questions about lift, wheels, tires for workhorse st 480

[crazyhorse]

I am new to forum so please over look any mistakes here as I am learning to post. I have a stock 2002 workhorse st480 I have been advised that there are no available lifts for this cart. Is that true? If not how would one go about acheiving a lift? I am also considering just going with larger wheels and tires. How big can I go? The tires on it now are 20x10. Any help here will be greatly appreciated. I am enjoying the info from this site that I have read so far. I also really enjoy all of the photos. Thanks

[mikesmotortoys]

Your cart already have a Factory 4" lift kit. You can use up to a 22" tire on a 10" wheel with the stock setup.

[StoveBolt]

Welcome aboard Crazy.

I think the 02 st-480s have the older style steering like the st-350s do.

On one of my st-350s I used this axle for the front (springs bolt on top axle) http://www.evparts.com/prod-AX1125.htm

Then made 2" blocks for the back out of 1.5x2" square steel tubing, then used longer straight bolts to bolt it together, that made it a 6.5" lift, then I used 24x11x10 tires on 8x10 offset wheels.

Click on pic for larger view..
http://www.frontiernet.net/~irishhills/w3.JPG

[ruredy]

The 480 has more of a lift in the rear than any other factory ezgo cart, it's about equal to a 6" lift in the back cause of the engine cradle. You can move the front springs to the top of the front axle and this will give you about 2" more on the front. You only need longer bolts to do this. You can run 25" (probably the most ideal size) tires on it with no problems if done this way. I've done this and I have 27" tires on mine, they measure 28 3/4" from the ground to the top of them, I trimmed back the rockers and rear fenders for clearance but you could add blocks on the rear axle and between the front springs and body to gain clearance if your wanting tires that big. I wanted mine as low as possible with the biggest tires I could fit on it. I have set my 480 up for trail blazing so its appearance is secondary to me, as long as it goes where I want it to I don't really care what it looks like.

[crazyhorse]

I appreciate the info folks. Jon, you mentioned moving hte front springs to the top of the axle in order to gain clearance for the 25's. What about the rear, do I need to do anything there to get enough clearance for hte 25's? Also, what size wheels would you run with the 25's, 10's or 12's? Thanks again and I'm sure I'll have more questions as I progress in this project. Sam

[ruredy]

You shouldn't have to do a thing on the rear to clear 25" tires, the only part that will even come close to the tires are the the back side of the wheel arch on the plastic fenders. My tires are 28 3/4" tall, they were suppose to be 27" I ended up triming some of that part off my fenders cause the corners hit the tires when I hit a bump (see pic) but my tires are huge, other than that and moving the front springs to the top of the axle, it's the factory ST 480 lift. I did cut about an inch off the front of the rockers just cause I didn't want to risk the tires getting cut, there kinda costly. As for what rim to use I guess it depends on what your using the cart for. My rims are 10" x 8.5" off Polaris atv's, they have a great off-set and I don't have to use wheel spacers with them. The 10" tires are more flexible and will absorb more impact than its 12" counter part, they get more traction and are better suited for off-road conditions. On the flip side, you can find a better selection of larger tires and rims in 12" size so if your not going for a mud boggin woods buggy 12" maybe a better choice.

The 480 next to one of my other lifted workhorse carts that has 22" tires

[gm3fan]

Did you have any trouble with your tie rods. mine are interfering with the springs.

[StoveBolt]

Have not seen ruredy here in a while, last I heard he traded the horse for a motorcycle, maybe he is a biker now . what model workhorse do you have gm3fan?

[gm3fan]

I believe a 2001. I actually got it to work, I rolled the axle to gain clearance. now I just need longer shocks.

[StoveBolt]

You can buy shock extensions at most auto parts stores, I have found them on the "Help" display boards.