I need to go faster! Well, there are a number of ways to get you moving down the path to stay out in front of the walkers. Some are cheap and easy, others not so much. However, first things first. Legality and liability must be considered. If you are on a public road, a golf car (by legal definition) can only seat 2 and be capable of 15 miles per hour. If it's been modified to go faster or hold more people, then it must meet the requirements of a regular motor vehicle... and that's impossible. Speed upgrades run the risk of an altercation with 5-O. Even worse, you significantly increase the risk of injury/death to yourself and others. Proceed with caution.
Now assuming you are driving on private property and want to go faster than 15mph, the following are typical methods to achieving this. This is of course for hypothetical, informational purposes only... say for a zombie apocalypse survival scenario contingency.
Re-program
Many electric golf cars (the EZGo RXV for example) can simply be plugged in and re-programmed for more speed. This is an easy 4 1/2 mph increase in the case of the RXV. Others have "speed chips" that can be replaced for a higher maximum speed. This is without a doubt the least expensive speed upgrade and the first to do if your car is capable.
Tires/Wheels
The typical 18" stock turf tire travels 56" in one revolution. If you size up to a 20" tire, the car moves forward 63" in one rev, an increase of 12%. Most cars can accommodate a 20" tire without a lift. Keeping with the RXV example, now you are cruising at almost 22mph. Want more? Go up to 22s or even 24s but keep in mind your center of gravity is also going up with the lift necessary to accommodate those gansta wheels. A higher CG means more instability in the turns at speed.
Gears
Typical gears are 12.5:1. By gearing up to 8:1 or 6:1 an additional 8mph and 14mph is possible (respectively) with stock tires and motor. Now you are really rippin' and a twitch away from flipping that sucker. Changing the gears puts more electrical load on everything in the system. Upgrades to the controller, wiring and batteries may be necessary to accommodate the new gears. You've also turned it into a flat-land rig so forget about any kind of hill climb capability.
Motor
A bigger (more horsepower), higher rpm motor is the final upgrade. Combined with gears, a monster controller, huge wires and lots of battery capacity, speed freaks get 50mph with off-the-shelf parts. This will also require a fat stack of cash as speed doesn't come cheap. At this point you've pretty much replaced the entire electrical drive system.
Consider the risks and be sure you do lots of homework if you're after big gains. Have fun and above all, be safe!
