New Yamaha Quiet Tech front tires bowed out.
 

Got a new 2022 Yamaha Quiet Tech and absolutely love it. Between the four way independent suspension, rack in pinion steering, super quiet ride, ample room for a tall guy, and 250 - 300 mile range on a tank of gas, it’s a perfect ride for the Villages. One thing about the cart that bothers me is that the front tires are noticeably bowed out (wider at the base than the top). Is anyone else aware of this and know the reason for the design? Is this for better handling? I am concerned this design will lead to premature tire wear and necessitate frequent tire rotations? Has anyone tried to fix this with either an alignment or other front end modifications? Curious minds want to know? Please, I don’t want to hear that I should have purchased an electric cart!

That's the correct stance for these carts... Enjoy!

Lots of camber is normal for stability off road.

Should be toed in 1/8" - 1/4" .

The link provided is for a 2003 vintage Yamaha golf cart and would NOT be correct for the newer 2022 golf cart, please do not use this information.

Removed...

If it hit a curb, here's a reason why toe could be off.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=LCfvqh1t...SIkaIECMiOmarE

I think you are correct OP, I took a picture of my 2022 gas Quiet Tech Yamaha cart and it looks different.

Was an issue in 2017.

Factory fixed the issue half way thru 2018.

2019 and 2020 ........................... no issue.

Why is the issue back???......no idea, maybe the factory had leftover parts.

I do not know when the Yamaha golf carts went to 4 wheel independent suspension, but this may be due to that change, you may want to do an internet search, or contact Yamaha directly with your concern.

Thanks, I believe 4 wheel independent suspension started in 2017 with the first year of the quiet tech drive 2 model year. I have Todd Casey coming to our house to tune up my wife’s club car in a couple weeks and I will pick his brain and see if I can learn more about what’s up with the new carts front end alignment. Also, I am going to call the service department at the dealership where I bought the cart on Monday.

My understanding...............2017 thru 2021, the front-end's were all fixed in place, no adjustments. Let us know what you find out about the new models.

I have a 2022 and it looks the same. I have over 3,000 miles on it and am not seeing any abnormal tire wear. Have fun in your new golf cart!

I have a 2019 gas model that I bought used, and mine is the same and, yes, I am getting premature wear. they are almost worn out already. Since I bought it used, I have not talked to a dealer's mechanic about it. One of Willies mobile cart service mechanics told me that there is not much you can do. He said Yamaha sells some kind of after-market suspension part that will help, but I haven't pursued that. (you can probably tell that I am not much of a mechanic). I will follow this post to see if I can pick up any facts about it.

When you post here and don’t want to hear something - good luck - you will get ANYTHING - yea I noticed it but figured I have other areas of my life to consider!!

I have a 5 year old QuietTech. Yes the front tires wear on the inside and yes there is no adjustment. Enjoy the added stability and PLEASE tilt your blinding LED bar down. Thank you.

I have a 2020 and the tires are toed out and they have uneven wear. THe tech told me that Yamaha did it with the increased speeds of the carts to help prevent roll over possibilities when taking turns at higher speeds. Whether that is true or not I don't know but I am not happy about it.

& have it on a switch

there are very few places in TV where the LED bars are needed.

keep them off until needed and there is no on-coming traffic.

My 2022 is the same way. I ran it past Villages Golf Cars and they said it was normal.

I have a 2018 Yamaha that had the same issue. Carts & Clubs kept telling me it was normal. Last month they said they had a fix and it was replacing the front springs with firmer and stiffer ones from a Yamaha Electric cart. It made a big difference. My front tires wore out at 5,000 miles and I replaced them at the same time along with an alignment. Cost was $300 for the new springs, installation and alignment.

My neighbor had the same problem on his new 2022 after several service calls dealer installed heavyer front springs now sits higher ( check spring thickness on a older cart to newer a big difference). corrected problem....

Please keep us updated with what you learn. I also see two posters have solutions of firmer shocks & heavier springs. Interested to learn the solution you take.

I have a 2022 also and yes bowed out. Was also curious why?. I did not buy it in TV. I had 12 rims and radial tires put on. Will let you know how they wear over time. Hopefully ok.....

Light bar is on its own switched relay. Also, took the cart out at night and drove it around the neighborhood Village with my wife driving her cart in the other direction and adjusted the tilt until the boss gave the thumbs up that the light angle wasn’t disturbing for passing vehicles. Had I known how good the lights are that came with the new cart I probably wouldn’t have bought the light bar, but I bought it before taking delivery of the cart so installed it anyways (plus it looks cool). Only switch it on in dark areas with no traffic.

On another note, I got the new cart with a clear, non-tinted windshield. What a huge difference that makes when driving at night if the windshield is up. I will never get a tinted windshield again, they make these things called sunglasses and unless my wife is in the cart the windshield is always folded down anyhow. Unfortunately, they currently only make the vented windshield in the tinted version.

On my cart we keep in Tennessee, I added an LED light bar also. Mrs. EDJ calls it a train light. Ever since the Master tuned my cart, it can hit speeds up to 33mph. On our lake rural roads and paths, the factory headlights often were outrun by the cart, so avoiding deer became a priority, hence the light. Works great, very happy with it! It is on a toggle switch to the dash, so I can flip it on and off when I see cars/cart approaching from the opposite direction.

P.S.- If you're even thinking about posting a reply to gripe or virtue signal about the speed or safety of my cart, I have a message for you. If you can't write me a ticket, then pound sand, I don't care what you think about my cart's setup. Even if you can write me a ticket, we will have that discussion when you find me, cite me, and I promptly pay the $10 and go back to doing WTF I want. Thankyouverymuchandmindyourownbusinessnannystater.

