Diamond J Customs' a-arm and shock widening kits are a unique approach to increasing the width of an ATV. Instead of replacing the a-arms with custom built, expensive after-market a-arms, this kit simply relocates where the a-arms and shocks mount to the frame. The precision laser-cut brackets supplied in the kit bolt to the stock mounts on the frame, and provide two sets of new mount locations for the a-arms and shocks that are 2 ¼ or 3 inches outward on each side. This provides a 4 ½ or 6 inch total (including both sides) increase in the width of the ATV while making use of all of the stock suspension components. Threaded tie rod extensions that thread onto your stock tie rods and secure in place with jam nuts are also included in the kits to extend the steering tie rods to match the widening kit.

Some of the widening kits for ATV's 300cc's and smaller have the option to include shock mount kits that are adjustable (we call them Shock Conversion Kits) to allow the customer to vary the ride height of the ATV, utilize longer shocks, or both. We do sell these shock conversion kits separately, but they are really designed to be used with our widening kits (we call this a Widening Kit with Shock Conversion).

So, a kit that moves the upper shock mounts and the a-arm mounts outward, is called a Widening Kit. When it has an adjustable upper shock mount, it is called a Widening Kit with Shock Conversion. One other variation that we sell, is one where the upper shock widening parts are not included at all. Only the parts to widen the a-arms (and tie rods) are included. This versions is called a Widening and Lowering Kit. By doing this, the lower shock mounts move out by three inches on each side, but the upper shocks mounts don't move. This causes the suspension to "squat" down about 3 1/2 inches. Also, because the suspension goes a little outward when it lowers, a normal plus 6 inch widening kit is actually a little over plus 7 inches when it is used as a Widening and Lowering Kit. Please keep in mind that our Widening and Lowering Kits have LESS parts than our Widening kits. This can be a little confusing. Our widening and lowering kits cannot be used to widen the ATV and maintain the stock ride height. But, if you purchase a Widening Kit, you can simply remove the upper shock widening brackets to convert it to a widening and lowering kit. Some models, particularly some of the Yamaha ATVs won't allow a widening and lowering kit because the upper a-arms have a solid cross-tube which may interfere with the shock if the upper shock widening brackets are not installed. Our widening kits do work on these models.

Kits come complete with all necessary hardware to make the conversion to a wider stance.  Please specify if you want the tie rod extensions for the +4.5" or +6.0" setting by letting us know at the time of ordering. If we don't hear from you within a couple days, we will assume you want the +6" kit since 95% of the kits we sell are the wider version.

Shocks and a-arms are not included with any of the kits.  The words "shocks" and "a-arms" appear in the title because these are the parts of the ATV that are widened, not because they are included.  After-market a-arms and shocks will work with this widening kit, but they are not required.

The kits require no cutting or welding and can be installed easily in an afternoon by a typical home mechanic / do-it-yourselfer. We have installed many kits, and it takes us less than an hour to install a kit. Brake lines are typically long enough for the conversion if the intermediate brake line support on the a-arm is disconnected to provide more slack in the lines. Rerouting the brake lines around frame members to give a more direct path to the hubs can also help. Longer brake lines are available in our eBay store if you prefer to also make that modification. The following ATV's will most likely need longer brake lines for the +6" setting: YFZ450, 450R, Raptor 250 and Z400.

Some of the pictures show the ATV's with the front bumper removed so you can see the kit more easily. The bumper mounts are not affected by the kits. Stock and aftermarket bumpers should work fine with all kits. One exception to this is the Yamaha Blaster which may have an issue if you try to use our kit with an aftermarket bumper.

Steel brackets are made from 1/4" thick carbon steel and are designed to be used in all types of riding and racing, including motocross and GNCC. We have hundreds of customers using our kits to race every weekend. The a-arm mounting brackets are designed to be nearly as strong as the a-arms connecting to them. The eight separate brackets work together to share the load in all directions (such as rough terrain or hooking an occasional tree on the trails). These kits ARE designed (and used) for the harsh conditions of motocross racing. Maybe 1/4" steel doesn't sound thick to you, but anything thicker would be overkill (keep in mind the frame brackets that these mount to, are usually 1/8" thick steel or less. We have never had an incident where our kits have caused cracking of the frame mounts or frame joints. Because the widening brackets mount to both sides of the frame, and span both mounting locations, the loads are more easily shared between a larger area, which helps make this a very rigid and robust solution.

All kits come powder coated gloss black. Color choice is not available, but other colors can be painted or powder coated by the customer over the gloss black finish. Kit components go through a seven stage chemical dip cleaning process, are electro-statically dipped in black primer, baked, then powder coated and baked again to a super high-strength gloss-black finish.

We also have awesome looking and very strong custom billet aluminum rear wheel spacers that will fit these ATV's and spread the rear 2 inches on each side. They are listed in our eBay store.

Like most other eBay items, you are using this "as-is" kit at your own risk, with no warranty expressed or implied. By bidding, you are agreeing to these conditions. As you can see from our feedback, we can be very helpful if you have questions before or after your purchase, and we will do everything we can to make sure you are as thrilled with these conversion kits as we are.

We are thrilled with the performance of this kit, and excited that so many others have enjoyed it as well. You won't be disappointed!!! As you can see from our feedback, these kits are for real, and we are very fair and honest people to work with!! Send us pictures of your ATV after you have installed it so we can include it in our website galleries.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS and ANSWERS:

Q: Have your products ever been tested and reviewed by one of the ATV magazines?
A: Yes, we have appeared in several magazines around the world. We have supplied test kits to them for their review and testing, and have had nothing but positive reports.

