here driving me!!!!
I am still not sure.
Mom wants quiet. Electric is the best way to go for quiet. I worry 2-3 years down the road about the value of electric. Gas is so much easier to maintain especially with us gone 1/2 year. So confusing!

[Easyrider]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

Dad is now back to leaning towards a Yamaha gas cart.... He is going drive me crazier! At least he is still here driving me!!!!
I am still not sure.
Mom wants quiet. Electric is the best way to go for quiet. I worry 2-3 years down the road about the value of electric. Gas is so much easier to maintain especially with us gone 1/2 year. So confusing!

Your concerns are accurate. We visited Mallory Country Club this afternoon for dinner and parked in the cart parking lot to the right of the entrance.

We could not believe that every single parking space had rust stains from battery acid that had dripped from electric carts parked there. Battery acid and hydrogen gas sure doesn't smell too good..

Visit Mallory and check it out for yourself and see if you want those kinds of stains on your garage floor and your concrete driveway if you should park your cart outside...and maybe from just driving across the driveway.


Exploding batteries[edit]

Any lead-acid battery system when overcharged (>14.34 V) will produce hydrogen gas (gassing voltage) by electrolysis of water. If the rate of overcharge is small, the vents of each cell allow the dissipation of the gas. However, on severe overcharge or if ventilation is inadequate, or the battery is faulty, a flammable concentration of hydrogen may remain in the cell or in the battery enclosure. An internal spark can cause a hydrogen and oxygen explosion, which will damage the battery and its surroundings and which will disperse acid into the surroundings. Anyone close to the battery may be injured.
Sometimes the ends of a battery will be severely swollen, and when accompanied by the case being too hot to touch, this usually indicates a malfunction in the charging system of the car. Reversing the positive and negative leads will damage the battery. When severely overcharged, a lead-acid battery produces high levels of hydrogen and the venting system built into the battery cannot handle the high level of gas, so the pressure builds inside the battery, resulting in the swollen ends. An unregulated alternator can quickly ruin a battery by excessive voltage. A swollen, hot battery is dangerous.
Another potential cause of explosion is when the battery terminals are short-circuited via a very low resistance path (like a wrench or other tool dropped or lying across the terminals). Apart from the sparks which usually occur in a short circuit, heating due to the internal resistance of the battery can cause the electrolyte to boil, also leading to explosion due to buildup of water vapor pressure (unrelated to electrolysis).

[villagerjack]

Had electrics for 15 years. Never had these problems. Who is going to drop a wrench on their battery terminal. Their are cart rugs available to catch any leakage of acid whic has been minimal. Sounds like scare tactics to me.

[jimbo2012]

Originally Posted by Easyrider

We could not believe that every single parking space had rust stains from battery acid that had dripped from electric carts parked there. Battery acid and hydrogen gas sure doesn't smell too good.

You can't get rust stains from an Club Car, they don't have steel, all aluminum.
So that is statement is incorrect.

Further gas carts also have a battery

Gas carts have had leaking fuel tank recalls search Google

Batteries exploding what one in a million....

Originally Posted by villagerjack

Had electrics for 15 years. Never had these problems. Sounds like scare tactics to me.

Agree, Easyrider loves gas carts all his posts are like that, others like myself like Elec, we all make different choices.

Just make an informed decision. Hold your breath when driving thru tunnels

[Paulz]

EZGO electric is the way to go. AC motor, the motor being you break and parking break. Take it and any other car over the 441 bridge, half way up take your foot off the pedal. EZGO stops, holds position and then will accelerate back up to 20mph.

The 6/8 config will get you 50/55 per charge.

[Rickg]

I have electric up north and here. They are just as safe and dependable as gas. It is a personal preference. I like electric for the quietness mostly

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I worked in the golf business for 35 years. A big part of my job was managing golf cart fleets. I can tell you that Club Car has the largest market share of all the electrics. The aluminum frame is a big part of that reason, but they are also the most dependable and the least expensive to maintain.

All the rest are a poor second. I investigated buying a new cart when I got here and like a lot of us was impressed by a lot of the carts I had seen around.

I first looked a GEM. Then I found out that not only do they need to be registered and insured, but they have a range of only 25 miles. I was also impressed by Columbia Par Car until I talked to several people including owners and golf cart repair people. I was told that parts are very difficult to get, even for the dealership and that carts that broke down were at times out of commission for long periods of time. True, they did get eighty miles on one charge, but that was a publicity stunt that was run under very controlled, optimum conditions. Fifty miles is probably more realistic.

Yamaha makes probably the best gas cart. EZ-Go was for a long time the leader in electrics before Club Car ran over them about 25 years ago. I have heard of some people having major problems with the newest EX-Go models. I haven't had any person experience but I've heard about problems and have read several posts on this forum about troubles with new EZ-Gos.

Now, people who have owned some of the carts that I've said negative things about and never had a problem will tell you how great they are. The fact is that all new electric carts are great. It's when you have a problem with them or when they get older that the differences show.

After looking at several new carts, I decided to keep my 2002 Club Car which still runs great.

[George Bieniaszek]

We have an 2010 EZGO RXV electric. Love the cart. Over 8,000 trouble free miles.