Best First Upgrades for a Can-Am Maverick X3 (and What Order to Do Them)

The best first upgrades for a Can-Am Maverick X3, in order, are a spare belt with the tool to change it, stronger radius rods, underbody armor, and then harnesses and better doors. Those four steps apply to almost every X3. Two more steps only apply in certain cases: new tires if the stock ones don't suit your terrain, and a clutch kit if you run bigger tires or an ECU tune, or ride at high elevation.

At High Clearance UTV, we install and repair Maverick X3s at our independent shop in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Our co-owner, Jonathon "Jon" Jeck, has 20+ years of mechanical experience, and this is the order he'd give you at the counter. It starts with the parts most likely to leave you stuck on the trail, then protects the machine, then protects the people in the seats. You don't need to replace every stock part on an X3, so each step below also says when you can skip it.

Maverick X3 Upgrade Order at a Glance

Here's the order, why each part comes where it does, and whether it's a job you can do in your own garage.

Order	Upgrade	Why it's this early	Home install or shop job
1	Spare belt and belt-change tool	A broken belt stops the machine where it is	Home. Practice the change in your garage first.
2	Upgraded radius rods	Stock rods can bend on a hard side hit from a rock or stump	Home with basic hand tools, then get the alignment checked
3	Underbody armor	Protects the arms and sides that most X3s leave uncovered	Home for most bolt-on skid plates, guards, and sliders
4	Harnesses and doors	Every X3 already has seat belts and half doors. Move this up if you carry passengers or ride hard.	Home if it bolts on. Shop job if it means welding or drilling the cage.
5	Tires (only if the stock ones don't suit your terrain)	The right tread matters more than a bigger size	Shop job to mount new tires. Home job to bolt on a mounted set.
6	Clutch kit (only for bigger tires, a tune, or high elevation)	Stock clutching is fine on a stock machine	Shop job for most riders

If your X3 is new to you, it's fine to ride it for a while before steps 2 through 4. You'll learn whether your trails are rocky enough to need rods and armor, and whether your passengers need harnesses and better doors. Some X3s also come with armor or harnesses from the factory, and sections 3 and 4 show you how to check.

1. Carry a Spare Belt and the Tool to Change It

The belt comes first because a broken belt stops the machine right where it is. You can't drive out on a broken belt, so the ride is over until you replace it. Every X3 has a turbocharged engine, and the belt carries all of the engine's power. Heat is one of the biggest things that wears out a CVT belt, and more power through the belt means more heat.

Buy a spare belt from our belt collection, pick the one listed for your X3's exact model year and trim, and keep it in the machine. Carry the tool to change it, too. The belt runs between two clutches. To get it off, you spread open the second one, called the secondary clutch, using a secondary clutch spreader tool made for that job. Do your first belt change at home in the garage, where you have good light and plenty of time, so the trail isn't the first place you try it.

A few habits keep belt heat down and help every belt last longer:

• Use low range for slow work. Can-Am's operator's manual says to use low range for crossing obstacles, pulling heavy loads, and towing. Crawling along in high range is one of the fastest ways to overheat a belt.
• Don't ride the brake or spin a stuck wheel. Giving it gas while you ride the brake, or holding the throttle down while a stuck wheel spins in place, heats the belt quickly.
• Break in a new belt. Give a new belt about 30 to 40 easy miles, with no hard throttle or heavy loads, before you work the machine hard.

Do this step before your first ride, even on a brand-new X3.

2. Upgrade the X3 Radius Rods

Radius rods are the links in the rear suspension that keep each rear wheel pointed straight. The stock rods on an X3 bend under a hard hit from the side, and on the trail that hit usually comes from a rock or a stump. The trailing arm is the long arm that connects each rear wheel to the frame, and the radius rods bolt to it. If you don't notice a bent rod, it can go on to damage the trailing arm and then the shock. A bent rod also pulls the rear wheel out of line. The machine can drive crooked, and a bad bend can leave you stuck until the rod is replaced.

Upgraded rods are built to keep their shape on hits that would bend a stock rod. The billet high-clearance upper radius rods we carry are one example of an X3 rod upgrade. Billet means each rod is machined from one solid block of metal. Most riders can install radius rods at home with basic hand tools. New rods change the rear alignment, so get it checked afterward. If you've aligned a side-by-side before, you can do it at home. If you haven't, a shop can set it for you.

Here's the trade-off. A rod that doesn't bend sends more of a hard hit into the trailing arm it bolts to. Look over the trailing arms after any big hit, and if one is bent, replace it with a stronger boxed trailing arm.

Stock rods can wait if you ride smooth trails, gravel roads, or sand with few rocks or stumps. Check them for bends after any hard hit.

3. Add Underbody Armor: Skid Plate, Arm Guards, and Rock Sliders

Every Maverick X3 comes with a plastic skid plate that covers the belly of the machine. On most X3s, that's where the factory protection stops. The trailing arms, lower A-arms, and the sides of the machine below the doors don't get their own guards. Those are the parts that hit first when you drag over rock or come down off a ledge.

The rods come first because a bent rod can leave you stuck on the trail. Armor comes next because it protects the arms and the frame from the same rocks and ledges. Ozark trails have plenty of loose rock and rock ledges, so if you ride here, this step applies to you.

Underbody armor comes in three main pieces:

• Full skid plate: covers more of the underside than the stock plate does.
• Trailing arm and A-arm guards: bolt onto the suspension arms so rocks slide off instead of gouging the arm.
• Rock sliders: run along the sides below the doors and protect the frame when you slide over a rock or lean against one.

