Login Register Sign up for the GRM e-newsletter

Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » Golf Carts
  • CarKid1989

    Dec. 15, 2011 6:23 a.m. CarKid1989 Dork

    I have a lead on a gas powered golf car (and electric 3 wheel one too )

    It would be fun to lift one a bit or just tinker with it or whatever.

    I have no need for one. Dont live anywhere close to where i can use it a lot. My yard is not even that big.

    Why do i still want one so bad? How do i justify buying one? Should i even buy it?

  • JoeyM

    Dec. 15, 2011 6:31 a.m. JoeyM SuperDork

    I saw this one near Hawi on the Big Island a few years ago

  • 914Driver

    Dec. 15, 2011 6:42 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

    The Soaring club I belong to has two Carts, one four stroke and one two stroke. The way they work is you step on the gas and that spins over a car-like starter motor. That motor gets the cart moving until the gas engine kicks in, then it becomes a generator to charge the battery.

    The four stroke doesn't have the top end of the two stroke, but the two stroke needs more speed before the gas engine lights off. For our purposes (towing gliders) the speed of the tow is lower than the speed required to light off the engine so you run on battery all the time.

    Battery powered carts? Price a deep cycle battery and multiply that by 4 or 10 depending on the cart.

    Scooters are more entertaining......

    YMMV, Dan

  • mtn

    Dec. 15, 2011 6:55 a.m. mtn SuperDork

    zip tie takes care of any governor

  • failboat

    Dec. 15, 2011 7:05 a.m. failboat HalfDork

    just think about where its going to sit whenever you wont use it...which sounds like it will be most of the time. Can you sacrifice that space?

  • RossD

    Dec. 15, 2011 7:06 a.m. RossD SuperDork

    My aunt and uncle have one with a lift kit, knobby tires, and stereo. They use it to run around their campground. Somebody else at the same campground has an electric one and bought a DOT kit for it and can drive into town as a legally registered electric vehicle. It does a little over 25 mph, IIRC.

  • aussiesmg

    Dec. 15, 2011 7:10 a.m. aussiesmg SuperDork

    I want one to fit in the Mongo belly, would be great for Mrs Aussie at track

  • N Sperlo

    Dec. 15, 2011 7:14 a.m. N Sperlo SuperDork

    In reply to 914Driver:

    I assume you're towing them to and from the runway, not for liftoff...

  • car39

    Dec. 15, 2011 7:33 a.m. car39 HalfDork

    In some towns in South Carolina, they can be registered and used on the road. I refer to this as "road lice" since they're slow, erratic and usually casually driven, at best.

  • jrw1621

    Dec. 15, 2011 7:44 a.m. jrw1621 SuperDork

    Ohio only has a few communities where golf carts are legal to be plated on the road and two of them are islands. Before I went through the effort of getting plates on a golf cart I would get plates (as a golf cart) for one of these.

  • 914Driver

    Dec. 15, 2011 8:01 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

    N Sperlo wrote:

    In reply to 914Driver:

    I assume you're towing them to and from the runway, not for liftoff...

    Correct.

  • Otto Maddox

    Dec. 15, 2011 8:02 a.m. Otto Maddox Dork

    I had the same urge. I bought one to drive around the neighborhood. After a while, I found myself either using a bicycle or my car for pretty much everything I had originally intended to use the golf cart for. I sold it. The kids miss riding to the neighborhood pool in it, but that is about it.

  • mad_machine

    Dec. 15, 2011 8:31 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

    jrw1621 wrote:

    Ohio only has a few communities where golf carts are legal to be plated on the road and two of them are islands. Before I went through the effort of getting plates on a golf cart I would get plates (as a golf cart) for one of these.

    I would love me a kei truck

  • CarKid1989

    Dec. 15, 2011 11:34 a.m. CarKid1989 Dork

    what i hear is that unless you live in a community where you can use em a ton or have a need for it its just a giant space consuming toy....

  • Dec. 15, 2011 12:27 p.m. twolittlebroncos Reader

    Golf cart + Polaris 440cc 2-stroke snowmobile engine = good times

  • CarKid1989

    Dec. 19, 2011 8:26 a.m. CarKid1989 Dork

    can you autox a golf cart in any class?? does any class allow a possibility for one to run?

  • Raze

    Dec. 19, 2011 10:37 a.m. Raze SuperDork

    CarKid1989 wrote: Why do i still want one so bad?

    Because...

    CarKid1989 wrote: How do i justify buying one?

    The ends justifies the means...

    CarKid1989 wrote: Should i even buy it?

    This is a rhetorical question...

  • alex

    Dec. 19, 2011 12:35 p.m. alex SuperDork

    They don't seem particularly practical or fun. I mean, jumping them off of or into stuff Jackass-style may be entertaining, but you can only destroy it once.

    Maybe get a buddy to buy one and make a backyard rallycross course? Or stage rally, if you live near the woods?

    On the street, around real cars piloted by inattentive morons who will give you even less respect if you're in a golf cart? No thanks.

  • CarKid1989

    Feb. 19, 2012 8:36 p.m. CarKid1989 Dork

    CarKid1989 wrote:

    can you autox a golf cart in any class?? does any class allow a possibility for one to run?

    ?

 
Tire Rack- Revolutionizing Tire Buying

You'll need to log in to post.