Howdy!
So, first up... you need more air in the tires. I broke a wheel and bent another running 8-10 psi. I run 14 now, no problems.
Shocks... I've softened mine quite a bit over stock. Stock is 12 clicks out of 24 up front; I'm down to either 8 or 10, don't remember. In the rear, it's set to 6 out of 24 (btw, 24 being full stiff, 1 being full soft). I'm at 2 in the rear. Makes a world of difference and I haven't ever bottomed it out. Note that the softer you make the front, the more it will tend to understeer in corners, so play with the settings until you get it to where you have a nice ride and are comfortable with how it handles. I also run in 4wd all the time because it gets too tail-happy in 2wd.
I haven't adjusted the spring preload either, but that's how you get the ride height set. I haven't measured my ground clearance; have been assuming it was around 14" as stated. But my tires are 90% gone so I'm sure I'm down a bit.
My next tire will likely be a 32 or 33". I was going to go to 35's but the weight is just too high. The stock 31" Carnivores are 37 lbs each. I can get the System 3 HCR350 in 32" at 42 lbs each or 35" for 49 lbs each (these are the lightest of the 35's, btw). Pro Armor makes a 33" that is 39 bs but they only make it in the "hard" compound, which is fine for back east, but won't work well for desert riding, so that's out. Maxxis will have their 15" sized tires on their website sometime in April, so I'm waiting to see what a 32" RoxxZilla weighs. Since the 35" for 14" wheels is like 58 lbs, I'm not optimistic the 32" will be worth considering.
BTW a guy on YouTube did a test on his Honda Talon -- tested 0-60 with stock tires (29") then put 32's on it. It went from 9.5 sec to over 15 sec. That's the difference the added weight will do to performance, so I'm gonna stick with the lightest tire I can find that will work for my riding area (Arizona and Utah desert).
Our riding season here is just about over; will be mid 90's probably by mid-May (with daily hundreds by end of May), so I'm trying to hold off buying new tires until Fall. By then there should be more choices. OR, if I found somebody selling some used Carnivores at a fair price, I'd grab them to hold me over.
In my ideal world I'll have three sets of wheels and tires -- stockers would have sand tires, then a set of 35's for rock crawling, and a set of 32's for regular trail riding. But that's $$$ and I'm not made of it.
