adding factory lift kit to carryall

[crvbs]

I'm looking at adding a factory lift kit (am10755) to my 99 carryall. club car talks about a frame cut tool am10757 . do you really need it & what is it? the reason I need to lift it is I need to mount 2-6 volt batteries in the rear below the bed. it's old cart with 6 new 6 volt batteries in a 48 volt cart. (36 volt charger soon to be on ebay) thanks for any help or idea's

[lockman1]

Welcome to BGW crvbs!

A "factory" lift kit is a "Z" lift kit... Here's a pic:



You have to cut out a portion of the front of the frame to add the "Z" brackets,
and after you do that, there's no going back and changing it to a different lift if your not happy with it!
(unless of coarse your a fabricator, and can weld aluminum!)

My only suggestion would be, is to put on a 3" (minimum) spindle lift,
and if you decide you want more... you can change it to an A-Arm, Long Travel, or... back to stock height.

And BTW... a 99 is NOT that old of a cart!

Just my 2 cents.

[sak00]

Yea! Don't cut the frame, it's a shame to mess up a good cart. Do it right with a lift made for it.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

I disagree.... Get the saw out and start hacking. The factory lift kit is the most stable and safest lift kit available for this vehicle. Your car will still ride and steer every bit as good as it did before it was lifted. I've installed thousands of these kits in the past ten years and every one of our customers love them.

[lockman1]

Originally Posted by TahoeDawgZ71

I disagree.... Get the saw out and start hacking. The factory lift kit is the most stable and safest lift kit available for this vehicle. Your car will still ride and steer every bit as good as it did before it was lifted. I've installed thousands of these kits in the past ten years and every one of our customers love them.

I gotta admit David... this lift has taken a beating, and has not failed me!

BUT... I really wanted to do something different (like a Long Travel)
but was, and am unable to, because of the cut frame!

I felt my only alternative was a spindle lift on top of the "Z" lift...
I didn't feel that I had too many options besides that!

.02

[golfcarfixer]

Originally Posted by TahoeDawgZ71

I disagree.... Get the saw out and start hacking. The factory lift kit is the most stable and safest lift kit available for this vehicle. Your car will still ride and steer every bit as good as it did before it was lifted. I've installed thousands of these kits in the past ten years and every one of our customers love them.

I dont know how cutting a frame would be better since you are taking out the rigidness and messing with the geometry of it.The aftermarket has researched this a lot and I have never seen one of these so called factory club car lifts that cut the frame.I thought these frame cutting lifts went out with Melex golf cars.I will stick with a reliable Jakes lift kit.Thank You.

[crvbs]

sometime it's just a matter of money, I found the factory kit on ebay for 155 didn't think I would do better than that. The cart is a alcoa plant cart that has been used good vs good used. The cart needs the new rear springs that come with the kit. The question I have is will i need the factory frame tool to install the kit or just sawsall & tape measture. also do I need offset wheels?

[sak00]

Well for $100 more you can get a 6" a-arm kit off ebay. Less work and less hassle. (May NOT be the quaility of a jakes, but neither is a Z lift)

Anyway, it's your cart and your money.

Just my $.02

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by golfcarfixer

I dont know how cutting a frame would be better since you are taking out the rigidness and messing with the geometry of it.The aftermarket has researched this a lot and I have never seen one of these so called factory club car lifts that cut the frame.I thought these frame cutting lifts went out with Melex golf cars.I will stick with a reliable Jakes lift kit.Thank You.

It actually strengthens it... You're replacing aluminum with steel.. the geometry doesn't change a bit. The whole entire front end and steering system is dropped down, all geometry remains the exact same. Unlike any other lift kit, there is no added stress on any front end component except for tires due to larger size

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by lockman1

I gotta admit David... this lift has taken a beating, and has not failed me!

BUT... I really wanted to do something different (like a Long Travel)
but was, and am unable to, because of the cut frame!

I felt my only alternative was a spindle lift on top of the "Z" lift...
I didn't feel that I had too many options besides that!

.02

All you've gotta do is have a machinist fabricate some flat pieces of steel with the same pattern as your Z-Bars, just minus the bend... It'll bolt right up and bring you right back down to stock.