Fully Independent Suspension Build

[Marathon Matt]

I'm a good ways into the project now and making headway so I thought I would share with you guys.

I'm mashing an EZ-Go with a Club Car DS with parts from a TRX450R, a Polaris Ranger 500, and Custom 4 link with High Offset Spacers.

The goal is a cart that rides as smooth as a $20k side by side using economical parts and good suspension design. We'll see if that is achievable.

Here is where I am at right now. I will add more details as I finish up.

Oh, in case your wondering, I am mashing the EZGO with a Club Car DS drive system and rear axle because I already had the DS with 48v and a plum quick motor and relatively new batteries, but didnt really want to use the Aluminum Frame of the DS because I dont have a TIG welder only mig, stick and gas welders, and I dont want to bolt everything to an Aluminum frame because of metal disimilatity.

[Marathon Matt]

Some pictures at various stages.

(Getting them off my phone and to the allowed size)

[Marathon Matt]

This post reserved for a final parts list and cost information.

[Marathon Matt]

This post reserved for information links on how to build custom suspensions.

First Link:

ATV Suspension angles, etc. (very important to adapting the TRX450R Arms to a custom sub frame)

https://fullflightracing.com/blogs/n...our-suspension

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by Marathon Matt

This post reserved for a final parts list and cost information.

Looks promising. Won't do any good to reserve posts for future use because you lose the ability to edit them in about 3 hours... forum policy. What did you say that front LT came off of?

[slonomo]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Looks promising. Won't do any good to reserve posts for future use because you lose the ability to edit them in about 3 hours... forum policy. What did you say that front LT came off of?

I wondered what he was talking about with those posts

Looks like the LT front end is from the 450 Honda atv.

I can tell you a good sport atv front suspension will steer, handle, and ride fantastic as long as you use soft enough coil overs. Go too stiff and the ride will be harsh and you won't see the benefits of the LT style suspension. Travel is the key. For front coil overs I found that Yamaha Grizzly 660/700 front shocks worked really well. Sport atv coil overs were too soft and with two riders they would bottom out often. The Grizzly coil overs were just a hair stiffer and worked great for all around riding.

With that said, the rear axle(s) are the key to completing the soft ride. Getting the spring rate just right will be key. Again, I'd aim for a utility atv shock for this. UTV shocks are too stiff, I've tried several. You can play with leverage by building the shock mounts with 3-5 angle positions for adjustability.

[scottyb]

Good post slonomo

I need to get back around to restoring my Workhorse build. Motor got filled with water... long story

[Marathon Matt]

Originally Posted by slonomo

I wondered what he was talking about with those posts

Looks like the LT front end is from the 450 Honda atv.

I can tell you a good sport atv front suspension will steer, handle, and ride fantastic as long as you use soft enough coil overs. Go too stiff and the ride will be harsh and you won't see the benefits of the LT style suspension. Travel is the key. For front coil overs I found that Yamaha Grizzly 660/700 front shocks worked really well. Sport atv coil overs were too soft and with two riders they would bottom out often. The Grizzly coil overs were just a hair stiffer and worked great for all around riding.

With that said, the rear axle(s) are the key to completing the soft ride. Getting the spring rate just right will be key. Again, I'd aim for a utility atv shock for this. UTV shocks are too stiff, I've tried several. You can play with leverage by building the shock mounts with 3-5 angle positions for adjustability.

Thanks for the info on the coil overs. i ordered some knock off 450r resivoir shocks with stiffer springs, and some stiffer polaris 500 shocks for the rear, i fully expect that i will need to tweek the shocks and springs once its all together. i'm trying to build for maximum travel that the shocks are capable of and then tune them in for the weight of the cart afterward by ordering a specific spring rate that will work for static height. I was big into enduro and hare scramble dirt bike racing for years so i learned a lot about tuning and valving shocks and forks for optimal performance and realize just how important it is, so im hoping to apply that knowledge here and end up with a very plush suspension that utliizes full travel.

[Fairtax4me]

I suppose he could type the new post and ask some nice helpful moderator to edit them...
Interested to see how this turns out. I've had a similar idea except to use a front end from like a Honda 250 and use some spacer adapters to be able to bolt standard cart wheels to the ATV hubs so it would be able to have 4 wheel brakes.

[Marathon Matt]

Oh, didnt know about the limited post editing. its been a while since i was active on here. im used to another forum where that is the norm to keep all the important information up to date, especially if the build changes key components.

If one of the moderators wants to go back and delete those post to clean up the thread, i am good with that.

Also, not used to limited image sizes so photos off my iphone are WAY too big to post. So its taking me longer to get those up.

i have a couple of new ones to post as i was able to mock up the shock mounts last night. (i broke my foot last week and havent been able to get around and work on things until yesterday so im a little behind on getting finished.