P500 In search of ground clearance

[JJdog]

I have a 2017 P500. As we all know, when revising the suspension for the 2017-19 P5, Honda installed softer springs and, i think, shorter shocks. The result was a loss of ground clearance from 9.6 inches to 8.5 The trails that i run in are mostly abandoned, overgrown logging roads that look more like stream beds than trails. Basketball size boulders are the norm. I regularly bottom out or get high centered.

I am planning on installing 26 inch BH 2.0s that should get me back to around 9.5 inches. I am also considering a small lift kit that claims a 1.5 inch lift. This kit has s.s. bolt-on brackets that relocate the upper shock mounts a bit lower to give the lift. i would also add 1.5 inch spacers on the stock wheels. This should give me around 11 inches of clearance.

Has anyone used this type of lift kit before? Does this setup sound reasonable?

 

[Admin]

 

[Chooglin]

Everything you mentioned will get you what you want , but if it was me , I would get the W.E. or Elka shocks. This wI'll let you adjust your ride height and gain you a much better ride than those pogo sticks they come with.

 

[Montecresto]

I have a 2017 P500. As we all know, when revising the suspension for the 2017-19 P5, Honda installed softer springs and, i think, shorter shocks. The result was a loss of ground clearance from 9.6 inches to 8.5 The trails that i run in are mostly abandoned, overgrown logging roads that look more like stream beds than trails. Basketball size boulders are the norm. I regularly bottom out or get high centered.

I am planning on installing 26 inch BH 2.0s that should get me back to around 9.5 inches. I am also considering a small lift kit that claims a 1.5 inch lift. This kit has s.s. bolt-on brackets that relocate the upper shock mounts a bit lower to give the lift. i would also add 1.5 inch spacers on the stock wheels. This should give me around 11 inches of clearance.

Has anyone used this type of lift kit before? Does this setup sound reasonable?

IMO, regardless of what you do to increase ground clearance, good aftermarket skids are in order if your primary trail riding is on very rocky trails as you describe.

 

[Mudder]

Full skid package and 27s here for similar rock riding. Went with 27s as lose a bit of height with lower PSI for rough trails. Cringe less now on slams (after Takeover ride!).

 

[JJdog]

Thanks for advice guys. Upgraded skids are on the list but i need to get some height first. Even with the abuse, the factory skids are not doing too badly.

I can't really afford (or justify to the boss) spending almost 2 grand on new shocks (way more expensive in Canada). The ride on the stock shocks is ok for me and I haven't heard that the WE shocks increase ride height by much which is what i am really after.

I am going to give the lift kit a try (it is only $150 and is a bolt-on). If it doesn't work I can take it off and not be out much. I was hoping that someone on the forum had already tried this mod and could comment. But I guess someone needs to be the guinea pig. If there is someone that has tried this, please let me know.

 

[HUCK]

I have the tires you are going with and 1.5 spacers but no lift kit and it works great ! Stock shocks work awesome for me . I have them set to firmest setting but after 2000+ miles the ride has gotten MUCH better too .

 

[JJdog]

I have the tires you are going with and 1.5 spacers but no lift kit and it works great ! Stock shocks work awesome for me . I have them set to firmest setting but after 2000+ miles the ride has gotten MUCH better too .

Thanks Huck. Glad to hear that it works well. It confirms I am on the right track. Can I assume from the colour of your rig that you have a 2015 or 16? If so you are starting with 1.1 inches more clearance that me. So a lift kit would put me pretty close to where you are with the same tires. Have you taken any measurements for ground clearance?

 

[Bruce4795]

Everything you mentioned will get you what you want , but if it was me , I would get the W.E. or Elka shocks. This wI'll let you adjust your ride height and gain you a much better ride than those pogo sticks they come with.

