Need help with rough ride

[beachcarter]

Hello all, I have a 98 EZGO TXT that rides like a tank. I bought the cart and it was bone stock. I put a 6" Jakes spindle lift and a read flip seat several years ago. Of course with 2 adults on the back it would sag and the cart would be all over the road. I dealt with it for several years until last summer I removed the body to have it painted and while the body was off I decided that would be a good time to work on the suspension. I put the HD coil over shocks on the front, mainly for the off road look. It was quite a pain to get them on as I could not collapse them by hand. The stock shocks were worn out as I could collapse them by hand very easily and they would not expand back out on their own. I put HD 3 leaf springs on the rear but found that now that the stock rear shocks were too short. I spoke with my local cart shop and he told me that when they put HD springs on the back they dont put any shocks back on as the new springs have no give. He was correct. This thing rides like a tank. They are so stiff that when I have 2 adult males standing on the rear step plate of the seat the front tires will come off the ground. The springs do help with the sagging when I have 4 people on the cart but I would like a decent ride when I only have 2 people on it as well. I have dealt with it this past year but the motor locked up last week and I am in the process of replacing it with a big block clone motor. Since I'm going to have the cart apart again now is a good time to address the ride issue, especially with the increase in horsepower and speed the new motor is going to give me. Is there a happy median where I can get the support i need with 4 people and still retain ride quality with only 2 people on it?

[StoveBolt]

Originally Posted by beachcarter

I put the HD coil over shocks on the front. It was quite a pain to get them on as I could not collapse them by hand.

That could be part of your ride like a tank.

Originally Posted by beachcarter

The stock shocks were worn out as I could collapse them by hand very easily and they would not expand back out on their own.

Other than coil overs no shocks expand back on their own, they just damper and stock shocks are soft on a cart, it's not like a 3500 pound car.

Originally Posted by beachcarter

They are so stiff that when I have 2 adult males standing on the rear step plate of the seat the front tires will come off the ground.

Typical for every cart with a rear step, not much weight on the front of a cart.



I would take the coil overs off, put the stock shocks back on, get some colored rubber shock boots like on a workhorse for that off road look, take a leaf out of the rear springs and hook the rear shocks back up.

[beachcarter]

The front isn't really an issue. I can go over bumps with the front of the cart with ease its just the rear that hops over the bumps like there is no give. I think I might switch back to the original leaf springs and add HD coil over shocks to the rear and see if that helps.