i've got a 2inch kit from rubberdown and have zero cv bind. there are alot of his kits out there and you can ask anyone who has one and they will say the same. its also a great kit and great customer service.

 

We have our very own 2" lift kit on my wifes RZR, it is a 2009 and it is the forst thing we did to it, no binding at all.

You had a good question, and I asked this question many times myself but never got a "good" answer, I am with you in the thought that a 2" is a 2" is a 2" lift creating the same angle change to CV joints, same goes with a 3" is a 3" is a 3" lift kit, if all these various kits measure the same increase in ground clearance, however it is achieved, the CV joints would all change to the same angles. This is just common physics isnt it?

Anyways, as I said, our lift kit works great, we wouldn't change a thing. If your springs are on whatever setting they are on, you install the lift kit, leave the springs at the same setting they were on before the install, and you will have a 2" gain, give or take maybe an 1/8" on average.

 

2 inch and no

 

Mr

Ahhh, so that’s how Paul ended up with a new RZR, he bought it “for her!” (hehehe) I’d have tried that but mine refused to give up her handlebars.

After following this question/dilemma around on the forums I have to agree with Paul. If the ground stays were it is, tire size doesn’t change and you end up with 2 or 3 more inches between your chassis and the ground, whether your lift hardware is installed at the top or bottom of the shock it doesn’t matter, the increased angle on your axles will be the same. Suspension/handling characteristics may differ but axle angle has to be the same.

That said, for some reason there are definitely inconsistent reports of who experiences CV binding and who doesn’t. It seems you can take two RZRs of the same year, install the same lift kit on them, one machine will bind and one will not. No one I’m aware of has approached this problem scientifically to establish whether there’s a variable in suspension geometry, CV construction or just shock setting that’s behind this inconsistency.

On my ’08 RD’s 2” kit only offered just over 1” of lift. This was calculated between the same points of an empty machine and my workbench with the machine rolled off and back on between measurements, not just coming down off a jack after the install. Back then I wasn’t really looking for CV bind so I can't say whether it did or didn't. I didn’t notice any difference in the machine’s performance or handling between before and after the installation.

Not being satisfied with this amount of lift I tried Xtreem’s 3” lift, which only offered 1.5” of actually lift measured under the same conditions. However, while I like the approach Xtreem takes to upper shock mount relocation the kit requires preloading the front springs with large aluminum spacers. In my opinion this ruined the machine’s front suspension characteristics. It felt like the thing was going to throw me out on “bumpy” terrain; the ride was brutal.

So I took out the spring spacers but left in the rest of the kit and reinstalled RD’s 2” kit at the bottom shock mounts. By simple math one might conclude with both a 2” lift and a 3” lift installed the result might have been….(lets see, um, carry the one…….) oh yeah, 5”. Especially in the rear where both lifts were installed without modification (except lengthening the sway bar links). Nope, with both lifts I ended up with 2.25” inches of lift, less than half.

But this hybrid experiment worked. I achieved my desired amount of lift and maintained handling characteristics very close to stock although as you can imagine, with a true 2”+ of lift the fly in the ointment was CV bind, both front and rear with the suspension uncompressed. I chose to remedy this with limit straps, which presented another learning curve.

After carefully calculating distances that would prevent bind between chosen mounting points I ordered the correct length straps, or so I thought. It turns out the accepted “stretch” for limit straps is about 1.5” per foot. My fronts were 15” and rears were 18” so stretch of over 1.5” per strap let the axles drop below my maximum specs resulting in bind. Damn! Ordering and installing new straps an inch shorter cured the problem but what a lot of work to end up (safely) with a couple inches of lift!

When I did this last year there weren’t as many lift choices on the market as there are today. For a quality straightforward product that installs easily and is reliably designed and built, of the two I tried Rubberdown’s definitely gets my vote. Apparently true lift results, as well as CV bind, may vary.

 

I have a 3" lift and my preloads turned all the way up. I only get a little bind at full lock and with one tire off the ground or at full droop. It had a little over 2"s of lift for over a year and outlaws with no problems. All in the skinny pedal.

 

what three inch lift do you have? thanks

 

I have a cheep 2" ebay kit.. it works good.. no bind.

 

I have had both the Rubberdown and Rotkek on the same machine. (No, not at the same time)

Here's my opinion on both:

Rubberdown: Very easy to install and bulletproof. Works great.

Roktek: Bulletproof, works great, and improves the ride. Quite a bit harder to install.

 

does the roktek actually provide a full 3" of lift?

 

On a brand new, just out of the showroom, stock RZR without all the accessories and mud caked up on it, yes. I would say that you would gain 3" with the Roktek.

I gained 1" in the front and stayed the same in the back moving from the Rubberdown to the Roktek but since the top shock bolt locations are moved due to the kit, it rides soooooo much better.

