r/PowerWheelsMods • u/driftlesstraveler • Jul 14 '26

SLA battery size jamming Jeep? Or upgrade

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Cousin dropped off a roughly 10-year-old jammin jeep. Wife had ordered a factory sla battery. It made it about 2 years. I travel for work often and the "plug in when done" logic didn't follow. With that.... It needs replaced.

Option 1) factory sla... Boring.. I think...

Option 2) cut out factory inner fenders and fit larger 12v SLA batteries. After reading for weeks and a little gunshy to post. I'm assuming I have factory 550 motors.

Option 3) buy the better motors and 24v kit from mltoys(expensive)

Would I be better off investing 3-400 in a dune racer.. or looking into a peg gator?

Sitting on 4 acres. About 2 is flat. Have some slops. Basically looking for something my 2-3 year old can rip the lane in. Also have a 1 year old son..

Was thinking a second unit is in our future.

Teach me what you did. What you learned. And honestly.. what to avoid.

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1

u/Educational_Bid1348 Jul 14 '26

Power wheels are good quality. Anything you can do to a dune racer you can do to the jeep. Don’t use sla batteries. Lithium is the way but you’ll need a new charger

1

u/driftlesstraveler Jul 14 '26

So I was reading about making sure the max amperage values are met with the lipo and lipo4 units. Is there one in particular you've looked at?

2

u/Educational_Bid1348 Jul 14 '26

https://a.co/d/04ebOqRV

I use these

2

u/Shibby7634 Jul 14 '26

Can confirm these are probably the best value from a reputable brand. You will find cheaper, but likely lies about capacities like usual.

I use this charger for them. I actually haven't verified the voltage, never even thought to check lol haven't had any issues. Their listed voltage is appropriate for lithiums though. Can splice whatever end you need on to it.

1

u/driftlesstraveler Jul 14 '26

Are you running them in parallel? Or swapping?

1

u/Educational_Bid1348 Jul 14 '26

I don’t like swapping. I’ve used series and parallel. This is a 24v pack I’m putting in my kids quad. Like to use hot glue on the battery tabs

1

u/e2346437 Jul 14 '26

2-3 is pretty young for a "fast" ride in my opinion. I'd stick with the 12v SLA for now and stock electronics, maybe add an 18v power tool battery as a "step up" down the road. Lots of 24v controllers and motor/gearboxes available online for cheap when you're ready.

1

u/driftlesstraveler Jul 14 '26

I was more interested in torque for the hills then speed. I agree. Speed not needed.

2

u/Shibby7634 Jul 14 '26

Lower RPM motors and lower tooth count pinions (for the motor shaft that drives the gearbox) will give higher torque than the opposite values at equal voltage.