Wildcat Trail Ground Clearance; Bigger tires or Lift Kit

40409 Views 33 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Thor, Jun 26, 2018

jerjohnston2005

Discussion Starter · May 12, 2015

I have a 2014 Wildcat Trail with the 12" wheels. I went on a ride this past weekend and kept having clearance issues. I ride in western PA and get a mix of muddy trails, rocky trails and the occasional deep mud that you can't get around. The rocky trails were what was giving me the issue. I'm just wondering what my best option would be. SuperATV offers a 2-3" lift. I've considered 29" tires but I'm unsure whether that will cause clutch/transmission issues. I also considered just putting skid plates on it(which I will when I can afford it anyhow). I do a good bit of road riding too to get from trail to trail. I'm sure this has all been covered in other posts but I can't find anyone asking the exact questions I am, so what's everyone's opinion on this? Basically what should be my first move, spring for the metal skid plates all around or bigger tires to get me up higher? Is 29" a good size? What skid plates do you recommend?

Thanks for any help!

1 - 20 of 34 Posts

jmax26

· #2 · May 12, 2015

You can run 30" tires with no issues what so ever. IMO first mod should be tires you should remove your front sway bar atleast will give better articulation and a softer ride and you can also crank your preload up until you can afford the SATV lift if that's the route you decide to go as many do skids are expensive and gain you no clearance only help protect the under side hope this helps

Reactions: 1

jerjohnston2005

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 12, 2015

My only concern with removing the sway bar is I do travel down the road a bit. If I remove the sway bar should I add wheel spacers for a wider stance or will it make no difference. I'm planning on keeping the factory wheels for now. 1 thing at a time.

jmax26

· #4 · May 12, 2015

If you are sticking with factory wheels I wouldn't go up in height would just buy tires to gain clearance I would wait on the lift or cranking preload until you either get spacers or aftermarket offset wheels but you could still take your front sway bar off without any issues. Something to keep in mind is the difference in tire size/type selection is better for 14" than 12" wheels just something to think about

jerjohnston2005

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 12, 2015

What width and backspacing would you recommend on a different wheel? This is getting expensive haha. I've been considering the switch to the 14". The trails are 4x115 for the wheels?

Capt Kirk

· #6 · May 12, 2015

Do all 3 as soon as you can
the skid gives you more confidence to hit the rocks with out damage.
the 30" tires will give you the clearance for the rocks
the lift will get you off the mud.

take stock in WD40 and Just slide.

disconnect 1 side of the sway bar and try it. 30 seconds and your back to normal. LOL normal you will never be again

Reactions: 2

jmax26

· #7 · May 12, 2015 (Edited)

jerjohnston2005 said:
What width and backspacing would you recommend on a different wheel? This is getting expensive haha. I've been considering the switch to the 14". The trails are 4x115 for the wheels?

Well unfortunately expensive is the nature of the beast lol as far as offset I'm running 4+2 on the front and 5+3 on the back but I have staggered size tires plus 2" spacers on all 4 corners and sit right around 57" wide so if you are going to run same size tires on all four corners I would go with 4+3 or 5+3 offset all around depending on how wide a tire you run and spacers on the back to bring them out the same as the front

jerjohnston2005

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 12, 2015

I like the wheels you have and my wife approves haha. So if I were to go with 2 14x6, 4/115, 4+2 with 30x10r14 on the front and 2 14x8, 4/115 with 30x12r14 on the rear I'll need spacers or no? I'm new to all this if you can't tell haha.

jmax26

· #9 · May 12, 2015

jerjohnston2005 said:
I like the wheels you have and my wife approves haha. So if I were to go with 2 14x6, 4/115, 4+2 with 30x10r14 on the front and 2 14x8, 4/115 with 30x12r14 on the rear I'll need spacers or no? I'm new to all this if you can't tell haha.

