Just upgraded my 2001 3.5HP motor to the D&D/R4F 7.5HP. Happy with it.
That said, I was looking at electric motor specs across various golf carts and it seems like the HP ratings are kinda BS? I mean, you can drive an electric motor hard and get more HP for a short period of time, so are the HP ratings valid? Even at the same RPM, they might take more or less amps to get there and the torque curve might look different. Is there a better rating or do you really need to look across HP/Amps/RPM/Efficiency to get a feel for it? Or is HP stated to some standard and is actually valid?
In most cases it is a universal point in specs where the measure is drafted. Then others might be a little more creative on how and when their stick is measured.
Then there are the guys in marketing.
I guess what caught my eye were the 10hp motors for Club Car, etc from the same company (D&D). They cost a little less, which is kinda understandable, I’m sure the volume is higher. However, when you compare the 48v curves (to keep things equal) of the two motors, they produce similar HP at a given amperage. Yet the Club Car is a 10hp motor when GEM is a 7.5hp. Just doesn’t seem like a helpful rating. (side note - with the same motor, Club Car can only go 22mph? Tiny wheels and gearing? Not enough available amperage to really use 10hp?)
You may find this topic from the archives an interesting read.
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There are different ways to rate Electrical motors. If you google service factor you can learn about it. Basiclly it has to do with how much for how long and what parameters to use, The Ride4fun motor made by D&D is rated for 7.5hp, D&d makes a bigger motor that weighs way more but they show it at 7hp. One Big variable for Dc motors is voltage, the higher the voltage the higher the HP. Here is the same motor showing specs for 36v or 48v, same motor. 48 volt (11.4 horse power at 2300 rpm) or 36 volt (8 horse power at 1600rpm). Our Midvoltage battery with a 5hp factory motor will out perform a 7.5hp motor with lead batteries. We have run them at 96v and they are fast. Also motors can be designed for higher rpm or higher torque.
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