Actual lift achieved by lift kits

[JPonLKN]

Hello folks, I just purchased a 6" drop axle lift for my cart while I wait for my long travel kit to come in. EZGO TXT, 1999. My question is, what is your actual lift gained by your specific lift? I purchased a 6" Steeleng drop axle, and the lift blocks for the rear are 4 3/4" tall at the high side, and only 4" tall on the short side. They have an angle forward to help with the rotated axle...but either way, there is no way they provide 6" of lift as advertised, seems more like 4", and the front seems to be around the same. Maybe they sent me the wrong lift, I have a call in to them to verify. We will see. I'll report back on what they say.
I think this would be a great resource for folks to go to to decide on the lift they need, particularly when most folks are ordering tires and wheels online, making custom setups, etc., knowing what the actual gained lift is would be helpful. Lift blocks are easy, simple measurement, but long travels are a bit more work, but it would be great info to have available, as the advertised lift isn't always on par with what is provided.

With that, post what lift you have, the advertised height, and the actual height gained, and in the case of adjustable lifts, what are the ranges you can achieve, min/max for front and back, and does it affect track width?

[Danimal1228]

The additional 1.25 - 2 inches comes from the leaf springs being switched to on top of the axle, as opposed to underneath. Coupled with the 4 - 4.75in of the lift block is how you get 6in.

[JPonLKN]

Not the case with this lift. The lift block actually mounts at the bottom of the axle...you don't flip the ISO mount in this case...so the lift measurement is from where the spring did mount, to where it mounts now, and in this case, it is around 4". Company was very good about responding, got a call from tech support a couple hours after I left a message...I called at noon...pretty solid in my opinion for tech support...He explained that the lift assumes larger tires and approximately 2" lift from the tires, so you end up with a net 6" lift. I figured that was the case, and is the reason for the thread. I wish I knew going in that it was a 4" lift. Having not purchased cart lifts in the past, and with the only other lift I purchased having been for my truck, and that one provides actual lift from the kit, What I was hoping to do is create a resource for future lift buyers that could bypass the marketing B.S. and let users know the actual suspension height gain achieved by various lifts for various carts. It would be very helpful when ordering tires and other customization parts.

For instance, I have a Jakes LT on order. How adjustable is it on a early model TXT? How much suspension height gain can be achieved as I believe it is adjustable, and will I be able to go to 26", 27", or even 28" tires with it...How wide of spacers are required, and if I go too wide, will there be other impacts?

[StoveBolt]

Originally Posted by JPonLKN

Not the case with this lift. The lift block actually mounts at the bottom of the axle...you don't flip the ISO mount in this case..

Can you post a picture? sounds like that would be lowering the cart.

My 2000 txt rear lift..(made my own)

[slonomo]

I'm not understanding how a block under the axle will "lift" the cart. That's usually how lowering blocks work.

[gyroman]

I'm with slonomo on this one. I've installed a couple of Steeleng kits and it looks like the pic stovebolt posted when finished.

[JPonLKN]

You tell me...see attached photo20201016_095556.jpg, and image of directions20201016_105156.jpg. I haven't fully assembled the rear lift yet, ISO mount bushings were worn to the point the mount was loose on the axle, so waiting on replacements in the mail. Ultimately, I will end up adding blocks on top of the lift plates as they provide a good platform for them, and don't require rotating the ISO mounts, maintain the axle pin locations, etc.

The stock shock plate will go on top of the spring and stock U-bolts will anchor the leaf springs down through the stock shock mount and through the top of the lift block. I think I would prefer the the U-bolts in direct contact with the springs rather than sandwiching the spring between the lift block and shock mount plate, but I will decide which is a stronger connection when I get to that point.

Back to the point of the thread though...you can see, the lift provided by the block is truely the height of the block which is a bit more than 4 inches.
If I hadn't already installed the front axle, i would post a pic of the old axle laid over the new one, and you would see again...only about 4 inches of lift. Are all golf cart lifts measured including the projected tire height gain?

[superpro56]

For your initial question, I installed a Jakes 4" A-arm kit and went to 20" tall tires and got almost exactly 5" of overall height change from stock to the new setup.

[JPonLKN]

Super,
Perfect...that's the info I was asking for. Sounds like the Jake's A-Arm lift advertises 4", and you got 4" out of the lift, and another inch out of the tires. Orig tire=18, new tire=20, only 1/2 that difference is below the axle, that is an inch, add that to the 4" lift and you get 5" of overall lift. With 20" tires, I expect you have zero clearance and rub issues.

If anyone put extreme tires on, 25" and up, please share rubbing and clearance issues if any were observed, and whether or not spacers/adapters of a given size helped or hurt.

Thanks for the response Super.

[PingEye3]

Originally Posted by Danimal1228

The additional 1.25 - 2 inches comes from the leaf springs being switched to on top of the axle, as opposed to underneath. Coupled with the 4 - 4.75in of the lift block is how you get 6in.

I'm with you on this one. Tire size has nothing to do with how much lift is actually in the kit. Measuring from where the top of the axle was before lift installed to the top of axle after install is the amount of lift. Nothing else has changed in the suspension. IMHO