G29 - Tire/wheel & HD spring upgrade recommendations after Jakes LT install

[Capt. Ron]

Ahoy-

I believe this is my first post on this forum.

After four months of waiting, I just received my Jakes 6" Long Travel lift kit. While I could not be happier, now I need to source some wheels and tires - ouch.

I would appreciate some member thoughts and recommendations on tire/wheel sizing and whether HD springs should be installed.

What size wheels and tires would you put on a g29 with 6" LT lift, AND if I already have the cart rear open for the lift install, should I just go ahead and install HD rear springs? (cart has Williamson rear seat kit installed)

I am set on 23 inch tires I believe, but I just can not decide between 12" or 14" wheels. Most of the cart riding will be on pavement and I don't care too much for road noise from aggressive tread patterns - can't be too much louder than the engine though. While I do not need an All Terrain tire, I think that looks better on a cart with a 6 inch lift. I do like the Duro or Rhox grappler tire that has a larger tread, but with tighter gaps....so perhaps less road noise....but they are very expensive.

If I can get the tires figured out, I would like to know if installing rear HD springs are worth it? I like being able to haul people and firewood in the back seat/cargo shelf area of cart.....and from reviews, the only negative I read about HD springs is that the ride is rougher. Considering I am not long-hauling this cart anywhere, I do not think that matters too much to me compared to the hauling benefits...the guy I bought this from didn't recommend it though....I'd say 75% of what I read or watched said to put HD springs on...

(BTW - I honestly spent weeks scrubbing this forum and others, and youtube trying to decide what size wheels and tires to get and whether or not to install HD springs...so ANY recommendations or tips would be most welcome...not sure who else I can ask)

Once I get all this installed and sorted, my next purchase will be the extreme lifted performance kit from Plowmans....

Thanks to all

[Hang10er]

I just got a 2016 Drive with a 3" lift. I asked my dealer about HD springs and he said the Yamaha's run so good, he wouldn't change it up.

He asked how often would I actually have 4 people on the cart and I said it wouldn't be that much at all.

His advice made sense.

I figured I'll wait and see if I have any issues when I do have 2 on the back and make a decision then. I'd hate to add the HD's and it be perfect for 4 people, but ride rough or uneven all the other times.

[slonomo]

Heavy duty rear springs on the Yamaha's are much different than on a leaf spring type suspension. With that said, it still will ride rougher when it's not loaded down. So if you only haul heavy 25% of the time, I'd hold off and see how it does. If it sags beyond what you can tolerate, then maybe give it a try.

I'd probably choose the 12" wheels, only because you'll have more choices and it will ride a little better. The more sidewall you have, the more give the tires will have, especially if you run a lower pressure like 10-12 psi.

For an aggressive looking tire for the road, the Stinger is a good choice. It's a DOT approved street legal tire so it will roll true and smooth and will last longer than an all terrain. Don't know if it's available in 23" though, 22" is available.

[Dave in VA]

My G16. 23x10.5-12 Duros. They.ve been a good tire. I put HD shocks on the rear once because of the rear box. They were terrible. Way too stiff. Returned them and used the OEM ones. 2" wheel spacers all around.

[Capt. Ron]

Thanks for all the input - much appreciated!

[FiddyK]

Here are 23 x 10 x 14, 4 inch lift, on my G29. stock suspension. super happy with this setup, although next step, if I were to, would be the LT suspesion.

[Capt. Ron]

Hello all - well a couple more things if anyone has the time....

I am stuck waiting on parts, the LT kit was missing 2 heim joints for the uppers so I went direct to Jakes for those...(customer service wouldn't help me out as I had purchased through a 3rd party supplier...)

anyway, with that sorted, my parts are due to arrive any minute.

I got to looking at the shok installation and something still isn't right though. The way the jPlate and shock mounts come together, the cowling is going to need to be cut/modified as things are just not going to fit....

Any of you have this problem? I am using the 9549 shock kit, the tapered cone spacers seem rather large, but I see no other way to get this to fit without chopping up the cowling skirt area....

Thoughts? I am about to call jakes again to discuss with a tech.

[slonomo]

Any pics? It's hard to understand what's going on without a visual of the problem. Did the directions say anything about trimming?

[Capt. Ron]

UPDATE

I spoke with a long time tech at Jakes and he said 2 things, one was my kit's 1.75 inch spacers and 3.5 inch bolts were not correct and that the kit should have included 1.5 inch spacers and 3 inch bolts...so those are also being shipped (at my current expense). Oddly still though, Line 15 of my Jake's directions say I need a 2.5 inch bolt....

The second thing the tech mentioned was to check the cowling mount bracket at the bumper plate, and sure enough, that is bent, I'm guessing when I bend that back out, it will provide at least another inch of room in that space, which should make more room for the shock/spring assembly (and no cutting of the cowling).

OTHER THOUGHTS

My 3rd party supplier is so far being very generous with me about refunding whatever cost I incur on the missing parts. I am am more than a little disappointed with Jake's so far though, as the customer service folks there would not help me out at all - blaming the vendor for the mistake...Customer Service would not even allow me talk to a tech until after I purchased the parts I needed (heim joints, bolts and tapered spacers). The Jake's CS reps said that the 3rd pary vendor could have messed up the parts in the box and the vendor has confirmed the lift kit box was shipped directly to me from Jake's....anyway, all in all it's been an unpleasant experience and I am bummed my 2 day project is now on day 7, and I still don't have all the required parts to finish.

How tight should I crank down the A-Arm nuts/bolts...?

[Capt. Ron]

Well it took a while to install, but I finally got the lift kit installed...huge thanks to the customer service rep. supervisor at Jakes for sorting out my missing parts issues.


I have one more question if anyone has an answer.

My rear tire spacing (outside measurement to outside is 37") is about 3 inches less than the front tire spacing (outside to outside 40").

My plan is to purchase a set of 1.5" aluminum rear tire spacers to make up the difference.

That about right?

When I purchased the tires/wheels, the sales rep said I would need to purchase additional 1" spacers all around to make up the suggested 3x5 (or 5x3) offset according to lift manufacturer Jakes....I may of course be overthinking this, but I am also considering purchasing a set of 2.5-inch rear spacers AND a set of 1" front spacers to fully meet the suggested specs.

(Pic of cart day 1 and cart after modifications, including lift kit, should be attached)