Yamaha G2 Suspension Question

[J-ROB]

I am wanting to lift my new to me G2.

While I do think the look is cool, I am mainly interested in being able to go faster while keeping the engine at a reasonable RPM. I did adjust the slack out of the throttle cable and adjusted the governor all the way up. By GPS I was bouncing between 19-21mph. I did back it off about of the quarter of the way with the end result being 17mph with occasionally 18mph popping up for a second or two. The engine sounds so much smoother at this speed so I will leave it here.

Now for my questions about the suspension. Most of the lifts I have seen that aren't block lifts state that you have to switch to at least a 10" wheel. My question is do you have to run wheel spacers or anything like that? Is there a particular wheel offset that I need to look for?

As for tire size, I see that with a 6" lift I can fit 22"-23" tires, what kind of top speed could I expect if I am running 17mph with stock tire diameter?

The all-terrains look cool, but I am using my cart 99% of the time on the paved roads in my neighborhood. Is there a notable road noise difference between the all terrains and street tires? My only experience is with full sized trucks with a lot more road force and highway speeds, the noise is quite a bit more. Just wondering how noticeable it is on a golf cart. Also, due to the relatively low speed of golf carts, is there a noticeable handling difference on pavement between the all terrains and street tires?

Lastly, curious if anyone had any thoughts on these two lift kits.

https://www.golfcarttiresupply.com/y...gas-1985-1994/

https://www.golfcarttiresupply.com/y...rts-1985-1994/

Just curious what the deal with the $100 price difference is? They both look similar and appear to have the same components. Curious if the extra cost is due to quality difference or because the RHOX brand is more popular?

Sorry for the long-winded post, I am a complete newb here, I have only had my cart since Sunday. While I want to mod the heck out of it, I also want to be mindful of my budget and not end up buying something that I am ultimately unhappy with because I rushed and didn't research beforehand.

[CP241]

I cant speak for the rhox lifts but I've used several different steeling lifts on various brands of carts, mostly because of the price difference. I cant say anything bad about any.of them.

Yes, there is a noticeable difference between the more aggressive all terrain tires and street tires. I wouldnt say its unbearable but it will make more noise than stock or street tires.

My G9, with governor just past the middle (where the engine was quiet and amooth) and 20" tires would cruise 20-21mph. Maybe eek out a few more mph with a 22" tire.

If you really want to do it up right, call don plowman and order one of the performance kits. Sure, it's a little pricey but you're buying good stuff from someone that probably knows more about yamaha carts than anyone else in the country. Especially when talking about the G2/G9's. Hes been doing this game forever...

https://www.plowmanscarts.com/carts....1517588174&v=2

[slonomo]

I have lifted several Yamaha carts and maybe can give you some helpful tips.

Yamaha G1, G2, G9, G16 are all good carts and built very tough and hold up very well even with off road abuse. I have experience with all of those models, I believe they are the best and toughest golf carts ever made.

With that said....the front suspension design is not made for anything other than standard golf course type use. The shocks are weak. The design is a single a arm (aka swing arm) type and is prone to lots of camber and toe issues, especially after lift. I have experimented with all kinds of different types of shocks, atv, Harley, air, utv, car/truck....just no way of improving the single a arm design. What I found is if you keep the travel to about 2-3" with stiff shocks and springs you can get it to feel pretty safe at high speed, as long as the camber and toe settings are spot on. With any kind of extra suspension travel the camber will change and the steering gets squirelly. Not ideal for higher speed driving.

For you, I would highly recommend the Jakes Long Travel kit. It's twice the price of the other kits.....but it's 10x the suspension! The handling difference between a standard lift kit and the LT kit.....NIGHT AND DAY! I know, it's hard to swallow the price of the kit. But once you drive it around you will thank yourself for spending the dough.

Tires? Get yourself a name brand like Maxxis or Duro or Carlisle or Kenda, they will be built well and will ride good and will last a long time. If you drive off road at all, go with a milder all terrain with a little less open tread. It will give you a good grip in dirt/grass but also be good on the road. Noise shouldn't be obnoxious at 20-30 mph. You'll hear the engine over the tires any day.

Wheels? They do have different offsets. Check out these videos.

You Tube

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[J-ROB]

Thank you both for the info!

I only paid $940 for the cart, you're right the $700 for Jake's long travel kit is a hard one to swallow. I'm gonna have to think about that one for a bit. Maybe I'll hold off on the lift to make sure I still love the cart in a couple of months as much as I do today.

[CP241]

Everything he said is WRONG. He knows nothing.


Just kidding, sorry slo trying to live up to my "title"

Slo is right on the money.

Long travel is best you're gonna get. But just to throw it out there, all sports has a 7" double a-arm lift kit that wont break the bank like a LT kit will. It wont ride as nice or articulate nearly as well, but a nice compromise. If you're not off reading it, I dont know that youd ever really take advantage of a LT kit anyway. And should be able to fit 24-25" tires on it (which makes finding/buying tires a lot easier. Carlisle AT489 are stock OEM tires for Polaris 4wheeler and side by sides. they ride nice and look good. Added bonus, they're DIRT cheap used. Last set I picked up for under $100 still had the nipples on them. Folks buy a new 4wheeler and the first thing they do is get home and put on aftermarket wheels and mud tires. Then sell basically brand new stocks for super cheap.

[J-ROB]

Hey CP, thanks for the info, and I know Slo is right!! Since I will barely do any off pavement driving, not too worried about the articulation or smoothness off-road.

Please post a link to the all sports kit, I haven't been able to find it.

With the tires you mentioned above, the stock Polaris tires. Will the stock Polaris wheels work with the lift as well, or do I still need to buy golf cart wheels?

Thanks again for all of the info!

[CP241]

https://www.allsportsliftkits.com/co...g2-g9-lift-kit

Anyone that carries all sports kits should be able to order it if they don't stock it already.

Jakes also has a 7" double A-Arm kit (they didn't use to as far as I can recall, I only remembered seeing the all-sports kit when I was shopping for my G9) that looks like it's basically a copy of the all-sports kit. Golf Cart Tire Supply has it for $422 but I've found it quite a bit cheaper on ebay...


The polaris wheels won't work, bolt pattern is different. but I've gotten GREAT deals on 12" wheels on ebay. you just have to search a bit :) Last set I got was black aluminum wheels for $140 shipped for my Club Car Carryall. They were "new open box" and the seller had a ton of them. 3 of the wheels looked brand new, 1 wheel had a couple small (like pencil eraser sized) chips on the lip which a little spray paint easily fixed. I also got a set of REALLY nice 10" STI wheels for $150 shipped for another cart

[J-ROB]

Hey CP, I found the All Sports kit on the American lift kits website for $334 and free shipping. Once I added it to my cart the price dropped to $301 with free shipping. I might pull that trigger today!

I do not mind a used or open box set of wheels with a few blemishes, its a golf cart after all not a classic sports car! I'm pretty handy with a rattle can, so I can touch up any blemishes.

Thanks again for all the helpful info!

[TheNewGuy]

Here is a 7" All Sports double A arm lift on a G2 with 22" tires and 2" wheel spacers all around.

click to enlarge
2164.jpg

[CP241]

Originally Posted by TheNewGuy

Here is a 7" All Sports double A arm lift on a G2 with 22" tires and 2" wheel spacers all around.

click to enlarge
Attachment 194230

I still love that front bumper