Has anyone tried Allied Lithium batteries and how many did you need for up to 20 mile range with the Ride-4-Fun motor and controller upgrade with bigger tires and wheels. I have a 2005 E2 with Gel batteries and my range is down to 6 miles before going into turtle mode. Here Allied’s website Lithium Golf Cart and Boat Batteries – Allied Lithium Golf Cart and Boat Batteries
Sorry, You won’t get a high star rating on your plan here.
There are several issues. If you do a quick search of the archives you should find a few topics discussing these batteries and why these batteries are not favored.
You might even find people that have tried and not had good reviews.
However, You can also find a few good lithium solutions that would work good for your 2005(such as the link provided below).
This is an exciting time to think about doing a battery swap.
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I purchased 5 LiFePO4 18Ahm in December 2019 and had them installed in my 2008 GEM e2, replacing 6 gel batteries. I had already purchased and installed the R4F motor in 2018. From 01.01.2020 to 01.01.2021 I traveled 4,041 miles in my GEM e2. My car has 14” wheels. The motor controller was/is stock as far as I know. I travel on city streets at 35 mph without any issues. My range on a single charge would be approximately 45 miles. I have had multiple problems with my GEM e2, none of the problems have been related to the LiFePO4 batteries. I have over 1,200 miles on my GEM e2 so far this year.
Nice report @Lefty. Thanks for the feedback.
Have you been checking the balance on your 5 batteries every now and then?
How is the charger hooked up?
Do you know what you are charging to?
According to that, your gem is only using 28W/h per mile!
rofl.
I am a golfer, not an electrician. No skills or knowledge with electricity. I had an electrician with 25 years experience install the “plug-n-play” batteries. I paid him well. When I was converting from gel batteries to Lithium batteries, I was in contact with many people on this site, maybe you were one of those people? I was ready to send $1,000 down payment to one of the suppliers, and the supplier backed out. Another supplier’s response was; “drive that classic GEM off a cliff”. Due to the fact that I am not an electrician, and I did not want to spend $$$$$ on gel batteries, I selected Allied Lithium for their “plug-n-play” capabilities. I do not check the balance on the batteries, as I was not instructed to do this from Allied. All of my information to you is superficial information from my SOC meter on my car. After traveling 15 miles over a 5 hour time period, my state of charge normally is 45% to 50%, the volts are typically 78.50. After completing the charge, approximately 2 hours, the batteries are charged to 100% and 87.40 volts. Sorry, I am not electrical knowledgeable person. If you want, I will forward a letter to you, that I sent to Allied Battery, thanking them for a superior product. I sent that letter in February, 2-3 months ago.
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Ah, that makes more sense now. Appears that you had someone hook them up in parallel. That changes things…
That gives you about 90Ah so your range makes perfect sense for that at those speeds. Depends on your cart, but classic gems pull from 160 to 260 Wh/mile depending on load, how far you have your foot in it and if the rear brakes are dragging.
Not sure if 28W/hr is good or bad news for my 2008 GEM e2. Twice a week, my wife plays golf in the morning and I play in the afternoon. That’s approximately 30 miles. Without charging between rounds (not enough time to charge) the SOC meter typically shows 25% - 35% after completing the 30 mile trek. I have not actually done a long range test. The 35 mph speeds are for the 2-1/2 miles to/from a golf course on city streets. The golf course speed is obviously much less.
It’s likely impossible to be that low on flat ground. I few of us have done tests independently of each other and seems that classic GEMs pull around 160 to 260Wh mile average. On the golf course, you might dip under 160 because of the more controlled acceleration and much lower top speed.
After your post that explained a bit more, it seems your batteries were installed in parallel, which gives you 90Ah, so 35 mile range is perfectly dooable.
One thing though is that most of your mileage on the golf course, you aren’t pulling any heavy loads, On a hard launch, I’ve seem my ammeter at 300amps load, It’s unlikely that the Allieds can take that for long.
Basically, the allied’s work for you mainly because you aren’t pushing them very hard. Blindly touting them as a solution for other people with vehicles in different situations, when you yourself don’t even know they work in your vehicle is disingenuous at best.
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E2 Pulls less energy because obvious reasons (smaller and lighter than E4 and E6).
Speed and Acceleration are the enemy of the batteries because that’s where Most of the juice is needed.
Even a Tesla rated at 300miles EPA will drive way more at Turf speeds.
We are not Saying they are bad, I personally love that Chemistry which is Very safe but for other uses like Energy Storage and Solar.
