any reasons not to lengthen wheelbase?

baldheadguy

Hi,

I'm new to the forum, so I apologize if this topic has been already beaten to death. I searched a little, but couldn't find a thread.

I just bought a '94 cc. The seller thought his greatest selling points were the new batteries and new tires he just put on the cart. In reality, I place very little value in the crappy batteries and tires he installed. To me the cart was attractive because of the reason it needed batteries and tires. It had been sitting in a garage unused for a least a decade. Cosmetically and structurally the cart, and the charger, appear almost new.

Anyway, when I test drove it, the steering and handling were horrible. I've never owned a lifted cart. My carts have always been stock suspension, with 10" or 12" wheels, with low profile DOT approved tires, and always driven on paved roads. So I had pretty low expectations for a jacked up cart on balloon-ish tires on 8" rims, but this was rediculous. Just by looking I could tell that the alignment had significant toe-out, and I assumed that with 5 minutes I could fix that.

Well...things aren't so simple. After buying the cart and getting it home, I found out that the reason the alignment wasn't adjusted properly was because the adjustment was already maxed out. It turns out the cart had been lifted using a "Cletus & Bubba Spindle Lift". I don't know if the spindles were custom made backyard specials, or if they were canabalized from some other type of vehicle, but they don't appear to be one of the commercially available lift kits.

I'm still hoping to tweak this cart and avoid the significant cost of replacing a lot of parts. First order of business is going to be extending the drag rod that runs between the spindles so I can increase the range of adjustment and get a proper toe-in.

The next problem is that the seller put on some absurdly large tires. (Actually many of you probably have much larger tires, so I don't mean to offend anyone. My needs are for a cart that will spend its entire life on paved roads.) When the steering wheel is turned as far left as possible, the outside edge of the left tire rubs against the round tube portion of the frame that runs laterally across the cart. This does not happen with the right tire when the steering wheel is turned to the right side. Hmmmm. This may be due to the fact that the spindles weren't manufactured to the extreme tolerances that you would normally expect out of Cletus and Bubba. But I digress.

The easiest solution I see to fixing the rubbing is to simply lengthen the wheelbase of the cart. Is there any reason why I shouldn't do it? It seems like it would be pretty easy to just drill a few holes and slide the whole front end about 1 cm" forward.

I know it will *slightly* reduce turning radius. -- I don't care.

I know it will *slightly* alter the weight distribution. I don't think it will have much of an impact.

I *think* the tie rod end on the steering drag link has enough range of motion to deal with the mod.

Is there anything I am missing? If not, is there any advice you have before I get started?

Thanks,

TJ

BGW

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Stevegrmich

One centimeter? That's less than 1/2" . . . that would be enough to resolve your front end issues?

scottyb

Your typical CC Z lift raises the cart 3 and lengthens it 3" ...
Jakes makes a front end spacer plate for this cart... I think it will give you what you want (1.5 or 2")
Check that out and good luck.

shadowman

if you don,t need it lifted and with bigger tires why not just put it back to stock? seems a better solution than cutting, drilling on it , that is if stock suits you..................................

sunoco

I just put a lift on. Everything stock i took off could be had cheap.

I also have 4 almost new 205 50 10 tires i swapped for bigger

Where are you located

baldheadguy

Thank you for the replies.

Stevegrmich: You are correct. One centimeter ain’t gonna do much. I feel like a jackass for suggesting it. You’ve encouraged me to look at the bigger picture.

Scottyb: Your comment makes it clear to me that I should scrap the lift on this cart. By “Z lift” I assume you mean spindle lift. I don’t have a stock Club Car here for comparison, but it looks to me that this spindle lift didn’t lengthen the wheelbase at all. That, combined with the fact that the rod isn’t long enough for a proper toe it, and there is no camber adjustment, makes me realize I just need to open the wallet and fix this thing properly with a real front end.

Shadowman: Back to stock is certainly an option, but I’d need to purchase new wheels / tires / suspension parts. I may be able to get a better handling cart for the same money and effort.

Sunoco: I’m in NC. I have a gmail account with the same username as my username on this forum if you want to ping me there. Thanks.

So, the real question is, what configuration makes the most sense? I plan to use the cart exclusively on paved roads. Much of the time it will have just a driver, but at times there will be as many as 4 adults on it. I intend to have a top speed in the range of 20 – 23 mph.

I have a spare set of 12” wheels. Am I better off putting the cart back to a standard suspension and running a low profile tire like a 205-35-12? Or am I better off lifting the cart and using a DOT approved tire like the 165-70-12 made by Yokohama? My gut tells me the 70 series tires will be a much better ride. If I do lift it, what are the pro/cons of spindle vs other types of lifts?

Thanks again,

TJ