Boy, no kidding on the WE shocks. Just put 4 on my p 500 2018 model. They came with at least 2.5 inches of height gain on the front.....a test ride noted a slight vibration probably due to the increased drive shaft angle to the wheels. I ended up backing off the preload collar to stock height. I think one could probably get at least 3/4 inch or a bit more without any drive shaft vibration due to the increased angle on the cv joints. Get the angle to steep on the drive shaft to the wheels and it will bind per the dealer. I’ll probably go with taller tires and wheel spacers for more ground clearance and stability when the piggy bank recovers from the Walker Evans shock upgrade. Can’t comment on the ride change yet...have not been on any trails after the upgrade. The new shocks have 12 steps on the hydraulic shock absorber remote chamber.

 

[trigger]

I put 26" BH 2.0's on it right out of the gate and they did put me at 9.5". When I put WE on front I set them so I had 9.5". After a couple of rides they had sagged so I cranked them up so I had 10", they've sagged a little more over time. Same thing with the rears. Haven't checked for a while but my guess is it's riding around 9.5. Adding a bunch of preload to gain height would probably make it ride like crap and add stress to other components. FWIW.

 

[AlR]

Thanks for advice guys. Upgraded skids are on the list but i need to get some height first. Even with the abuse, the factory skids are not doing too badly.

I can't really afford (or justify to the boss) spending almost 2 grand on new shocks (way more expensive in Canada). The ride on the stock shocks is ok for me and I haven't heard that the WE shocks increase ride height by much which is what i am really after.

I am going to give the lift kit a try (it is only $150 and is a bolt-on). If it doesn't work I can take it off and not be out much. I was hoping that someone on the forum had already tried this mod and could comment. But I guess someone needs to be the guinea pig. If there is someone that has tried this, please let me know.

Where ru riding? I'm around Ladysmith

 

[Bruce4795]

I put 26" BH 2.0's on it right out of the gate and they did put me at 9.5". When I put WE on front I set them so I had 9.5". After a couple of rides they had sagged so I cranked them up so I had 10", they've sagged a little more over time. Same thing with the rears. Haven't checked for a while but my guess is it's riding around 9.5. Adding a bunch of preload to gain height would probably make it ride like crap and add stress to other components. FWIW.

Interesting the springs sag after a while. I agree about using the preload for maintaining ride height. I’m pretty sure the 2.5 inches of preload height from WE was stressing the drive shaft cv joints. Sounds like you have a very sensible approach for using the preload collars.

 

[trigger]

Interesting the springs sag after a while. I agree about using the preload for maintaining ride height. I’m pretty sure the 2.5 inches of preload height from WE was stressing the drive shaft cv joints. Sounds like you have a very sensible approach for using the preload collars.

I've adjusted them several times and they always seem to settle after awhile. I'm good with the ride height and just use the shock adjustment for riding conditions.

 

[JJdog]

Where ru riding? I'm around Ladysmith

I mostly ride on Blue Mountain near Maple Ridge.

 

[Smitty335]

View attachment 106234 View attachment 106233

Boy, no kidding on the WE shocks. Just put 4 on my p 500 2018 model. They came with at least 2.5 inches of height gain on the front.....a test ride noted a slight vibration probably due to the increased drive shaft angle to the wheels. I ended up backing off the preload collar to stock height. I think one could probably get at least 3/4 inch or a bit more without any drive shaft vibration due to the increased angle on the cv joints. Get the angle to steep on the drive shaft to the wheels and it will bind per the dealer. I’ll probably go with taller tires and wheel spacers for more ground clearance and stability when the piggy bank recovers from the Walker Evans shock upgrade. Can’t comment on the ride change yet...have not been on any trails after the upgrade. The new shocks have 12 steps on the hydraulic shock absorber remote chamber. View attachment 106234

NICE!

