Lifted 04 TXT shredding front tires

BigRobb716

I have an 04 ezgo txt pds model. A few years ago I put a Jakes 6" drop spindle lift kit and HD rear springs on it. It has Sahara 22x11-12 tires also. I ruin a pair of front tires of every year, the passenger side is always worse but both are bad. I keep replacing them with the same tires and have a local golf cart shop align it afterwards. Everything seems fine for awhile but then they suddenly show wear, quickly. They tend to wear in the center which I've found strange. I adjust the tire pressure the according to the tire, 15-20lbs. I use the cart about 5 days a week and it's driven primarily on pavement. The rotation arrows are oriented correctly. I have been checking the front end and I just found the right outer tie rod was loose. The castle nut at the bottom of it was loose even though it had the cotter pin in it. I tightened it up which seemed to take all of the play out of it. The spindles have a very small amount of up and down play on the king pins but I think that is normal. There isn't any side to side movement in the spindles so I assume the bushings are good. All of the other nuts and bolts seem tight. When it's jacked up, the front wheels spin freely although the passenger side slows down faster than the drivers side. Is it possible that the loose nut on the tie rod end caused my problems? Does it have to do with using off road style tires on pavement? The set up that i have seems like a common one. Plenty of carts in my neighborhood have the same lift and tires on a TXT and aren't having issues. I attached a few pics to help show what I mean. Any input would be appreciated. This will be my 4th set of front tires in 4 years, it's getting old and expensive. Thanks!

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ARKSoft84

I'm not a professional, but, in my opinion, and judging by how your tires are wearing you have to much air in them.

Suspension components wear tires uneven, inside or outside... Air problems, to much wear in the center, to little on the outsides.

Your tire probably says something like 9 psi max on the side of it.

BigRobb716

Thanks for responding! I'll check my tire pressure when I get home and see what it says. I think the tire says 20 psi is what's appropriate. The wear pattern, especially on the passenger tire, seems weird. It's worn in the center but somewhat off-center to the inside if that makes sense.

Gregorio

Inflation pressures on the sidewalls only show MAX inflation pressure, not recommended. Most of that wear looks like over inflation. However, there might be other factors at play. The loose nut could be a contributor but I think there are other things going on as well. If it was only inflation, it would be a little more centered and more even between left and right tires. Did you change the offset tremendously from stock? Do you drive a lot on crowned roads?

Marauder

Regarding tire pressure, A trick some use on big off-road truck tires is to get in a flat surface where you can drive straight for a handful of tire revolutions and park the vehicle. Have the tires pumped up to the top of the range you expect to work.

Rub a chalk line across the width of the tire tread and maybe a couple inches thick using sidewalk chalk or whatever chalk your kids have.

Then roll forward a few revolutions without turning the steering wheel at all.

Look at the chalk that is left on the tires. If the tires are overinflated there will be chalk left on the outside edges. Drop pressure a little and test again till you get a contact patch you like.

This may not directly carry over to golf cart tires since some are rounded versus a flat contact patch. But it might help some.

4mula1fan

I run 7 lbs in my front tires with no issues.

Cruise Master

Could it be that everything is more or less fine on your cart and that the Sahara 22x11-12 are just soft rubber tires, and that 5 days a week running them on hard surfaces is just too much for them? After four years and four sets you know it's not due to tire defects.

Passenger DOT tires have codes on them showing the ability to take wear. Clicky

BigRobb716

Thanks everyone for your input. Sorry i went radio silence for a while. Life got busy. I do have my new tires on so I will try the chalk method. I have my new tires at 10 psi to see if that helps. It's hard to find a tire gauge that reads less than 10 psi. The max operating range of the tires is 20 psi. My concern all along with the saharas is that they are soft tires and don't do great as steer tires. My other concern is the dro spindle lift kit. I think that contributes to the tire wear. I'm gonna keep looking and I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks again

Gearhead1956

Don't thing its any ONE thing, but a combination.

Off road tires ( soft ) used on street.

Too much air

sounds like you use your cart much more then most people.

Thinking you do more left hand hi speed turns, puts more pressure on the right tire

Driving style, betting you don't drive like a little old lady

BTW, you don't have a posi rear end do you! That will always create front tire scuff.

BigRobb716

So I think you're correct! With everything you said. I lowered the tire pressure for starters. I did drive it pretty hard and I do use it a lot. I guess I'll just wait and see. Thanks for the input.