Wanting smoother ride

[baller32]

Not sure, but they are pretty low profile, I would hate to drop them to 8 or so......I might just look for a little bigger tire.

[CP241]

Originally Posted by baller32

Not sure, but they are pretty low profile, I would hate to drop them to 8 or so......I might just look for a little bigger tire.

At least for experiment purposes, running 8psi should give you a pretty good idea of "best case" with those tires. If you're currently at like 20psi it may make a huge difference, it may make none. Without knowing the size and current pressure of your tires, it's impossible to say.

It's important to understand how a suspension system works. I won't go into detail, but a "10 foot view" seems appropriate.

As someone previously stated, the tires are the first suspension component in a vehicle. They're in direct contact with the road/bumps/rocks/sticks/etc. Springs absorb some and also support the load of the vehicle. Shocks are designed to dampen what would otherwise be the equivalent of a pogo stick effect every time you hit a bump, and keep the spring from "springing" too much. Yes, shocks CAN make a softer ride or a harder ride depending on the shock dampening rate. Stock shocks are pretty soft so unless you've changed them out for a really heavy duty shock, then changing those are going to do nothing.

I've had low profile tires, and they all ride relatively rough. I've also had carts with 23" tires on 8" wheels and 25" tires on 12" wheels. the 23" tires on the 8" wheels kinda "floated" through everything. It was like driving a boat but fast corners were NOT that cart's strong point. Same with the 25's (though they were better than the 23's because of a larger wheel).

The more sidewall you have, the more "absorption potential" the tires will have. And the lower the air pressure, the more they'll absorb. But, lower air pressure will also create more surface contact with the tire to the ground, so drag will increase and it can affect speed and acceleration slightly. The trick is to find the tire size and pressure that's the happy middle ground to provide a nice ride, but not "drag" for lack of a better term.

I personally think 20x10-10 is the perfect size in most of the carts I've had. Provides a nice ride but not so much sidewall that it flexes like crazy during turns. but that's just my preference, everybody has their own. trick is to find what you like, and that just takes some experimenting

Luckily, golf cart wheel/tire combos are pretty easy to sell during your experimentation process



edit: also pay attention to tire construction. The more plies it has, the stiffer the tire's carcass is going to be. So a 2 ply tire will offer a softer ride than a 6 ply tire of the same size, but the 6 ply will be more resistant to punctures.

[4mula1fan]

I run 7 psi in the front, 14 in the back for passenger carrying capability. I have 23" tall tires on 12" rims. Mine rides and steers great.

[bighanded]

glad I came here and read first...was thinking I needed to chase some major suspension upgrades on what is really an old cheapo 2002 PDS/TXT

I think my tires are just too full..but our cart is 85% used on our property ..and there are some tree roots across some of the trails/route that we normall take and man!! those feel like they are about to break the cart and our kidneys along with it...hardly noticable on my ATV, but on the cart...ouch!

tire pressure adjusting will be a pain, cause a lot of time it's just me or just my wife on the cart doing chores on the property..sometimes we hop in together, or time, the family is over and 5 grandkids want to pile in ...anyway...holidays are here.. I'll mess with the tire pressure a bit and see if it can help enough..