 

[JJdog]

View attachment 106234 View attachment 106233

Boy, no kidding on the WE shocks. Just put 4 on my p 500 2018 model. They came with at least 2.5 inches of height gain on the front.....a test ride noted a slight vibration probably due to the increased drive shaft angle to the wheels. I ended up backing off the preload collar to stock height. I think one could probably get at least 3/4 inch or a bit more without any drive shaft vibration due to the increased angle on the cv joints. Get the angle to steep on the drive shaft to the wheels and it will bind per the dealer. I’ll probably go with taller tires and wheel spacers for more ground clearance and stability when the piggy bank recovers from the Walker Evans shock upgrade. Can’t comment on the ride change yet...have not been on any trails after the upgrade. The new shocks have 12 steps on the hydraulic shock absorber remote chamber. View attachment 106234

Great info about the WE shocks Bruce. They look like amazing units. I didn't think about drive shaft angle on the CV joints. I will need to consider this when I install the lift kit. I have cranked up the pre-load on the stock shocks to the second last step to gain more ground clearance. if the lift kit creates too big an angle i should be able to crank it back a bit.

 

[Russ989]

I have a 2017 P500. As we all know, when revising the suspension for the 2017-19 P5, Honda installed softer springs and, i think, shorter shocks. The result was a loss of ground clearance from 9.6 inches to 8.5 The trails that i run in are mostly abandoned, overgrown logging roads that look more like stream beds than trails. Basketball size boulders are the norm. I regularly bottom out or get high centered.

I am planning on installing 26 inch BH 2.0s that should get me back to around 9.5 inches. I am also considering a small lift kit that claims a 1.5 inch lift. This kit has s.s. bolt-on brackets that relocate the upper shock mounts a bit lower to give the lift. i would also add 1.5 inch spacers on the stock wheels. This should give me around 11 inches of clearance.

Has anyone used this type of lift kit before? Does this setup sound reasonable?

After reading your post, all I can say is start ordering and installing. The P5’s are pretty good stock but if you’re riding trails like you described you’ll have to check off that list you have. I added 26’s to mine and it made a world of difference.

 

[danmac]

Thanks for advice guys. Upgraded skids are on the list but i need to get some height first. Even with the abuse, the factory skids are not doing too badly.

I can't really afford (or justify to the boss) spending almost 2 grand on new shocks (way more expensive in Canada). The ride on the stock shocks is ok for me and I haven't heard that the WE shocks increase ride height by much which is what i am really after.

I am going to give the lift kit a try (it is only $150 and is a bolt-on). If it doesn't work I can take it off and not be out much. I was hoping that someone on the forum had already tried this mod and could comment. But I guess someone needs to be the guinea pig. If there is someone that has tried this, please let me know.[/QUOT

 

[danmac]

After reading your post, all I can say is start ordering and installing. The P5’s are pretty good stock but if you’re riding trails like you described you’ll have to check off that list you have. I added 26’s to mine and it made a world of difference.

I agree with the prices in Canada they are insane really it's just but sometimes double the price anyone no a good place to get accessories in canada

 

[Bruce4795]

Great info about the WE shocks Bruce. They look like amazing units. I didn't think about drive shaft angle on the CV joints. I will need to consider this when I install the lift kit. I have cranked up the pre-load on the stock shocks to the second last step to gain more ground clearance. if the lift kit creates too big an angle i should be able to crank it back a bit.

Glad I could help. I do riding in some boulder fields like you do also...took some hits on first outing with the P5 stock. I’m planning on 27 inch Big Horn tires and 2 inch wheel spacers for improved stability. I did some calculations on the center of gravity changes with bigger tires. Based on the sticker on my P5 when new ( 33.5 degrees max tilt angle) I calculated the CG is about 38 inches above grade or about 3 inches above the rear rack on my 2018 model with similar ground clearance. Here is the diagram and a summary of what I calculated below the diagram. You can play with the numbers for your situation. The Tangent (Tan) of an angle is the opposite side divided by the adjacent side....knowing that should help you understand the diagram.

 

[Chuckie3]

Just ordered itp steel wheels 5/2 offset 12x7 with 26” all around big horn 2.0 . Now if I read right the front is wider than back is that a problem,thanks