no it’s because the compartment itself is literally deeper in the center than on the ends because of the shape of the deck. If you put about an inch and a half of empty space between the pack and the front of the compartment you can just drop the lid on and it fits over the pack just fine.
once bolted down the lid doesn’t flex at all. Between the corrugated shape of the lid and the material its made of, once bolted down it doesn’t bend or flex.
that just adds to the height of the pack. Unless you welded your pgroups into series front-to-back instead of using braid or wired jumpers, you wouldn’t have needed it because the pack would have been so snug it has to be pressed in. Unless you used that paper thin 3M double sided stuff wich would not have added any height. That stuff is great for this kind of thing.
So it would seem that unless you want to use spacers either on the lid or on the ESC, getting more than 40 18650s into an otherwise stock Evolve CGT Gen3 isn’t happening.
The only reason i don’t use additional mods when doing this service is because part of the deal is for it to look completely stock outwardly. Any evolve can be taken up to 12Ah and have sag reasonably mitigated without doing anything at all to the board that alters its outside appearance. That’s important because most people don’t want weirdness on their board, and they like the way it rides and feels already.
BGTs and GTXs get their decks machined to relocate the BMS and accommodate for taller cells (GTX already has the cell space machined out, shockingly exactly the way, dimensions and everything, i was doing it on the BGT prior to the release of the GTX ) and their enclosures trimmed a little around the threaded inserts to allow for pack wiring to pass by them without being pinched. CGTs get exactly the same pack but the fit is snug so the pack gets pressed in a little. Not pounded in or pinched excessively, just a very exact fit that doesn’t allow it to move around at all.
ESCapes are as close as 300 miles on their way. Plan is to use those or put them in my century and stormcore the Evolve. Have Haggy 2in1 on the way. Hence my interest in the conversion kit to match my century.
Thanks for the info. Getting excited to put together a second board.
There is no way this lid closes all the way in the front.
At best, water can get inside. At worst, you are standing on the cells as they are vibrating inside an electrically-conductive box – just a matter of time before abrasion takes its toll.
water gets inside before the mod too… The 8 bolts has too much space between them for a good seal unless you take measures to prevent it.
As for worst case, I’ve put thousands and thousands of miles on it with no sign of even abrasion wear on the heatshrink. I run bits of double sided foam tape to keep the pack from moving the slightest bit, the only thing is the pressure of standing on them, which as far as I can tell they do not care about it at all either. No dents on the cells or whatnot, functions perfectly normal.
I think the concerns are justified but exaggerated if proper measures are done to keep the pack safe…
it does look ridiculous.