Armor is usually made from UHMW plastic or aluminum. UHMW is a slick, tough plastic that flexes and slides over rock without denting. Aluminum can dent on a hard hit, but it resists punctures and scraping better on some kinds of rock. For most trail riders, UHMW is the one to buy, because sliding over rock is what you want armor to do most of the time. Aluminum makes more sense if you ride a lot of sharp, broken rock, where punctures are the bigger worry.

Most skid plates, arm guards, and rock sliders bolt on at home with hand tools. If you ride mostly sand or smooth trails, the stock skid plate is usually enough, and armor can wait.

Before you buy, look at what's already on your machine. Can-Am's X rc trim comes from the factory with rock sliders and skid plates that extend over the differential, trailing arms, and lower A-arms. If you have an older or used X3, the trim name doesn't tell you everything, because a previous owner may have added or removed armor. Get under the machine and look. If you see rock sliders along the sides and guards on the trailing arms, this step is mostly done.

4. Add Harnesses and Better Doors

Harnesses and doors come fourth because every X3 already has seat belts and half doors to protect the people inside. Steps 1 through 3 come first because they fix parts that wear out, bend, or sit unprotected. Move this step up to right after the belt if you carry passengers, especially in the back seats of a MAX. Do the same if you ride fast or on steep side hills.

Harnesses

A 4-point harness has two shoulder straps and a lap belt that hold you firmly against the seat, so you stay in place when the machine bounces, leans hard, or rolls over. In a MAX, plan on harnesses for the back seats as well as the front. Harnesses do take longer to buckle and unbuckle than a seat belt, and you'll notice it if you climb out a lot to open gates.

First, check whether you already have harnesses. Can-Am's X ds, X rs, and X rc trims come with them from the factory. If you're not sure which trim you have, look at the seats instead. A seat with two shoulder straps, one over each shoulder, already has a harness. If all of your seats have them, skip ahead to doors.

If you're adding harnesses, the shoulder straps mount to a harness bar. That's a crossbar behind the seats at about shoulder height. Check whether your X3 already has a bar with tabs or holes for the straps, and if it doesn't, buy a harness bar with your harnesses. Harnesses that bolt to a bolt-in bar are a home install. Anything that means welding or drilling into the cage is a shop job.

Doors

Every X3 ships with half doors. Full doors, or upper door panels that add onto the stock half doors, close in the open space above them. That helps keep arms and legs inside the machine and keeps branches and mud out of the cab. Most door upgrades bolt on at home.

5. X3 Tires (Only If the Stock Ones Don't Suit Your Terrain)

Most X3s come on 30-inch tires, and a few trims come on 32-inch tires. If the stock tires work on the trails you ride, keep running them until they wear out and skip this step.

If they don't work for you, change the tread for your terrain before you think about size. The right tread depends on how much mud, rock, and hardpack you ride, and our guide to mud vs. all-terrain UTV tires covers how to choose.

If you do go up in size, a bigger tire is heavier and harder for the engine to turn, so it puts more load on the belt and clutches. If a bigger tire needs a lift to fit, the lift puts the CV axles at a steeper angle, and they wear out faster. Before you buy taller tires, expect to replace belts sooner, and check the CV axles more often if you add a lift. A clutch kit (step 6) may need to be part of the same project.

Mounting new tires on your wheels is usually a shop job. Bolting on a set that's already mounted is a home job.

6. X3 Clutch Kit (Only for Bigger Tires, a Tune, or High Elevation)

On a stock X3, skip this step. A clutch kit changes the weights and springs in the clutches so the CVT shifts at different engine speeds. That matters when the machine is working harder than it was built for: turning bigger tires, running an ECU tune, or riding at high elevation.

If one of those fits your X3 and it feels slow from a stop or wears out belts quickly, a clutch kit is the next thing to look at. For most riders, clutch work is a shop job, because it takes special tools and careful setup.

Maverick X3 Upgrades That Can Wait

These upgrades are popular, but none of them needs to come before the first four steps on a stock X3.

• ECU tune: A tune can affect your warranty coverage, so hold off until the upgrades above are done.
• Exhaust: Like a tune, an exhaust change can affect your warranty. If you add one later, public riding areas usually require a working spark arrestor, and many parks set sound limits.
• Silicone charge tubes: The charge tube carries boosted air from the turbo toward the engine. Upgraded silicone charge tubes only matter once you tune, so they can wait until then.
• Intake upgrades: Wait until you add power, and keep the stock air filter clean in the meantime.
• Long-travel and lift kits: These are big jobs that change CV axle angles and how the clutches need to be set up.
• Lighting: Add LED lights when you start riding after dark.
• Audio: Add it whenever you like, since it doesn't change how the machine runs.
• Roof and windshield: Add them for sun, rain, and dust once the core upgrades are done.

Will Aftermarket Parts Void My Can-Am Warranty?

Not automatically. A manufacturer can't make your warranty depend on using only its own parts, but it can deny a claim if it shows an aftermarket part caused the failure. ECU tunes and exhaust changes can affect your coverage, so check before you add them. For parts we sell or install, we handle the manufacturer warranty process for you.

Get Help With Your First X3 Upgrades

If you're not sure which parts fit your X3, call our parts counter at 815-953-9346 with your year and trim, or your VIN, and we'll check fitment before you order. You can also browse our Can-Am Maverick X3 parts and accessories to see what's in stock. If you'd rather have us do the work, bring it to our shop at 1208 W Cato Springs Rd. in Fayetteville and we'll handle the install. If you're within 30 miles of the shop, we can come pick up your rig.