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The 7 Best UTV Upgrades for 2022

By Kavan Wright | Behind The Wheel on March 16, 2022
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An X3 with some of the best UTV upgrades of 2022 in the desert
Photo by SuperATV

The 2022 riding season is just kicking off across the country. A new year leads to new rides, new friends, and new experiences that you might not be ready for if you haven’t beefed up your UTV yet.

That’s because everything’s getting bigger, better, and faster. It’s not uncommon to see lots of folks rolling on 50-inch tractor tires and taking on bounty holes that would swamp your UTV.

Machine’s are getting faster too, and more trails accommodate extreme riders that like to power slide around corners at 50 MPH with long travel kits and performance boosting upgrades.

This year, we’re going beyond the standard stuff like windshields, doors, mirrors, and lights. If you want to go big and ride harder this year, you need the 7 best UTV upgrades for 2022.

1. Big Lift Kit

A big lift kit is the most popular suspension upgrade for people that want big tires and tons of ground clearance. They range anywhere from a 5” lift to a 10” lift and totally change the look and feel of your machine.

By “change the look,” we mean they look badass. And on some vehicles, they give you room for up to 46” tires. With a setup like that, you’ll easily join the bucket club and take on crazy mud holes with the best of them.

Check out SuperATV’s lift kits to find the perfect one for you.

A big lift kit on a Defender
Big lift kits change the look of your machine and give you room for (really) big tires. They also get you through nastier terrain and let you ride in more places.
Photo by SuperATV

2. Long Travel Kit

If you don’t need to go up, you might as well go wider. A long travel kit increases your track width so you get more stability for better cornering, along with a smoother feeling ride overall.

And yes, a long travel kit does give you plenty of room for bigger tires too.

This is the suspension upgrade that you need if you want to ride as fast as you can everywhere you go. Whether you’re in the dunes, desert, or forest, a long travel kit will help you keep all four wheels on the ground and keep you in control while you floor the pedal.

SuperATV’s long travel kits are best in class, and we’ve got the right one for your machine.

A KRX 1000 with a long travel kit
Long travel kits like the 3” kit on this Kawasaki KRX give you more stability to take turns at high speed without tipping. On top of that, they also give you an imposing look and make your suspension run a little smoother.
Photo by SuperATV

3. GDP Portal Gear Lift

GDP Portal Gear Lifts are the Holy Grail of suspension upgrades. It’s not just one of the best UTV upgrades of 2022, it’s one of the best upgrades period. That’s because they combine a big lift with the performance of a gear reduction kit in a unique way.

The lift is in the hub, not in the suspension components. This allows your suspension to stay at stock angles and maintain its normal travel too. Because it doesn’t mess with your suspension, you can use a traditional lift on top of a portal lift for some really wild builds.

The gear reduction is also in the hub which gives you torque needed to turn big tires like they’re as light as stock. And with GDP, you get plenty of options to make it right for you.

You get to choose your lift height:

  • 4”
  • 6”
  • 8”

And you choose your gear reduction:

  • 15%
  • 30%
  • 45%
  • 60%
  • 70%

(Not sure what the point of a gear reduction is? Check out how they make portals work.)

On top of all those choices, you can also upgrade to a dual idler configuration and a billet aluminum housing. Both of these upgrades boost strength to make GDP Portals incredibly strong on top of boosting performance.

No matter where you go or how you ride, there’s a GDP Portal Gear Lift that can help you do it better.

A Can-Am Defender with the best UTV upgrades of 2022
This Can-Am Defender has an 8” GDP Portal Gear lift and a 6” traditional suspension lift on top of that. It’s huge and impressive, and it has room for 44” Terminator MAX tires. The best part is that the built-in 60% gear reduction turns those massive tires easily.
Photo by SuperATV

4. Rev1 Clutch Kit

For another awesome performance upgrade, you’ve got to get your hands on a Rev1 Clutch Kit. These clutch upgrades are all about tweaking your performance to match the kind of riding you actually do.

For example: your stock clutch is tuned to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. It’s got some low-end torque for mud and some decent top speed for desert or track riding. But it could be better at either of those things with different clutch springs, clutch arms, and an upgraded secondary helix.

And that’s exactly what you get with a Rev1 Clutch Kit. We’ve carefully tested and tuned our clutch kits so you can specialize in hills, mud, racing, and more. A clutch upgrade is one of the best UTV upgrades for 2022 and exactly what you need to let your UTV shine.

