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Can a new electric motor mess up the transmission of a Club Car DS?

I have a gas-powered Club Car DS golf cart, and I’ve been thinking about upgrading to an electric motor. Is there any chance that I could swap out motors without wrecking my transmission? I don’t know much about this kind of engine replacement and don’t want to get myself into a frustrating situation.

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Jason Crosby · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
In short, you’ll need to replace the transmission in your Club Car DS if you’re swapping from a gas engine to an electric motor. This is due to the transmission differences between electric and gas vehicles. As we’ve covered before, gas vehicles rely on geared transmissions, shifting the car as the driver hits the gas pedal or applies the brakes, and the vehicle’s transmission relies on RPM tracking (if it’s an automatic). In electric vehicles, it’s quite a different setup.
Electric vehicles
use a single-gear transmission, because power is applied directly from the motor to the wheels. This eliminates the need for the engine to rev itself up in order to move the car forward. Instead, acceleration is near-instantaneous in an electric vehicle. For a golf cart, it won’t cost as much to put in a new motor and transmission as it would for a full-size vehicle, but expect to pay somewhere between $4,000-5,000 for parts and labor.
Swapping a gas engine for an electric motor is also a smart choice for your checkbook, and for the planet. By going electric, you’ll skip out on oil changes, oil filter replacements, and with fewer moving parts, you’ll have less upkeep to worry about. The one thing you’ll still need to consider, however, is golf cart insurance—something that’s often overlooked.
Make sure that your golf cart is protected with help from
Jerry
—if you’re shopping for golf cart insurance, Jerry will generate competitive quotes from top providers in less than a minute. You get all of the savings and coverage, with none of the hassles.
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