When I told my girlfriend that I bought a kit which would instantly give me an extra inch or so, she wasn't too sure about what I was getting at.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
I was talking about a lift-kit for my AC500 of course. I installed the front lift yesterday and noticed that the front wheels are now pointing inwards. Split screen image of front end
I'm not keeping the lift kit on for the winter, but will be putting it on in the spring.
Has anyone out there had to re-align their wheels after installing a lift kit? Looks like I can use the old "string" method to re-align. Just wondering if it's happened to anyone else.

 

sure don't, but I like you skull and bones sticker above your winch
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Most Arctic Cats require a realinement after a lift kit installation. This is because Arctic Cat incorperates so much bump steer into there steering. Now on the 2002 models I believe this has changed. The 375 we lifted didn't require any adjustments at all. So maybe they have fixed this problem for 2002.

 

Hey Boner, just curious, don't laugh, but what is "bump steer", I've just never heard that term. thanks

 

Basically, it means that as the suspension goes threw it's travel the wheel turns automatically with out any steering input from the driver/rider.

 

THANKS, I know another ATV geek term.

Now for one more silly question. What is that good for? I'm not being sarcastic, I really don't know.

 

It's good for nothing to tell you the truth, in fact, it can get down right dangerous in the right conditions. But it is moderate enough on the Arctic Cats not to be too bad. But in racing conditions, it can increase wear and tear on the vehicle (happens on all forms of vehicles, it's actually a very common problem on lowered 97 and newer Dodge Dakotas) and make handleing bad.

I bet it is a big reason why the older models "push" so much in turns. When the weight transfers to the outside wheel it will compress the suspension forcing the outside front wheel straighter than it should be, causeing the ATV to go straighter than the rider would want it to.

 

My old 99 AC needed about three full turns on the tie rod on each side to get it back in alignment. I just eyeballed it and rode it and then did it again until I got it right. Its a real pain in the *** to keep taking things apart and putting them back together. The lift kit was cool but more of a headache than anything else.