PERFORMANCE
This page is dedicated to ensuring our clients understand some of the performance upgrade options that make their custom GEM car stand out from the crowd. Not only do our cars look amazing, they drive amazing too. Single handedly the number one questions we receive from perspective clients looking to customize and upgrade their GEM cars are.. "How can I increase my top speed?", "How far can I go on a single charge?", "How many years will my batteries last?". With increasing technology improvements, Lithium Ion battery conversions are becoming the "Go To" battery choice for most people. This page will discuss some of these questions and help explain the differences and pro's and con's of each.
LITHIUM BATTERIES
With enormous upgrades in todays Electric Vehicle's, Lithium Ion battery technology has improved vastly over the past 2 to 3 years. We now offer complete "drop in" Lithium Ion battery kits for all future GEM car builds, as well as "drop in" kits for our past customers. We offer our standard 72V size for basic (non lifted) GEM vehicles as well as a high performance 96V size for our larger lifted GEM vehicles too. All of our kits are hand built and tweaked specifically to that particular GEM car. One main advantage in opting for Lithium Ion batteries, is far less weight. Overall weight savings can be anywhere from 300 lbs to 600 lbs depending on your vehicle setup, so the weight savings alone is massive. Acceleration is VASTLY improved over standard GEM car batteries and the range per charge is typically improved by 15% to 40%, sometimes even more. And best of all... the lifespan duration is far greater too. Most Lithium Ion battery kit's last as much as 8 to 10 years saving you money over the long run. Lithium battery kit's do cost more up front, but the performance and range improvements over typical standard GEM car batteries are far greater.
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If you are a client who has the summer/winter home and leave your GEM car for months at a time; Lithium is the RIGHT choice for you.
STANDARD BATTERIES
Standard GEM car batteries consist of 3 major types. Lead acid, AGM and GEL. These are the most common batteries available for GEM car owners and have been around for decades, so they are proven to work and they DO get the job done. "The problem" with standard GEM car style batteries comes in performance. Most of our custom built GEM cars have larger high power motors, larger wheels and tires and added electronics causing a greater draw on the electrical system. Our lifted GEM cars at ELEVATE DESIGNS come with all terrain tires that can create an even greater demand on the car. This translates to decreased range and a loss in overall vehicle battery performance.
If you are someone who won't be driving great distances and will only be using your GEM for short trips (1-5 miles per day for example) and are adamant about plugging your GEM car in regularly.... standard GEM car batteries will do perfectly fine. If however, you live in a hilly environment, or you may need longer range for your daily trips (10-20 miles per day), standard GEM batteries more than likely will struggle to perform, especially as they begin to lose charge throughout the day.
Our standard GEM car batteries do cost significantly less than Lithium Ion batteries (up front) and they will last every bit of 2 to 4 years on average (depending on usage and proper maintenance). So it all depends on what your needs will be.
We do have options for both customer needs so be sure to let us know and we will try our best to help source the perfect battery setup for your GEM vehicle.
UPGRADED MOTORS
99% of all GEM vehicles we, at ELEVATE DESIGNS build, receive a larger high power motor. In some instances, a customer may specifically not want the increased power and speed offered by the larger high performance motor. However, the vast majority of our customers do.
We offer high performance 11.6 Peak HP motors in every ELEVATE DESIGNS custom GEM car we build. This increases the overall top end speed and offers greater reliability and performance than a typical stock GEM car motor. Whether you decide to opt for the standard GEM car batteries or the upgraded 72v or 96v Lithium Ion high performance batteries, we will make sure you are dialed in and your car is working properly. With our high power motor and high performance Lithium Ion battery systems, you can expect to see speeds in the neighborhood of 35-40+mph depending on your specific GEM.