Most riders start shopping for ATV upgrades after a specific bad day. A rock takes out a CV boot. The headlights quit halfway down the trail. A stock machine bottoms out in a rut it should have cleared. PERFEX Industries has built parts in North America since 2012, and the pattern repeats across every make we fit. The upgrades that matter are the ones that fix a problem you already had.
This guide covers the upgrade options that change ride height, protect the underside, widen the stance, and keep you moving after dark. Most riders arrive looking for ATV performance upgrades. They leave with something more useful: parts that keep the machine working.
Lift Kits and Suspension: The Aftermarket ATV Parts That Change Everything Else
A lift kit sits at the top of almost every upgrade list because it changes what every other part can do. Raise the machine two inches and larger tires clear the fenders. Ground clearance improves. The approach angle over a log or a ledge gets easier. PERFEX manufactures bolt-on suspension lift kits that raise an ATV or side by side without replacing the shocks, which keeps the cost and the install time down.
Every kit carries a lifetime warranty on the structure itself. Upgrading your ATV in this order saves money, because the lift determines what tires and wheels will fit afterward.
Start here, then build outward.
How Much Ground Clearance Your Can-Am Outlander or Polaris RZR Actually Needs
Two inches solves most trail problems. Three inches suits mud riders running oversized tires. The Can-Am Outlander gains enough clearance at two inches to stop dragging its skid plate through ruts, and our Can-Am Outlander lift kits ship with model-specific hardware. A Polaris RZR built for dunes behaves differently: extra height raises the centre of gravity, so sand riders often stay lower and widen the stance instead.
Terrain decides the number. Ask what you get stuck on, not how tall the machine looks.
Suspension Lift vs. Bigger Tires on a Honda Foreman or Yamaha Grizzly
Riders ask which comes first. Bigger tires add clearance at the axle. A suspension lift adds clearance under the frame. The Honda Foreman and the Yamaha Grizzly both gain more usable ground clearance from the lift, because the frame is what grounds out first on a side hill. The same holds for a Honda Rancher, a Honda Rubicon, a Polaris Sportsman, a Yamaha Kodiak or a Suzuki quad.
Tires alone also add rotating weight, which loads the clutch and the belt. Our breakdown of the pros and cons of an ATV lift kit covers the trade-offs in detail. Most riders do both eventually. The lift first, then the rubber.
Direct Bolt-On Fitment: What Installing Aftermarket Parts Actually Involves
UTV upgrades follow the same logic as ATV work, and we fit the full side-by-side range: Honda Pioneer, Honda Talon, Can-Am Maverick and Yamaha Wolverine. Fitment is where aftermarket parts earn trust or lose it. A direct bolt-on kit uses the factory mounting points, so installation needs hand tools and an afternoon rather than a press and a welder. No drilling. No cutting.
PERFEX designs each kit per make and model, and publishes installation manuals for every suspension, protection, and accessory product we build. Frederik, who founded the company and still answers the phone, will walk through a fitment question directly.
We ship from our own factory, which means the person who designed your kit is the person you reach when something does not line up.
Find Your Direct Bolt-On Lift Kit
Lifetime structural warranty, made in North America, free US shipping over $200. Duties and tariffs are covered on orders into the 48 contiguous states.
Protection and Stability Upgrades for Your Four Wheeler
Suspension changes how the machine moves. Protection decides how long it lasts. The underside of a four wheeler carries the engine case, the fuel lines, the CV boots, and the frame rails, and none of them were designed to meet granite. Stability upgrades work the same way: a wider stance resists the body roll that puts a quad on its side.
Three product families cover almost all of it.
Full Skid Plate Kits and Undercarriage Protection on a Can-Am Defender Side by Side
A stock plastic plate protects against gravel. Stumps are another matter. A full skid plate kit from our complete skid plate range runs the length of the undercarriage in heavy-gauge aluminum, and the Can-Am Defender version shields the engine case and the fuel tank where the factory panel stops short.
A footwell skid plate handles a different problem: mud and debris coming up through the floor on a utility machine. Riders who do farm work and hunting usually want both. Our guide on whether you need skid plates on your ATV explains which areas take damage first.
A-Arm Guards and CV Boot Protection on Kawasaki and CFMoto Machines
CV boots are the cheapest part on the machine and the most expensive failure. A torn boot throws grease, takes on grit, and destroys the joint within a season. Kawasaki and CFMoto machines running narrow trails catch sticks in exactly that spot.
