420/459 Swaps on 97-14 Club Cars - What you need to know!

When it comes to 97-14 Club Cars, we spend a huge amount of time convincing people to avoid the 420/459s in favor of the 670s.

This blog is intended to explain in detail so you can make an informed decision. Just don't say we didn't warn ya!

The Problem:

1. Your factory engine rotates in the Clockwise direction (CW), the Predator engines rotate in the Counter Clockwise direction (CCW). This means that your forward gear will now be your reverse and your reverse gear will now be your forward.
   
   
2. Your forward gear ratio is usually 12:1 and your reverse gear is usually 17:1 (but we have seen 19:1 in some carts.).  This means that your cart will be SIGNIFICANTLY faster going in reverse than in forward. It also means that your cart will barely go 20mph while the engine is screaming at full rpm...super annoying!
   
   
3.  Shifting is noticeably more difficult with the engine idling when the engine is spinning the opposite direction and the only explanation for this is the design of the shifting mechanism is optimized for Clockwise rotation.

How come the 670 (22hp) engine doesn't have this problem?

We have specially developed a kit for the 670 that flips the engine around 180 degrees and drives the clutch off of the Flywheel to emulate a Clockwise (CW) rotation engine.

This same concept has proven infeasible with the 420/459 platform as they aren't as large/heavy duty enough to handle the loads associated with that. The failure rates are too high for us to stand behind that method.

Solutions:

You can swap to an 8:1 gearset and get your top speed back, however, this is time consuming/costly and at that point it just makes sense to go with a 670. 

Conclusion:

Now that you understand the why behind the kits that we offer, we hope you have more clarity in your decision making. Despite not recommending the 420/459 swaps, thousands of people every year do them and are still very happy with their choice.

Obviously, if you don't want to lift your cart, there's no alternate solution at this time.

HAPPY CARTING