u/gourdo

I recently got a 2020 Onward HP that I plan to upgrade: Lithium battery, Navitas controller and motor, aiming for 25-26 mph. I suspect I won’t get much of anything for the HP drivetrain since no one wants a six year old AC drivetrain that only does 19mph. But it would be a decent upgrade for my old DS, assuming it wouldn’t be painful to retrofit. Question is really how much work this is. Am I custom fabricating metal adapter plates to get the motor and controller to fit? Do I have to swap out the pedals for a modern precedent/tempo set?

Currently have a factory lead acid pack that's close to running it's life, so I think it's time to upgrade to Lithium. I live in a somewhat hilly community (no more than about a 20% grade for 50-80 yards per hill), so I want the battery to eventually support a 600A/5kW controller/motor swap to gain a bit of speed (25mph desired) and a bit more torque for the hills when loaded with 6 people. I don't see ever traveling more than 15 miles a day, but mostly it'll be under 5 miles.

My research suggests a 48V 100-105Ah pack should be fine, and it should handle 200A continuous and 600A peak discharge(?)

Thoughts overall and brands I should consider? Seems like Ecobattery is a good choice, though a bit on the expensive side.

Looking for a 6-seater and had a conversation with a builder today who said that he generally didn't trust any of these no-weld aftermarket kits for longevity. He said CLub Car uses a solid frame for its 6-seaters and the aftermarket kits can be hit or miss after long-term use with loaded carts on hills and rough terrain.

What's the consensus on this?

I also asked Claude which suggested that... > it depends heavily on the kit, the install quality, and how you load it. A stretched frame introduces two splice joints into what was a continuous rail. Those joints are the weak points — they concentrate stress exactly where the original frame had none. Done expertly (clean cuts, proper reinforcement sleeves, good welds on the aluminum, correct torque), a spliced frame can be very strong; done with bolts alone or a sloppy weld, the joints become fatigue and flex points over years of loaded use.

Have been looking at some new Onward LiIon carts, but for ~$17-18k for a 6-seater, 3.1kWh lifted, I feel like I shouldn't be forever stuck doing 19mph. I want it to do 25 ideally and that doesn't seem possible with these carts unless I take it down to the chassis and replace everything. Should I look at older lead-acid carts from like 2018 or something and just do a LiIon battery swap and motor/controller upgrade instead? Is Yamaha or EZGO a better path?

I've stayed away from Chinese carts so far, but they're awfully tempting for the price.

I have several high-end watches that I wear sparingly. I have a cheap-ish Mido automatic that I wear when traveling or when I feel like my watch might be subjected to shock or rough handling. But I don't like having to always having to wind it, set the time/date and feel like its automatic movement is really basic, not all that accurate, is still somewhat susceptible to shock and is only rated to 5 Bar. I want to move to something that is more flexible, easier to wear and effectively zero maintenance.

Wants:

• Light weight & very comfortable
• 37-40mm wide. (Ideally 38-39mm)
• Will take a beating.
• Bracelet or rubber strap.
• As close to zero maintenance as possible (no winding or battery swaps)
• No date preferred, but if one is present, then perpetual calendar so I don't have to set the date a lot.
• Water resistant for swimming
• Sapphire crystal
• Interesting dial, nicely finished case

I feel like I could probably find a lot of this in a G-Shock, but chunky proportions and digital displays don't generally interest me stylistically (maybe the 3-hander Oceanus could work?) In any case, the AQ4100/AQ4091/AQ4041/AQ4020 lines look ideal to me. Eco-drive sounds like a dream and Titanium is the perfect lightweight material. They pretty much check all the boxes. I think I could do without the bird logo, but it doesn't bother me too much.

What am I missing? I think the Citizen may be the ideal zero maintenance watch, but they're a bit hard to come by. I see a few located in JP on Chrono, but I'm not really certain about duties/tariffs into the US nor what I should be paying for say an AQ4100