I don’t like the idea of having 6 Batteries and 6 bms. Also, depending on where are your Main positive and main negative your batteries might be getting out of balance on each cycle.
It might work in your specific case but there are other options that are Cheaper, Better and even easier to install.
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I just pulled the spec sheet on the batteries, 32A max discharge current. So, if it distributes evenly across the pack, that’s 150A ish max discharge current,
I wouldn’t even be able to use them in my eL, my current draws are way higher, they would be either tripping offline or I’d just blow up the onboard bms’es .
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The scenario I play in my head has everything happy until you get close enough to trip the weakest BMS(or the first one in the pack?). Then all of them will cascade/fail like a zipper.
It would be really difficult to wire this up totally perfect so they all draw the same.
@Lefty - It’s great that your cart is working for you.
Do you recall how your installer got your cart to do 35MPH?
Also - How did he adjust the controller to accept the Higher Voltage of the Allied batteries?
Earlier in this string, I was accused of “blindly touting them as a solution for other people with vehicles in different situations, when you yourself don’t know how they work in your vehicle is disingenuous at best.”
To be clear, I did not tout them as a solution. I relayed my experience with Allied lithium batteries after using them for 16 months. They have been money well spent from my perspective. Maybe I mentioned I am not knowledgeable with electricity, I am golfer.
In regards to “you yourself don’t even know how they work in your vehicle.” I plead guilty, very guilty. That would be the exact reason I purchased Allied lithium, plug-n-play.
How did I get my GEM to 35 mph? My GEM had the “magic magnet” adjustment prior to my purchase, I am assuming, as it went 35 mph when it arrived to me. I had the R4F motor installed to insure problem free operation of my GEM, as I knew I was going to put a lot of miles on it. I have 14” wheels on my GEM. The motor controller is original, as best I can tell. I actually have no idea, as I purchased it as a used vehicle.
I live in Las Vegas, NV. If you are planning a trip to Las Vegas and… you want to play some golf, and…. also want see my GEM e2 with Allied lithium batteries, I extend an invitation to you. I will treat you to a round of golf at Golf Summerlin. This invitation includes the person who accused me of being disingenuous at best.
Last tid bit of information… On my dash board, to determine my “real speed” when traveling on city streets, I take the speed reading on the speedometer, lets say 10 mph, multiply that speed times 2-1/2 and that number equals (very close) the real speed of my GEM e2. So, 10 mph on speedometer actually is 25 mph, verified with GPS. I routinely travel at 14 mph (35 mph) to/from the golf course. I travel down hill to the golf course and up hill back home again. The only thing that can slow me down is; a concluded golf round, headed home up hill, with my wife aboard and traveling against a strong wind.
As the builder of the MM I can advise on care and feeding. 
Switch your speedometer to KPH and speed will read 0-40mph correctly. (long press)
If it is off a couple mph will advise on adjustment.
Times 2-1/2 is not correct for MM. Are you sure that is what you have? if yes, look at it, should be set at on-off-on inside.
You may have a gear change that is adding speed in addition to MM.
You’re alright man, at least you’re honest about your part in electron slavery. I’m the notoriously cranky guy. I don’t golf though. How about hitting a decent brewery instead? (and no, Gordon Biersch does not count)
I have an ATV Speedo/Tach that I installed years ago when I upgraded to the R4F motor and 14" tire upgrade. It gives me exact speed and I tapped into the motor magnet to also give me motor RPM as you can see
This is the 2nd, tidbit of information;
I purchased my 2008 GEM e2 from a gentleman in Lancing, MI via eBay in July of 2019. I had it shipped to Las Vegas, about $2,000.
In his preparation to sell it, he had installed brand new Dekka gel batteries.
All of the speeds with my Allied lithium are exactly the same, as they were with the new gel batteries. It ran great! It ran great with the original motor, which is still in my garage. The problem with gel batteries is, they lost power/speed on my uphill homeward trek from the golf course. Also, burned thru the new Dekka gel batteries in 11 months. Also gel batteries are heavier than crap and a pain in the rear to change. Also, I would never trust it for a 36 holes golf day (wife in the AM and me in the PM)
My point is… there is zero difference between the performance of my GEM e2 with the new gels and my still new Allied lithium… with the 2 exceptions; 1) It steers a lot easier 2) It is quicker from 0 mph to whatever speed to intend to go. My cart lost 331 pounds of gel…
Dave Eklund
Las Vegas, NV 89144
harleydave@cox.net
702.972.3494