SpikeT369

Most forums say 30" tires are ok with no lift... they will give you about 3" on the back from the 27" factory... even though the fronts are 27" they are rounded and don't really reach 27". When I put 28" Carnivores on my machine I measured a little over an inch clearance up in the back and about 2.5" in the front... I added the Zbroz 2" Bracket lift kit and got another 2" for a total of around 4.5" overall. If you square your tires up (factory fronts are 27x9x14 and the backs are 27x11x14), wheel spacers on the back (I used 1-1/2") to make the back track even with the front are a good recommendation. Mine is street legal and squared up with the new tires and lift I feel it rides better on the street and I liked the way it performed in the sand.

I went with 28" Maxxis Carnivores on my 2019 XT HD8 mostly for the weight, they are very close to the factory Bighorn 2.0's weight. I looked at 30" but was afraid of the rub (I've seen a lot of posts that they fit fine and some posts that they rub) so in lieu of the 30" I squared up with the 28"s and added the bracket lift... almost 5" of lift. I did use the 1.5" spacers on the back to line up the front/back tracking.

Nice work!

After a trip to Hatfield McCoy in WV I wanted to make my machine a little more capable… Machine was made street legal with turn signals, horn, rear and side mirrors, wiper and horn. After trail riding I added; MSA M12 Wheels 14” 28x10x14 Maxxis Carnivores 1.5” Wheel Spacers on the rear zBros 2” Bracket Lift Can Am Fender Flares DynoJet PowerVision 3 Tuner Took the machine to St Helen, MI and found it to be nicely capable, it isn’t a Maverick by any stretch but it handled deep sand and hills adequately. About 14.5” clearance and a nice boost from the tune.

I own a 2019 Defender XT HD8 with some improvements that I’ll post in Builds. Primary use is hunting with secondary use as a fun street legal buggy. Recently took it to Hatfield McCoy in WV and needed a little upgrading. Living in Ohio.