An A-arm guard and CV boot kit bolts to the lower suspension arms and deflects what would otherwise reach the boot. The part costs a fraction of a CV rebuild, and its durability is the whole point: fit it once and forget it through years of trail riding.
What Wheel Spacers Change About a Quad's Stance and Traction
Wheel spacers push each wheel outward, which widens the track and lowers the roll angle. The machine feels planted on off-camber ground. Traction improves because the tire contact patches sit further apart. An Arctic Cat running tall tires also gains clearance between the tire and the A-arm, which stops rub at full lock.
PERFEX machines its aluminum wheel spacers from billet and backs them with the same lifetime structural warranty as the lift kits. Sizing matters more than most riders expect, and our wheel spacers pros and cons article covers the trade-offs before you buy.
Key things spacers change:
- Stance width, which directly affects stability on side hills
- Tire clearance at the A-arm and the fender
- Steering effort, which rises slightly with wider offsets
- Wheel bearing load, which is why machined tolerances matter
A spacer is a structural part. Tolerance is the entire product, which is why ours are machined rather than cast.
Lighting, Recovery and the ATV Accessories That Extend a Ride
Half the riding season ends in the dark. A machine that stops being usable at dusk is a machine you ride less. Lighting and recovery gear are the ATV accessories that add hours rather than horsepower, and both are cheap next to a suspension build.
LED Light Bars, Pod Lights and Wiring for Your All-Terrain Vehicle
Factory headlights on an all-terrain vehicle throw a narrow beam built for a dirt road. LED light bars flood the trail edge to edge. Pod lights fill the corners a bar misses, and they mount where a bar will not fit, which matters on a Segway or any machine with a short front rack.
Wiring is the part riders underestimate. A wiring harness with a relay and a switch keeps the draw off the headlight circuit, and a solid light mount holds the aim steady over washboard. Visibility is the whole return here. Night riding stops being a reason to turn back. Our guide to what size LED light bar to get walks through beam pattern and length by machine.
The best ATV accessories for a dark trail are the ones you never think about again.
Pick in this order:
- Beam pattern first: flood for trail speed, spot for open ground
- Length that clears your bumper and winch
- Mount position that survives a branch
- Harness rated above the total draw
Winches, Synthetic Winch Rope and Getting Unstuck in Mud
Steel cable stores energy and whips when it breaks. Synthetic rope does not, it floats, and one person can handle it with cold hands. Riders replacing a Warn factory line usually switch to synthetic for that reason alone.
Mud recovery is where the rope earns its price. Grit kills cable. A synthetic line that dries without rusting lasts seasons longer in the same conditions.
Shop Synthetic Winch Ropes
Built in our own factory and tested through four North American seasons. Over 4,000 five-star reviews from riders who have actually needed them.
ATV Upgrade FAQs
Short answers to the questions we get most often by phone and email.
Which ATV modifications should I do first?
Protection, then suspension, then lighting. Skid plates stop damage you cannot undo, which makes them the cheapest ATV mods you will ever buy. A lift kit comes second because it changes tire fitment. Lighting last, since it adds range rather than capability. Riders doing farm work often reverse the first two. Upgrade your ATV in the order your terrain punishes it.
Are OEM ATV parts and accessories better than aftermarket parts?
OEM parts match the factory spec, which is the point and also the limit. Aftermarket ATV parts exist to go past it: more clearance, thicker plate, wider stance. Brands like SuperATV compete in that space, and PERFEX designs and manufactures its own ATV parts and accessories, from wheel spacers and foot pegs to lighting and winch ropes, rather than rebranding someone else's. Engine performance upgrades are a different trade, and we do not pretend otherwise.
Do aftermarket accessories void my ATV warranty?
In North America a manufacturer generally cannot void an entire warranty because you fitted aftermarket accessories. They can decline a claim on a part the modification actually caused to fail. PERFEX covers its own products under a lifetime structural warranty on suspension and wheel spacers, five years on lighting, one year on protection and accessories. Consumer warranty rules differ by country, so check your local regulations.
Is a licence required to customize your ATV?
No licence is required to customize your ATV mechanically. Registration and road-use rules are separate and vary by state and province, so check local requirements before riding anywhere public. Customization itself is unregulated across North America.
Build Your Machine with North American ATV Upgrades
We build what we sell, and we ride what we build. Tell us your make, model and year and we will confirm fitment before you order.
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