I have a 2018 that I bought new. The front tires began to wear prematurely and took it back to The Villages Golf Cart where I purchased it. They replaced the front tires and parts in the front end.

Rolling a golf cart is pretty hard to do since all the weight is at the bottom of the cart. If you've ever seen a golf cart that's been in an accident it's always on it's side, not upside down. With that low center of gravity, unless you're on the side of a steep hill, it's difficult to tip over.

Ours does that as well. I did a realignment to make them straight. BAD IDEA. The cart would not track properly. Driving scared the Hell out of me. I put them right back to where they were.

I recently got my 2022 Yamaha and I did notice that the front tires are a little bowed out. I have a problem with the cart bouncing at 17 to 20mgh. Dealer has replaced the back tires which appeared to have a bad flat spot on them however problem is still there. They are looking at it again tomorrow and I was wondering if there could be anything else they should look at that could cause this bouncing? Any thoughts if it is not the tires? Thanks!

Yaamaha Camber Problem
 

This is a negative camber problem with the 2017 and up chassis redesign. I've got a 2022 model and complained about the issue to The Villages Gold Carts and the manufacturer. They say the camber was designed that way for stability but when you put 2000 miles a year on your cart, mostly on pavement, tire wear becomes a huge issue.
Since I have built a couple of hot rods, wheel alignment is a huge issue for me. Camber should be neutral or slightly positive with a toe in of 1/4". I fixed this problem on my cart by purchasing adjustable aftermarket shocks online for about $275. I changed out the shocks but used my original coil springs which were a little lighter gauge than the aftermarket ones. After a few hours on the garage floor, I have adjusted the front wheel alignment (camber and toe in) to my liking. Should have been adjustable from the factory and it just urks me that I had to spend my time and money to fix a new $18,000 cart.
Lots of videos online to show you how to do it.

Following! Bouncing problem

Tires
 

I have a 2012 Yamaha that I bought new. I had over 26,000 miles on the original tires. Yes 26,000 miles! I decided to put radial tires on it and they bounced like crazy. After a month I went back and was told they couldn’t balance tires or had a remedy. I had them removed and went back to bias belted tires. Just did that this week and ride is much much better. Still a little hop but hoping with a little miles on it will be like ride from my originals.

I think it has too much camber. Maybe a it is different for a Golf Cart. I did front end alignment on cars for years. Just looking at this picture it looks like it has lots of camber on the drivers sided too much camber. It difficult to tell without measuring it. With that said camber should not make tires explode.

Front Tires Blew Out
 

We have a Yamaha Quiet Tech about 5 years old and both front tires blew out from excessive wear on the inside. within 6 months of each other in the past year. ( we are here 4mo/yr). Required 2 new tires and calls made to Carts and Clubs and elsewhere were answered with, a shrug and “it sometimes happens”. Something ain’t right but they don’t want to admit it apparently.

Design Criteria is for Off-Road
 

Yamaha designs the suspension for use on golf courses and not level paved surfaces. Their carts have negative camber with the tires being closer together at the top than the bottom. This adds to the cart's stability when traversing a hillside where one side of the cart is uphill and the other downhill. Yamaha is so confident with this set-up that it makes no provision to adjust the camber.

Also, the photo of your cart was taken when it was empty. Add a driver and passenger whose combined weight might range from 300 to 400+ lbs and you will find the negative camber is significantly reduced.

In short, don't worry about the negative camber of your cart's front wheels. If you experience unusual tire wear, it is likely due to one or both being under-inflated or the toe-in being incorrect. Toe-in is easily adjustable on all golf carts provided the bushings are not shot or a tie-rod or steering knuckle is not bent.

I join the other respondents with their concerns about the enormous LED light bar on your cart. I appreciate that you have taken steps to minimize the problems these lights cause for approaching drivers; however, I doubt those steps are as effective as you believe them to be. Even so, I wish other owners would try to follow your lead. The truth is that these light bars cannot be effectively adjusted to avoid blinding oncoming drivers as they are unfocused and have no "cut-off" as do modern automobile headlights. Even when you think you have them pointed downward, if your cart hits a bump or is coming uphill in relation to an oncoming cart, you will blind the other driver. Many Village residents have cataracts or have had cataract replacement surgery. Most suffer "glare and flare" when confronted by these light bars. More times than I like to count, I have had to dramatically slow my cart or even pull to the side of the cart path when blinded by these lights. With the standard LED headlights on your new Yamaha as well as other brands of carts, there is no need for these light bars.

I found the original Yamaha LED headlights (2017 vintage) to be ineffective, especially with the tinted windshield. I found MOTORCYCLE driving lights (LED based) that are DOT approved and can be aimed to light the road and not blind on coming drivers. These were around $25 for a pair, and I found that only one is required. If people are interested, I will dig up the Amazon link and post it. I also have these on a separate fuse and switch from the headlights.

Dealers and The Villages OUGHT TO standardize the speed limits for carts on streets. 20 mph, 25 mph, or whatever - just pick one and stick to it, and no cheating and jacking up the governor.

I would say that the center of gravity for a GAS golf cart is rather HIGH, especially if bigger wheels are put on.Then if you jack up their speed, you are asking for trouble!
........The independent rear suspension would offset that high center of gravity to a certain extent. Plus Yamaha makes quality products.

What a surprise, the factory knew best!

I think that bias ply would be superior on a low-speed golf cart. Radial tires were pioneered for race cars and better gas mileage. Also, to heat up less and be more controlled in a HIGH-SPEED blowout. None of which applies to a Golf Cart.

Hmmmm? It also depends on HOW it is put together. And why have a golf cart set up for hills on a golf course if most of your mileage is on pavement…

Do you even own a golf cart?