 

When I first got my Razor I put a 2in. lift kit on, Don't know what brand, Lifted me about 1 1/2 in. and I had cv bind , front and rear, used limiter straps for about 6 months. I worried about it even though I fixed the bind with the straps. After I listened to you guys I took the lift off and replaced it with a 3 in. Roctec, Only got 2in. lift with this one but no cv bind on front or rear. I am satisfied with the Roctec. I installed highlifter springs the other day and I suppose my original springs were sagging bad cause I gained another 2 in. on front and 1 in.on rear. No cv problem. Right now I like what I have.:camorzr:

 

I just ran the superatv 3" lift. I live down here in florida we dont have any dunes or long jumps. Just a lot of water, mud and the occasional fire trail with some whoops. And it has held up just fine and I am by no means easy on her. Rode hard and put away dirty.

 

3" xtreme lift on mine, no binding at all. great kit!

 

Rubberdown

I have what is probably one of the early batches of the Rubberdown. I had about an 1/8" to much travel on the shock that would bind the rear CVs. At full droop the rear stock steel rims also rub on the shocks. I put limit straps all around. Still have to run two washer on the rear studs to keep the rims from rubbing the shocks. I just made it work. The kit bottom bolts were slightly smaller diameter also. Not good long term. New kits might be better. I don't know. If I did it again I would get the RZR HQ. for more upper shock support.

 

don pro did you make your limit straps...if so what did you use i need to make 2 for my front....thanks..

 

I have a 3'' RokTek installed runnig 27's and i have close to 14'' of clearance in the front, i didnt measure the back, its sits pretty level. i have had no issues with my cv's so far, they are no where near being in a bind and the ride is just like it was stock. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to put it on just because i had never installed one. it may take me about 45 min to take it back off or install it again, so not to complicated

 

I ordered the limit straps from Lou's Buggy Shop for $18 a pair. They have any length you want in one inch increments. The holes in the ends were to big so I made some bushings out of a brass pipe nipple I turned down slightly in the drill press with a file.

 

.....

 

I run the RokTek 3" lift. Like some others it achieves lift by moving top shock mounts outward. That helps eliminate droop and the need for limit straps. Also smooths out the ride. The CV bind comes from droop so that is why some have a problem and some do not. I have not heard of anyone with a RD or RT lift having CV bind.

 

How many have had axle breaking problems because of a 2 or 3 inch lift?? You might not be "binding" but are we putting more stress on the axle joints?

 

No axle problems with the RokTek lift.

 

I'm running the Roktek 3" lift on my machine and haven't had any issues with binding. I measured my clearance before installing..(my machine was one week old and hadn't seen a drop of mud because I didn't want to fight dirt adding goodies)...anyway, clearance before was 9" to the bottom of the skid. After install, it sat at 12"....then I added 26" zillas and turned up the preloads and I sit at 13+. I'll put it this way, I can clear a 2 liter soda bottle.:icon_rockwoot:

I just used the most basic method of checking for bind....jacked it up and spun the wheels at full droop. The Roktek is the Xtreme design and I'm sure there are lifts that are equally as good out there, but speaking for mine, it's a very well built kit and I couldn't be happier.

 

What if I put 3" Lift with Gorilla axles?I want a true 3" lift with no bind and I plan on buying new axles. The CATVOS 6" lift is too much lift for me.I want a 3" lift with 100% chance of no binding, and I don't care so much about the price. I am going to be using stiffer springs because of what I have heard about stoc springs sagging,aftermarket axles anyway since I will be running a MCX-USA Turbo and 28" or 30" tires, still have not decided for sure on the tires.

 

I have the Roktek 3" lift and Gorilla axles. The gorilla cv boots are bigger than the stock boots and with the lift the boots will rub the rear upper a-arm when the suspension is full extended. As far as joint binding from a lift the gorillas have no problem at all with that.

When it comes to cv binding, one thing that I have noticed is that when you max out the steering until it stops, it is the cv joint that is maxed out and limits you turning radius. If you max out your steering in 4wd and in a bind, you will break a front cv joint every time.

 

No axle problems with the RokTek lift. just rode my first 71 miles on the lift . the ride was much better.

 

Roktek lift here

 

I have a racer tech 2" lift just on the front of my S. I love it. no binding. They actually sent me a lift bracket and it didnt work, i guess some of the S's are a little different, so they sent me a new redesigned on, no money out of my pocket. its works great. If you give them a call, they were very good at explaining how some of them cause binding and some don't. here's a before and after pic so you can see the diff. the first pic is no lift and no preload tightening. second pic is 2" lift in front and preload tightened down. its handles awesome and rides smooth.

Go Racer Tech

 

In my experience, binding typically comes when you lift the machine up while forcing suspension down at the same time. The Xtreme/Roktek lift acutally relocates the mounting points for your suspension, thus nearing maintaining your exact angle from the factory. If you can find, or if you still have a stock bike, compare some of the pictures from stock vs. Xtreme/Roktek lifted bikes. You will see very little difference in the axle angle. I am not sure that you can actually get 0 change over stock and still achieve a 3" lift.

On the gorilla axles, I do not believe that changing the axles will affect the binding issue. You will have a MUCH stronger axle over stock, but the stress on the CV's will be about the same.

 

I had a two inch lift on mine and it did seem to put the cv boots very tight but I never had any problems.I did put 1 boot off of the front (the side that clamps to the hub)but I think I hit a stick to do that although it did not tear the boot.Maybe that the lift had something to do with that because they were pulled so tight.

I used a highlifter kit