Which Golf Cart Engine Is Best?

Not so many years ago the battle raged on as to which golf cart engine was best - gas or electric. These days, thanks to modern technology there electric golf cart is the most popular choice both for efficiency and environment issues.

Electric golf cars use a bank of batteries that run the electric motor that the cart comes equipped with. You can use it all day and then you simply plug it in for the night to recharge. In the morning you are ready to go again. All that is needed to recharge is a regular power plug that is accessible to you.

Some manufacturer's offer a system that is called opportunity charging so whenever you aren't using it just plug it in and let it charge. This means you can charge it in short intervals. 10 minutes here or there and you will keep your cart charged up.

36 volt and 48 volt are the most common choices but the 48 volt models have a better performance record. You can also find 24 and 72 volt models on the market.

The change in the power that is available and the features that are offered today compared to just five years previous is quite incredible. For example regenerative braking which helps recharge the batteries has become very popular as has three shift operations especially since carts are used more than just for the golf course these days.

An electric cart is very affordable to operate. It costs about 10 times more to operate a gas model than it does an electric model and the electric golf cart engine is much more environmentally friendly producing no emissions. You can purchase a used cart starting at around $1500 and a new one starting at around $4000.

In recent years gas golf carts have died off in popularity but in certain circumstances they are still the number one choice. If you want to use them for hunting, farming, or trips that a require you to cover a greater distance with no electricity available for recharging, then gas is best. You can fill the tank and as well you can even carry an extra couple of gas cans with you.

The new 4 cycle engines run much quieter and cleaner than the old 2 cycle engines did and these 4 cycle engines mean there is no more mixing your oil and gas up which was a very messy job. But gas engines are still noisy and they still have emissions.

Besides electric and gas there are a few diesel utility carts on the market. Diesel is cheaper than gas and it is able to offer more torque but other than that they are comparable in price and performance to most gas models on the market. So if pulling a load is required diesel might be worth considering.

For the time being gas and electric engines will continue to dominate the market. In fact the technology from the electric golf cart engine is actually being used in the automobile industry.