Shouldn't need them unless you just wanna be wider but with that offset you will be wider than 50" even if it's lifted at very least with it lifted you should still be 50"

jerjohnston2005

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 13, 2015

Well wheels and tires ordered... $900 later I've got the ITP SS312, 2 14x6 and 2 14x8 and 2 30x9r14 and 2 30x11r14 STI Outback XLTs on the way. Thanks for the information. I'll let you know how I make out. I did have a few more questions. Did you just use the stock lugs for your SS312s or do they take a special nut? Do you have your suspension maxed? I also see you have steering stopper, why so?

jmax26

· #11 · May 13, 2015

http://www.wildcatforums.net/forum/wildcat-trail-trail-xt/13919-over-steer-problem-solution.html

Read up on that thread and I have chrome lug nuts stock lugs won't work with those wheels I don't think. My suspension travels isn't maxed I still have about 1.5" down travel left so fairly close to being maxed

Reactions: 1

DRock

· #12 · May 13, 2015

Better to upgrade wheels and tires all at once, like ripping off a bandaid. Wish i had gone that route, now i have to wear out my current tires and hope that i have the cash at the same time they wear out to get 14" rims and 30" tires. I second the steering stop. Cuts down on turning radius but prevents overstressing the front driveline and premature wear.

Reactions: 1

jerjohnston2005

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 13, 2015

I need to find lug nuts then. I can't tell if they're flat or an acorn or coned style. I'll have to call ITP I guess haha.

jmax26

· #14 · May 13, 2015

Depending on where you got the wheels the should come with them. When I bought mine they said the studs were too long for the lug nuts but since I have spacers it was a non issue eve tho I don't think it was an issue at all

jerjohnston2005

Discussion Starter · #15 · May 18, 2015 (Edited)

3

Ok, everything's in and on. I turned the shocks up 1" on all 4 corners, that was after these pics were taken. Plenty of clearance now, really haven't got to test it out much though. Did notice 2 things. Speedo is off, which I knew was gonna happen, is there anyway to correct this? Second thing is the steering has a good shimmy to it now at around 30. Would setting the shocks up throw my alignment off?

Should I change the clutch springs with the bigger tires? EPI makes a kit for oversized tires but if I don't have to spend the $200 plus tax and shippind I'd rather not. Are your clutches stock and if so is everything holding up good?

See less See more

jmax26

· #16 · May 18, 2015

Looks good. Next purchase should be sport conversion fenders cause your gonna need em

Reactions: 1

TXGOAT

· #17 · May 18, 2015

That really looks good. The shimmy is probably a balance issue, or a tire not seated just right on the rim. That's a lot of tire on that machine.

A weak shock could allow shimmy or "wheel tramp". I think raising the ride height will affect wheel alignment some. Any loose or worn parts in the steering system can contribute to shimmy.

Reactions: 1

jmax26

· #18 · May 18, 2015

Did you wind up putting spacers on it also? It looks like it to me. If so depending on what spacers you went with that could be causing your shimmy because it may not be centered around your hub or could just be the aggressive tires they run a lot different than nobby tires at speed

As far as clutch goes mine is completely stock and I have had zero issues but in the same hand have thought about some clutch work strictly to get a bit more low end grunt power to the ground

sgarm13

· #19 · May 19, 2015

JerJohnston2005 I see you went with the Outbacks, looks good. The outbacks are all around good tire. I have the Kawasaki Teryx4 but my set up will work on the WC. One thing the Wildcat has over the Teryx4 is fender well clearance. I just went from stock 12" wheels to SuperAtv Terminators 29.5X10X14" all 4 corners and running Buckshot 14" 2+6 offset wheels from Discount Tires. Also I'm running 2-3 " SuperAtv lift and I'm very happy with the lift. Just reminder the higher the bracket lift your shoes draw in and you get narrow. So it is either spacers or run a 2+6 offset like I'm running. Spacers were going to cost me 150.00 and the wheels cost $248 and eliminated spacers. If you don't mind going wider then offset wheels will save you money. It was simple to put the lift on and the instructions were in color and not Black & White that actually made sense.

Reactions: 2

jerjohnston2005

Discussion Starter · #20 · May 20, 2015

Thanks everyone all of your input is very much appreciated. I only have a little over 300 miles on the machine so I hope nothing is worn out. Not a lot of rough riding on it yet. I did not go with spacers jmax. I did notice there isn't much stud when mounting these direct though. How do you go about balancing a wheel on one of these? Stick on weights or what are some recommendations.

Jmax, I also would like to thank you for mentioning the sport fender conversion kit. I've been trying to convince my wife we needed fender flares even before the new wheels and tires and in her words "It will look stupid!". Haha. I showed her the sport fenders and they're on the way. I purchased them from another website and got front and rear for under $220 shipped. I saw it said about special inner fender pieces that close off the firewall so I pulled up the parts catalogs side by side and compared. I only found 1 listing that was added to the sport catalog so I'm 95% sure I built the full kit. I'll let you know what I find out when everything arrives 5/26-5/28ish.

See less See more

1 - 20 of 34 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.