If you are interested, here are some comments from the September 2009 issue of DIRT WHEELS (by Daisy/Hi-Torque Publishing Company of Valencia, CA USA). They had a seven page feature on various modfications to a Yamaha Raptor 250. Here are a few words from that review:

"Up front, we needed about two hours to install the A-arm widening kit. To start the install, we had to remove the upper and lower A-arms and front shocks. Next, widening plates were installed onto the stock mounting locations, supplying new mounting points at 2.25 incheas and three inches wider than stock." "Using the stock shocks, the wider suspension wasn't overly soft. Stability on the trails was a huge improvement. In most situations, we could keep the 250's throttle pinned and just rail in and out of the trees much faster than before." "On the track, our lap times were improved by over two seconds a lap. No longer did we have t oslow down to keep the quad from tipping or two-wheeling through the turns. The Diamond J-equipped Yamaha railed around the sweepers and carved along the berms with total control."

Q: What kind of shock and a-arms come with this widening kit?
A: Please read the description again. This kit is for widening your existing a-arms and shocks, so that you don't need to invest in new suspension components.

Q: Can I get this kit in a different color?
A: No, sorry.  We only sell the kits in black, but you can paint over our black powder coating in your garage if you prefer a different color.

Q: How wide will my ATV be after installing the kit.
A: If you order the +6.0 inch widening kit, your overall width will be exactly 6 inches wider after installing our widening kit. If you have the +4.5 kit, you will be exactly 4.5 inches wider after our widening kit is installed.

Q: Do you ship to countries outside of the USA?
A: We will ship our products anywhere.  We have already shipped our kits to hundreds of foreign countries. Our ads list the shipping cost for the US, Canada and all other countries.

Q: Isn't 1/4" steel going to bend or break?
A: We could make these brackets out of any thickness.  We have found that 1/4" thick steel is the perfect thickness for strength, and keeps the weight as low as possible. We have performed computer analysis of our kits, and have subjected them to thousands of hours of testing and have made several improvements over the years where they were needed.  An additional positive, is that even in our most extreme tests and in accident situations, the failure mode of these steel brackets is bending (not breaking).  This is preferred, because if you do encounter an unusual situation, bending a bracket versus breaking something, is always preferred.  We don't expect you to have strength issues with our kits, but occassionally an accident will occur.

Q: Do I need extended length tie rods for this kit?
A: We supply a tie rod extension for each of your two tie rods, so you can thread them on and go. We supply tie rod extensions because they are cost effective, easy to install, and it allows us to stock common parts that are usable on all of the different makes of ATVs.  If we supplied full length extended tie rods, it would add cost to the kit and we would need to make literally 60 or 70 different tie rod lengths and diameters to cover all of the different models. For the vast majority of customers, our tie rod extensions are the perfect solution.  For some ATV models, in particular the pre-2006 Yamaha's like the YFZ450's and 660R's, the factory uses 10mm diameter tie rods which are sometimes a little weak.  Making them longer with extensions just puts additional stress on what might be the weak link of the system.  We recommend if you ride in harsh conditions, you consider a high quality +2 or +3 extended length tie rod made of steel or high quality aluminum. There are many sellers on eBay and in ATV distributor catalogs that provide these parts. You can also buy tie rod and tie rod end kits that will allow you to upgrade to 12mm diameter tie rods like the Honda's and the 2006 and newer Yamaha's use.

Q: How much does a widening kit weigh?
A: Our widening kits generally weigh between 9 and 12 pounds depending on the model. This includes the mounting hardware, which will replace some of the hardware already on the ATV. We try to keep the weight as low as possible, but adding weight is one compromise to a wider stance. By comparison, a set of +3 extended length aftermarket a-arms can add around 5 to 8 pounds depending on the brand.

Q: Does a widening kit create excessive bump steer?
A: Bump steer is when the front tires "toe-out" when landing a big jump, which can cause the ATV to dart left or right unexpectedly. All ATV's have bump steer from the factory, because the pivots of the tie rods aren't exactly lined up with the flex points of the dual a-arm system. This means that as the suspension goes through its range of up and down motion, the tie rods go through a slightly different range of motion which affects the toe-in / toe-out of the tires at each point through the range. Because our widening kits move the a-arms outward without actually moving the tie rod pivot points, they do increase the amount of bump steer in the system. The real question is "how much is significant, and will I notice it?". We have sold literally thousands of kits across the world. We can count the number of customers that have said they noticed a change in bumpsteer on one hand (less than five). This is even less that we would expect, because if you know what you are looking for, its possible to feel it. We think that the added amount of bump steer is an acceptable compromise compared to spending much more on expensive systems that avoid added bump steer. We recommend that you be the judge, because the chances that someone else's opinion is based on facts or experience, is unlikely...

Shipping & handling is flat rate, and our products are all pre-boxed and ready to ship. Combined shipping is not usually possible.  We use the US Postal Service to ship worldwide, and it is by far the least expensive method available.  Our kits fit perfectly in the flat-rate shipping boxes, so shipping costs are minimized by a single kit per flat rate box.

The goal of Diamond J Customs is to develop and offer products that add performance to the ATV without the enormous price tag found on other ATV aftermarket products. We do this by designing kits that will allow use of as many stock components as possible, and allow you to mount higher performing parts from other ATV’s on your model. These parts are often available at reasonable prices on eBay, saving you money. We've sold literally thousands of these kits to other “Quad Fanatics” and from the feedback from customers on eBay, you can see that they have been more than satisfied with the products. We work hard to design products that maximize the performance of your ATV while keeping prices as low as possible. Safety is not something that will be compromised. We appreciate your interest in our products, and hope to have you as a customer!!

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