So after my first ride, and the 3 flats that accompanied it, I quickly came to the conclusion that my stock 25" Carlisle Trail Pro tires were not cutting it. Yea, I yanno .. *SHOCKER* And I surely didn't have the $900+ to purchase the 30" Tusk Terrabites with 14" rims that I ultimately wanted. But a trip to the local tire store confirmed that my sidewall cut was not patchable. And there was no way in hell I was buying another crap tire after my first ride in the Wildcat.

Since I had $160 in Amazon gift cards, I figured it was the best place to buy tires, so I proceeded to find the best tire for the money, and I ended up settling on a set of 4 GBC Dirt Commander 8 ply bias ply tires, that while not as big as the 30's, will definitely take a beating compared to the crap 4 plys on there now. At $423 shipped (free shipping !!), it ended up costing me around $275 for a set of 4 after the gift cards. That same local tire shop only charged me $56 to remove and toss the old ones, and mount the new ones.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!AvOnOWku2Z3vg_cW1VArOGVyI9OpfA 

While I had it in the garage, I took care of the following:

Added 4 stainless steel eye bolts to the bed. Using heavy duty bungees, these secure the Plano box in the bed.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!AvOnOWku2Z3vg_cYottM0L72olmkxA

Plano box isn't moving anywhere now:
https://1drv.ms/i/s!AvOnOWku2Z3vg_cXnvrVGW0NLilqvA

Adjusted the springs to gain some missing ground clearance. Fox shocks are great, AC springs are saggy junk. Will be replacing the springs next year.

Cut the rounded half windshield down to a flat quarter shield. It was blocking my vision on the front corners of the body once it got muddy, so I buzzed 3" off the top. It will still block the mud tossed up at me, but I can now see over it. Also removed the black tape holding it in place and added quick release rubber mounts. Nothing says ghetto mod like electrical tape holding your windshield in place !

Added a throttle pedal spring that's twice as thick as the stock one. The twitchy pedal is now gone !! You have to firmly press it to go, and it beats that twitchy throttle response as you navigate over rocky trails. Nothing tires your foot out like a weak pedal spring. One of my favorite mods so far.

Next ride is Friday and Saturday at Snow Shoe. They are having a pig roast on Saturday, so I go up a day early and stay at a friend's cabin on the trail system, getting in a late ride Friday night so I can beat the rush in the trailhead on Saturday morning.

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Yeah and you have just started... lol

yeah...I was talking to my dad and he agreed.  What ever you are going to spend on a quad to fix it up at least double it if not 4x the price for a SxS.  Its the nature of the sport for sure

Tell me more about this throttle spring.... sounds like a project I'd love to do!

I PM'd you a link to the throttle spring. Its made by a company called Speedwerx, and between that spring and a secondary clutch spring they sell for the Wildcat, its the best $60 I have spent on the thing so far.

My ride at SSRT went very well - no flats, no high centering - plenty of ground clearance now. I measured it at 11.5", which is 3.5" higher than my first ride. We had some rough, tight trails to navigate as well, and I climbed over at least two downed trees on the trail that measures over 14" in height. I'd still like to add a 2" lift to the thing, and I wish I'd find just one Wildcat owner that tried out the various 2" bracket lifts for the Polaris model line, but so far no one has offered up any info on adapting it to fit on an Arctic Cat. I think for now I can hold off on the spending, as it's fine running like it is. I still hope to pick up an aftermarket muffler and replacement springs to maintain the ride height. And for safeties sake, I have to pick up 4 point harnesses, as the 3 point seatbelts in these are just crap. They cut into your neck unless you wear something that fits tightly to your neck. Otherwise, I am really enjoying it. I'm starting to finally enjoy the benefits of the SxS over an ATV, and when the guy I was riding with was caught in a driving rainshower, I just laughed and pointed at my soft top roof.