I have a stock 02 i think Gem. It is all stock, 3hp motor with the 8:1 diff. I want to add a 7th battery like Jarjar did.
I cant find any firm data on how many volts the T1 can handle. I see some people use 20s and some up to 24s lifepo4 packs.
Eventually I will build a complete pack, but for now I’m going 7th battery.
You need to ask yourself what you hope to gain from this.
Are you still running the small wheel/tires? Then Ok. That is what the 8.9 gear set is good for.
Then you should seriously consider a motor upgrade first and get away from that 3.5 motor. Even the GE5 short motor would be a step up from that.
(where are you located?)
Then you can think about doing a battery upgrade.
The forum archives are a great resource. Use them wisely, as they are a window into the wild days and mayhem. That was a time when voltages were turned up until components started smoking.
For reference, the T1 and T2 controllers had maybe a 50% success rate when cranked up past 92v. It might be due to components manufactured on Tues vs Friday. Sometimes they would work fine, sometimes they would get real sketchy, and other times they would totally give up in glorious smoke.
The wise ones recommend to stay down below 90v and you should be good.
I bought my father the gem couple years ago. He passed recently, so I have the car now. Not looking to spend a ton of money on it. I would rather have a 05 and up. For now I’m just gonna buy some new tires and was thinking of adding the 7th battery as it seems like a nice little hop up.
I went through the brakes and it will lock the tires up now, so good enough for me. Ill just run it til something goes out and then think about getting a 05 or newer. If i can find a cheapish 5hp motor then I’ll swap it out. Cant see spending a G for a new motor for this year car.
I live in near Sacramento CA. Not too hilly and my only plans are just to cruise it around the neighborhood. 35-40 mph would be nice, but as everyone knows the suspension on these suck so 30 mph it fine with me. GPS shows I can hold 29 on a long flat run. 7th battery should help me sustain that for longer period of time.
Might go with 23" tires on the stock wheels. Just not sure how that will lug the motor.
K, I get it.
How do you know that you have the 8.9 gars in this car?
I guess i don’t, I talked to Bob I think at ride 4 fun and he said thats what came in the 3hp cars.
Hmmm… I thought the 8.9 was more of a small tire thing.
What tires are you running?
By chance does the gearbox still have a barcode/label on it?
Otherwise, you will have to count.
My 2000 back in the day was 3hp w 8:1 gears.
94v with a spoof with the highest I have got a t1 or t2 to work with.
Car never really ran right with DC lithium that high. Always had a stutter that I never figured out. Then I put in an AC kit. Then I was chasing suspension issues. Bought a 2016 and never looked back
How did th ac kit work out?
Thanks for the look at the sticker. I don’t have that number in my files. Having a 99 on the date code, 10in wheels, and a 3.5- I agree. Let’s say it has 8.9 in there. We can verify this later.
If I scrounge around in my junkpile, I might be able to build you a ratty motor for cheap. Let’s see what I can find.
Let me know what you have. I don’t know what year it is exactly. The vin tag has been melted by time and heat. The controller has a 01 date code. The charger says 2008 and is made by quick charge. The stock one must have sent bad at some point.
