How to Adjust Evolution Golf Cart’s Manual Break Hardness

When it comes to adjusting an Evolution Golf cart brake hardness there are lots of steps that fall into it or you could potentially mess it up. I work at a golf cart dealership and we do lots of repairs and services like this and thus, I know what I am doing. So please, when you work on repairing something on your golf cart, only do it, if you surely know what you are doing. This report is for information purposes only. 

When you push down the manual brake of a classic model Evolution golf cart you may feel that it’s a little hard to push down all the way once in a while.  That’s when you know it’s time to adjust the brake on the cart. It’s not hard but it does take some time and you have to put some elbow grease into it.

The first thing you need to do when it comes to adjusting your golf cart brakes is locate the brake adjuster itself. Most of the time the brake adjusters are located on the rear wheels of the golf cart where the brake drums or the disc are located. Once you locate the brake adjusters, start to jack up your cart. Once you get the backside of your cart jacked up, prepare to remove the rear wheels. What you are going to need is a lug gun with a 17mm socket. Each socket is different for each car model. Once you get the wheels off, look for an adjustment nut or bolt connected to the brake system. Quite often, this is a threaded rod, although in some golf carts, it could be a star wheel controlling the brake shoes' or pads' position. 

Once you find the star wheel or nut/bolt of your golf cart’s brakes, then you are set to adjust the brake tension itself. Now, when it comes down to actually adjusting the brakes itself, there are two types of adjusters. One is called a Star Wheel adjuster. If your golf cart has a star wheel adjuster, the brakes could be tightened or loosened with a screwdriver or brake tool. Turning the adjuster one way will tighten the brakes while tightening it the other way will loosen the brakes. 

The other brake adjuster for a classic model golf cart could be a nut/bolt. If the golf cart’s brake has a nut/bolt, just use a wrench and turn. Generally, when adjusting the tension of the brakes by turning the nut or bolt counterclockwise, the tension will be reduced. This is because counterclockwise rotation generally loosens the bolt or nut, which makes the clamping force of your golf cart’s brake lower.

After finishing the adjustment of your golf cart brake’s hardness, do a full test to check if the brake is correctly working by pushing down the brake lever or pedal several times. This will ensure that the brake engages as usual whenever it is applied. Observe the brake of your golf cart during this action and adjust it accordingly. The brake must be adjusted neither too tight that it is hardly operable, nor too loose that it can have less effectiveness in braking. Getting the middle way is the secret to achieving the best braking performance of your golf cart and its safety.

After you do that, take your golf cart on a test drive and test out your brakes. If you still feel a problem with the brakes, take it to a nearby golf cart dealership or a service center for a professional review.

Don't miss this futuristic golf cart Mercedes-Benz teased in 2013. But I think this 2016 golf cart is more like Chevrolet.

Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and Youtube. He has more than a decade of expertise in the automotive industry with a special interest in Tesla and electric vehicles.