Convert Your Gas Go-Kart to Electric

Written by mike on March 10th, 2010

Gas powered go karts are awesome fun – fast and noisy will put a smile on the face of any driver. But the undeniable torque available from an electric motor gives two advantages: insane acceleration and kick-ass hill climbing ability.

A quick instructables from a couple years back has info on retrofitting your gas-powered go-kart to run with a motor, battery and electronics. Turn it into a silent speed machine!

Motor:
Type: Series Wound DC Motor
Max Current: 300A
Cont. Current: 100A
Voltage: 36
Max HP: 15
Cont. HP: 5
Length: 14″
Diameter: 7″
Weight: 30Lbs

Controller:
Alltrax Series Wound Brushed DC Motor Controller
Max Current: 300A
Cont. Current: 100A
Max Voltage: 50V
Min Voltage: 20V
Throttle Type: 0-5k

Batteries:
Lithium Phosphate 42V/33AH system
Capacity (WH): 1.3KWH
Voltage: 42V
Capacity (AH): 32AH
Max Current: 800A
Cont. Current: 400A
Weight: 28Lbs

How does electric stack up to gas? The Mythbusters built and raced an electric go-kart against a gas powered one. The electric components (motor, batteries) doubled the weight of the cart, but even with that, the acceleration easily beat that of the gas version. With some tweaks, they felt they’d be able to have gotten the top speed up to that of the gas engine, too.

A user video of a converted racing go-kart shows the speed capabilities: