Best Polaris General Lift Kit Options
These lift kits will get people standing at attention for your General
Whether you’re trying to fit taller tires onto your Polaris General, improve your breakover angle, or simply trying to lock in a more aggressive, imposing look, a Polaris General lift kit is a worthwhile mod to consider.
A “lift kit” is any package of bolt-on components that raises the ride height of your vehicle a substantial amount over stock, typically by using either steel brackets that relocate the shock mounts to some new, lower point on the chassis, or metal spacer collars that effectively extend the coilovers. The result is a vehicle that rides taller, with better ground clearance and approach, breakover, and departure angles, and extra space to fit larger tires without rubbing. In the case of the Polaris General, including most 4-seater Polaris General 4 lift kit designs, lifts generally deliver in the range of 2 to 4 inches of extra ride height. That said, kits can go as high as 7 inches or more over the factory ride height.
Here, we’ve rounded up a list of the best Polaris General lift kit options on the market today, spanning a range of price points and lift heights.
Table of Contents
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1. Editor's Choice: SuperATV 3" Lift Kit for Polaris General 1000/4: Shop Now
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2. Best Basic Lift Kit: SuperATV 3" Aluminum Spring Spacers Lift Kit for Polaris General XP 1000/XP4: Shop Now
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3. Best 4" Lift Kit: High Lifter 4" Signature Series Suspension Lift Kit for Polaris General 1000: Shop Now
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4. WeiSen 4 Inch Front and Rear Suspension Lift Kit for Polaris General 1000/4: Shop Now
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5. SuperATV Heavy Duty 7-10" Lift Kit for Polaris General 1000/4: Shop Now
1. Editor's Choice: SuperATV 3" Lift Kit for Polaris General 1000/4
What could you do with 3 inches of extra ground clearance? An awful lot. And it’s just what you get with this Polaris General lift kit from SuperATV – one of our favorite go-to brands for aftermarket ATV and UTV parts. Made from precision-cut heavy-duty steel, this lift kit includes everything you need to get an extra 3 inches of lift at both the front and the back of the Polaris General, and every component is built to last with a durable, high-quality black powdercoat finish that resists abrasion and keeps salt and moisture away from the steel, fending off corrosion. Not only is this lift kit compatible with 2016+ General 1000 models, but it’s also a Polaris General 4 lift kit, fitting 4-seat General models from 2017 onward. The only models it won’t fit are Polaris’s higher-performance General XPs.
2. Best Basic Lift Kit: SuperATV 3" Aluminum Spring Spacers Lift Kit for Polaris General XP 1000/XP4
Speaking of the Polaris General XP, SuperATV hasn’t forgotten about those models; the company also offers these milled aluminum suspension spacer rings for the General XP 1000 and General XP 4. Because they’re only spacers, they don’t fundamentally change the suspension geometry like some other Polaris General lift kit products might, and they maintain the factory turning radius. CNC machined from billet aluminum, this Polaris General XP lift kit doesn’t have any light or fragile components to fail – just a set of four beefy alloy rings that won’t rust or rot no matter how much elemental exposure they see. And if you’re worried about their reliability anyway, don’t be; SuperATV sells each kit with a limited lifetime warranty, not to mention a 100% fit guarantee.
3. Best 4" Lift Kit: High Lifter 4" Signature Series Suspension Lift Kit for Polaris General 1000
Need more than 3 inches of lift? Then check out this 4-inch Polaris General lift kit from one of the automotive aftermarket’s premier suspension lift brands: High Lifter. The folks at High Lifter have managed to keep this kit affordable, despite an impressive amount of lift front and rear, and an eye for component quality and longevity. If you're looking for something a little more stout, this lift kit from WSays features weather-resistant black powdercoated steel brackets, precisely cut for a trouble-free bolt-on install, and zinc-plated or similar hardware throughout. The end result is a lift kit that should last season after season despite rain, snow, and extreme temperatures. Sadly, this kit is only for the General 1000 EPS and General 1000 EPS Premium, but if that happens to be your Polaris, High Lifter says that with this kit alone, you can run tires up to 32 inches in diameter – an impressive size for a side-by-side.
4. WeiSen 4 Inch Front and Rear Suspension Lift Kit for Polaris General 1000/4
A 4” Polaris General lift kit for less, this package from WeiSen unlocks the ability to fit tires measuring up to 32” tall on an otherwise stock General 1000 EPS, including Deluxe, Hunter Edition, and Limited Edition models. But unlike the 4” High Lifter kit listed above, this product also serves as a Polaris General 4 lift kit, fitting at least some of Polaris’s 4-seater General range – sadly, no XP. Sure, it’s more inexpensive than similar kits from the more well-established brands, but WeiSen seems to have hit on all the most important points, with precise heavy duty steel construction, a rock-solid black powdercoat finish to prevent abrasion and fend off rust, and high-quality coated hardware. Installation is a straightforward bolt-on affair, and using this kit, you can keep your factory axles and wheel spacing – not bad for a budget pick.
5. SuperATV Heavy Duty 7-10" Lift Kit for Polaris General 1000/4
If you live by the mantra “go big or go home” and you’ve got a couple thousand dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you need to check this out: SuperATV’s 7-10” Polaris General lift kit. With different versions for 2016-2018 models and those from 2019 onward, just about every non-XP General in the range is covered, with heavy duty 1-1/4” steel tubing A arms, 3/4" solid steel Z-bent tie rods, and hand-welded heavy duty steel brackets. Each kit also includes a set of super tough chromoly Rhino 2.0 axles, keeping the suspension geometry correct despite the bonkers 7 to 10 extra inches of lift you’ll be running, and a set of brake lines for all four corners. Trust us: you’ll need them. If you plan on running the factory wheels, or any 12”-diameter wheels, you’ll need a set of 1” wheel spacers to go along with the kit, but if you’re already dropping upwards of two grand on a Polaris General suspension lift kit, what’s another couple of bucks?
How Will A Polaris General Lift Kit Affect Handling?
On any off-road vehicle, whether an ATV, a UTV, or a road-legal passenger vehicle, more suspension lift means more ground clearance. All else being equal, that means that you can drive over taller obstacles without scraping, and it improves the approach, breakover, and departure angles of the vehicle by raising the front, middle, and rear of the vehicle higher over the tires.
That said, one of the key tradeoffs installing a Polaris General lift kit or a Polaris General 4 lift kit is that the center of gravity of the vehicle is raised. In other words, the “center” or “average” location of all the vehicle’s mass will sit higher off the ground than before, and that has negative implications for its ability to corner at speed. Simply put, the body of a lifted vehicle will “roll” more through fast corners, compressing the outside suspension – and extending the outside – significantly more than at the stock ride height, assuming it’s still wearing the factory springs and dampers. There’s even an elevated rollover risk, and the extra force being applied to the outside suspension means there’s less travel if you hit a bump mid-corner, which means the vehicle might be easier to upset.
In short, we only recommend installing a Polaris General lift kit if you prioritize trail-crawling over high-speed off-roading, or if you must in order to fit the larger tires you want on your General.
The process of installing a Polaris General lift kit will vary greatly depending on the specific kit and your particular General model. Most of the kits on this list are at least somewhat similar in design, using steel brackets to relocate the shock mounts lower down on the vehicle, but you might also encounter a kit of the “spring spacer” variety, which is generally more straightforward to install, but also higher-risk, as you will have to compress the coil springs.
How Do You Install A Polaris General Lift Kit?
The process of installing a Polaris General lift kit will vary greatly depending on the specific kit and your particular General model. Most of the kits on this list are at least somewhat similar in design, using steel brackets to relocate the shock mounts lower down on the vehicle, but you might also encounter a kit of the “spring spacer” variety, which is generally more straightforward to install, but also higher-risk, as you will have to compress the coil springs.
With that in mind, we can’t possibly cover every step of the installation process for every kit. For that, you’ll need to refer to your manufacturer-supplied instructions or an instructional video online. What we can do is give a broad overview of the steps involved.
Begin by parking your Polaris General on flat, level ground, securely raising the vehicle with a jack, and removing all four wheels. The suspension should be at full extension, allowing you to loosen the fasteners securing the top of the damper/spring strut assembly and detach that end of the strut from the chassis. At this point, if your lift kit consists of a set of spring spacers, you can detach the bottom of the strut assembly as well and remove the strut from the vehicle. You will then use a set of spring compressors to compress the coil spring, removing the tension so that the hat can be removed from the strut and the spacer can be installed.
It’s important to use an abundance of caution when performing this procedure; each spring can exert hundreds of pounds of force, and should a spring compressor break or slip off, serious injury can result.
If, on the other hand, your lift kit consists of a set of relocating brackets and hardware, you will leave the bottom of the strut installed, and simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installing the brackets. The strut top will be attached to the bracket during reassembly, not the original mounting location.
With either style of Polaris General lift kit, it may be necessary after installation to use a damper adjusting tool to extend each damper to its longest setting. Be sure to refer to the manufacturer-provided instructions to know whether this step is necessary. After the struts are fastened securely back into place, using a calibrated torque wrench to perform the final tightening, you can put the wheels back on and lower the vehicle.
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Aaron is a freelance writer, videographer and car enthusiast based out of the Detroit area. He has a special affinity for the Porsche 944 series, and once owned a Volvo 240 sedan with a Weber carb in place of the factory EFI system. His work has appeared on AutoGuide, GM Authority, /Drive, and VW Vortex, among other sites.
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