My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

Hello everybody.

I am new to the site and am in need of some general advice/help. I just installed a 6in RHOX lift kit and new 12in tires on my 08 Yamaha Drive. While i admit I am not the most technically savvy person, I was able to complete the job however, I have no noticed at speed the Golf Cart is extremely dangerous. I would expect there to be some general handling issues with a much higher center of gravity, but for a moment I was pretty worried about tipping over or out.

Is this normal, do I need to adjust anything, can I improve the ride now that I made it so much worse. I uploaded a photo.

Thank you.

Sorie

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

If you went from stock tires & height to that, you will notice a HUGE difference in handling. Without being able to drive it it's hard to say if it's normal or something is wrong, but I'd guess is normal since the center of gravity is probably a whole foot taller than it used to be and you're not used to it....

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

Too much lift IMHO. You can improve it some by installing stiffer springs..Jakes has a heavy duty set (for the rear only). You could also widen the stance (and improve stability) a bit if you install wheel spacers, but that would move the tires out beyond your fender flares.

I have an '07 YDRA with 3" lift, 22" tires with the Jakes HD springs - doesn't seem any 'tippier' than when it was stock.

Good Luck.

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

did you re-adjust your alignment?

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

RE alignment, if You are getting "darting" or sudden instability at speed or while accelerating, the alignment likely IS the main culprit ... You want roughly 1/4" to 1/2" of "Toe in" (meaning the distance between the front tires in the front of the tire should be about 1/4" to 1/2" less than the distance between the rear of the tire) ...

I generally bungee a pair of straightedges to the outside of each tire parallel to the ground to aid in measurement, set the toe-in to 1/4" and if it's still a bit squirrely then I slowly take it out to 1/2" or until it stabilizes - other factors that can come into play are 2-ply tires (completely unstable due to flex), excess play in the steering components (which will be multiplied by a lift and bigger tires) etc but generally, if it wasn't a problem BEFORE the lift and is now, the alignment is the number one culprit (I have had perfect carts become almost undriveable after a lift until the alignment was reset)

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

Waterboy is having trouble on alignment to his spindle lift and jadams says the spindle costs his uncle tires. I dont know which lift you have but if its the spindle it could be the problem. His was a club car.
But i definitely agree that higher lift more cautious the driver shall be....its real easy to tip over. I have 6 (non spindle) on my club car and it definitely handles differently. Check alignment like others say and drive and recheck.....it may fix your problem.

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

it is most likely alignment issues. also I can't remember exactly but I think the general rule is for every inch you go up you should widen your stance a half inch I think. so if you got a 6 inch lift you should get one and a half inch wheel spacers.
p.s if none of that works you could always go with outriggers:lhmo:

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

Concur.

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

All,

Thank you for the replies. I attached some shots of the tires just now. I am pretty sure you guys are spot on, it has to be the alignment. I will ask a friend who is way better at that sort of thing to help me out. And youtube. Thank you for the advice with a plum line. I will start with that info and go from there.

Thanks.

Re: My now lifted YAMAHA Drive is dangerous
 

Pictures tell a story.... Not only should the tires both be EQUALLY toed in a prescribed amount they also need to be cambered in a prescribed amount too. Either one out of tolerance and you've got an ill handling machine but if both are out of whack then the cart/car/truck it will drive very poorly....