How to Make an Electric Scooter go Faster 2021
What makes electric scooters so fun and one of the most popular vehicles to roam around? Surprisingly, there’s no specific answer as some find it more economical, and for some, it’s easily accessible. However, some of us are always eager to see how fast our electric scooters can go.
But is it possible to make your electric scooter go faster? The answer is yes, as there are a few tips or tricks through which you can get more speed from your electric scooter. In fact, I’ve implemented some of those tips on my scooter, and now I’ve changed its name to ‘Speedy Beast’!
So, sit back, relax and read these simple tips and tricks that can make your electric scooter faster than ever before.
Let’s get started!
Recommended Read: Useful Scooter Accessories 2021 | Must Have’s for a Safe Ride
6 Tips & Tricks on How to Make an Electric Scooter go Faster
#1 — Removing the speed limiter
Do you know that more than 40% of the electric scooters in today’s market are coming with a speed limiter installed? Generally, these limiters are either hard-wired limiters or firmware-based limiters. But, why are they present on your electric scooter at first, and what’s their purpose anyway?
Every other state or country has different speed limits set for electric scooters. For instance, in the USA, you can drive at more than 20mph in the streets. On the other hand, countries like France only allow electric scooters to move at 15mph on the roads. Hence, the manufacturers have to use these speed limiters while selling their electric scooters globally.
Now, how to remove these limiters to make your electric scooter go faster? Firstly, you’ll have to check whether your scooter uses a hard-wired limiter or a firmware-based limiter. For a hard-wired limiter, you can easily remove the wire connecting the throttle and controller to gain more speed. But, the whole process can become more tricky for firmware-based scooters.
Many scooters’ firmware has already been modified by other users. So, you can easily download those modified versions and increase the scooter’s motor speed.
Due to the increase in the motor’s speed, your scooter will now generate more torque and hence more speed. But, performing such action can also damage your scooter as more generated power will heat up your scooter’s temperature.
So, if you’re living in a hot climatic region, then make sure to keep an eye on your scooter’s overall temperature.
#2 — Try upgrading the batteries
Apart from the motor’s speed, another component that decides your scooter’s speed is its batteries. Usually, these batteries vary from 24 volts to 48 volts, depending on your electric scooter’s build and features.
But, 24-volt batteries are the standard ones that are found in most electric scooters. So, all you have to do is replace this battery with a new one, and that’ll undoubtedly make your electric scooter go faster.
Wait, is it all that easy? Unluckily no, this process is pretty complicated too, and one wrong step can result in damaging your vehicle. For instance, you can replace a 24-volt battery with a 48-volt one and believe that you’ve done a great job.
However, it’s possible that your electric scooter will not become fast, and instead, it will simply get burnt due to such high overload. So, what’s the solution in this case?
First, connect the battery and then remove the controller carefully. Now, you will have to re-configure your scooter’s system so that its engine can control such a high voltage. I’d personally recommend you to employ a person with technical skills as there’s no point in losing your vehicle only to make it faster.
#3 — Adding more units to the batteries
Have you also felt that your electric scooter usually starts faster, but it slowly declines as you cover more distance? If yes, then you’re not alone as I experienced the same thing too. But why does it happen? The answer to our question once again lies with our scooter’s batteries.
Such a situation is the perfect indication that your scooter’s batteries are depleting, and it’s time to put in an extra battery. Once you have added an extra battery, you can easily have a higher speed for the longer distances. Moreover, there’s no rocket science behind this tip as most of the electric scooter includes an extra battery slot.
But, what if we try to add two more batteries to our electric scooter? Indeed, that will make your electric scooter go faster, but it won’t be that easy.
Firstly, connecting three batteries is pretty tough as many scooters usually have two slots for the batteries. Secondly, adding more batteries can make your scooter a bit heavier, and it might take forever to charge your vehicle entirely.
#4 — Check the tire pressure
It might sound like a horrendous tip to increase your scooter’s speed, but your vehicle’s tire pressure can decide its speed. How? It’s pretty simple, increasing your vehicle’s tire pressure can decrease its rolling resistance, which means the motors have to deal with less resistance.
As a result, by keeping the tires’ pressure to maximum PSI value, you can increase the overall speed efficiency by 10-15%. Moreover, this rise of 10-15% in speed efficiency will eventually result in gaining 3-5mph to the top speed of your electric scooter.
On the other hand, if your electric scooter has pneumatic or air-filled tires, always prefer on-road tires over off-road tires. Why? Because on-road tires usually have a narrow surface contact profile and hence they do not feel grippy.
Meanwhile, off-road tires are known for broader surface contact area, resulting in losing a couple of miles for you.
#5 — Rewinding the motor and changing sprockets
One of the simplest and most effective tricks to alter your scooter’s speed is changing the sprockets. But, how to do this? Don’t worry, as all you have to do is change the front sprockets with much bigger sprockets. Now, similarly, you’ll have to change the rear sprockets but keep them shorter this time.
And, that’s it, this simple action will directly increase your scooter’s overall speed. Also, you can purchase sprockets for a quite low price from the market, so there’s no need to worry about spending too much.
Now, to gain some more miles per hour, you can rewind the hub motor, but this task will be the most complex one. Thus, my advice would be again to look out for an expert or a technician that can help you with this process. In fact, you can even send your scooter’s hub motor for rewinding, but that decision solemnly depends on you.
So, what will you be doing in this trick? In simple words, you’ll have to increase the number of windings in your scooter’s hub motor. To put it into context, increasing these windings by 50% can improve the overall speed by more than 70%.
But, rewinding the hub motor is a massive upgrade, and you’ll have to make a few more changes in your scooter accordingly. For instance, now that you have increased the windings, you’ll need bigger batteries on your electric scooter.
And, if you are going for the bigger batteries, you’ll also have to re-program the controllers so that they can support such high voltage.
#6 — Upgrade the speed controllers
Similar to hub motor rewinding, upgrading the speed controllers is out of bounds for most of us. But, upgrading them with the help of experts can generate a significant difference. In the case of speed controllers, their main purpose is to send the necessary power to throttle to operate your electric scooter.
However, many scooters can have a weak controller, due to which it offers less power to the vehicle’s motors than its capability. So, to unlock some more miles per hour on your scooter, you can go for some customized speed controllers. But, remember that installing a customized controller can invalidate your vehicle’s warranty.
Takeaway
There’s no denying that riding your electric scooter at top speed is one of the most thrilling experiences. But, due to the presence of speed limiters, most electric scooters can’t offer those thrilling rides. Don’t worry, as you can give it a try to the tips mentioned above, and you might ultimately get that extra 5 – 7 mph on your electric scooter.
At the same time, it’s necessary to understand that those speed limiters are present on your electric scooter for a reason. While the idea of going fast on your scooter can sound adventurous, it’s always better to remain careful and follow the standard procedures.
So, yes, you can imply these tips on your electric scooter but always maintain your vehicle’s speed while riding on streets or busy lanes. Moreover, always wear a helmet and never ignore the importance of other useful scooter accessories.
Lastly, I hope you enjoy your next ride a lot and always choose to remain safe while riding your electric scooter.
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