Get a SuperATV Rev1 Clutch Kit to make your UTV an extreme performer.

a rev1 clutch kit upgrade
Rev1 Clutch Kits come with a combination of clutch arms, springs, and a secondary clutch helix depending on the kit you get. Each one has been carefully selected and tested on our in-house dyno to make sure it gives you better engagement and better performance for the type of riding you do.
Photo by SuperATV

5. Rhino Driveline Prop Shaft

You don’t want to leave your drivetrain out to dry this year. When you’ve beefed up the rest of your machine, your prop shaft tends to work a little harder too. If you really want to push your UTV harder than you ever have before, you need a prop shaft upgrade.

Rhino Driveline Prop Shafts give you better strength and durability. They’re made from chromoly steel, and the shafts are bigger and have a thicker sidewall than stock.

That alone makes them a worthwhile upgrade, but even the joints are stronger. The greaseable U-joints on our U-Series Prop Shafts are made with chromoly steel to handle much more abuse than OEM.

Or you can get one of our C-Series Prop Shafts to enjoy the near endless durability of a sealed CV joint. It keeps mud and crud out while also giving you the strongest joint in the industry.

We’ve got Rhino Driveline Prop Shafts for tons of different side-by-sides.

Rhino driveline prop shafts are one of the best utv upgrades of 2022
Rhino Driveline Prop Shafts improve everything over stock. Stronger joints, a thicker shaft, and better material all help it stand up to extreme rides. Plus, your choice of our beefy U-Series U-joints or sealed C-series CV joints ensure you get the best prop shaft upgrade around.
Photo by SuperATV

6. Heavy-Duty Transmission Parts

Your stock transmission can only take so much of a beating. Big jumps, high RPM, and awkward terrain can all increase your chances of damaging your tranny.

If you’re planning on having plenty of fun, some transmission upgrades are in order.

Lucky for you, we have several for Polaris side-by-sides:

  • Our heavy-duty reverse chain fixes one of the biggest weak spots
  • Our pinion shaft and snorkel gear kit beef up your tranny’s most important gear set
  • Our transmission case reinforces everything

If that’s not enough of an upgrade for you, you can opt for our heavy-duty complete transmission that upgrades everything.

Normally people get our complete transmission after they’ve blown their stock transmission, but we won’t judge you for upgrading just to be safe. After all, it is one of the best UTV upgrades of 2022.

Upgrade your transmission parts with SuperATV.

Upgraded transmission
A broken transmission ruins a ride faster than any other breakdown. That’s why it’s important to upgrade key parts if you’re planning on pushing your UTV hard.
Photo by SuperATV

7. Heavy-Duty Front Differential Parts

Last but not least, you’ve got to beef up your front differential. The front diff is in charge of making your four-wheel drive work. If it craps out, you’re going to have a heck of a time getting back to the trailer.

That’s why we have a few different front diff upgrades for both Polaris and Can-Am owners.

First off, there’s SwifTrac—our limited slip front diff for Can-Am UTVs that locks almost instantly. It uses a sprague and rollers to ensure that you get power to the front wheels that need it instantly. No more waiting for the long wind up of Visco-Lok.

Then there’s our complete front differential for Polaris side-by-sides. It uses better gears and a stronger housing to ensure it doesn’t quit even when you abuse it with dozens of jumps, careless rock crawling, or wild hill climbs.

Or if you’re looking for a simpler upgrade, get your hands on one of our sprague carriers. Not only do they replace the weakest OEM part with a more robust, hardened-aluminum part, but they also come with a lifetime warranty. That’s hard to beat.

SuperATV has the front differential parts you need so you can trust yours to pull you through.

Heavy-duty front diff
Upgrading from Visco-Lok to SwifTrac or beefing up your Polaris Front Diff is a great idea for anybody that’s hard on their machine. Jumps, hills, and rocks all beat the heck out of your front diff, and your ride gets a whole lot more difficult and tedious if you lose four-wheel drive.
Photo by SuperATV

Throw Rooster Tails in 2022

Get stocked up with the best UTV upgrades of 2022. With your performance, ground clearance, and durability needs met, you can take on new trails and new adventures that were impossible before. After all, in the search of bigger highs and new memories that last a lifetime, you don’t want to be sidelined because of an underperforming machine.

Make your machine better and you’ll have more opportunities to say “wow” in 2022.

RELATED CONTENT: preparation16 side-by-sides60
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