{"id":1162,"date":"2010-03-10T20:01:12","date_gmt":"2010-03-11T03:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikesenese.com\/DOIT\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2026-03-08T21:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T04:04:32","slug":"convert-your-gas-go-kart-to-electric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mikesenese.com\/DOIT\/2010\/03\/convert-your-gas-go-kart-to-electric\/","title":{"rendered":"Convert Your Gas Go-Kart to Electric"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

Motor<\/strong>:
\nType: Series Wound DC Motor
\nMax Current: 300A
\nCont. Current: 100A
\nVoltage: 36
\nMax HP: 15
\nCont. HP: 5
\nLength: 14″
\nDiameter: 7″
\nWeight: 30Lbs<\/p>\n

Controller<\/strong>:
\nAlltrax Series Wound Brushed DC Motor Controller
\nMax Current: 300A
\nCont. Current: 100A
\nMax Voltage: 50V
\nMin Voltage: 20V
\nThrottle Type: 0-5k<\/p>\n

Batteries<\/strong>:
\nLithium Phosphate 42V\/33AH system
\nCapacity (WH): 1.3KWH
\nVoltage: 42V
\nCapacity (AH): 32AH
\nMax Current: 800A
\nCont. Current: 400A
\nWeight: 28Lbs<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How does electric stack up to gas? The Mythbusters built and raced an electric go-kart against a gas powered one<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

A user video of a converted racing go-kart shows the speed capabilities:
\n<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bikes_autos","category-diy"],"yoast_head":"\nConvert Your Gas Go-Kart to Electric — DO IT: Projects, Plans, and How-tos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"# Google Meta Description Transform your gas go-kart into an electric-powered machine with our step-by-step conversion guide. 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