Viper Gas Mileage

[Ding]

Calculating gas mileage on a single fillup is usually highly inaccurate. I have put over 2 additional gallons in my tank after it first came up and hit the fill tube. This is a common practice in Northern Ontario where it can be over 100 miles between fuel stops. All you have to do is play a little or have to tow another sled and that extra gas comes in real handy.

Also keeping the engine in the power band and the clutches shifted out can improve mileage greatly as NOSBOY suggests. Another thing is that no 2 sleds are exactly the same, even when purchased together. These sleds come off a production assembly line as well as make use of parts supplied by other companies. All of these parts have wider tolerances than a typical race team (whatever that is) would allow in order to keep production costs down. There is also dealer or owner setup that can vary greatly. And then sleds include many parts that wear and decrease (or increase in some cases) in efficiency.

It would take a considerable amount of expensive testing equipment to accurately measure the efficiency of any sled to transfer energy from the fuel combustion process to forward propulsion. Way too many variables involved.

Ok, I will go back to my room now . . .

 

[quebec#1]

I could average 115 miles on a tank to be safe and would fill up. The last ride on my viper i did 130 miles on one tank !

 

[nosboy]

WHO CARES about gas mileage???? if we were so worried about spending a buck,,we wouldnt have taken up SNOWMOBILING as a sport.. a TABLE tennis racket, a sheet of plywood and a can of green paint and a box of BALLS is FAR CHEAPER than ANYTHING on a FLIPPIN snowmobile.... FILL HER UP and HAVE A BLAST!!!!! when she runs low,,, FILL HER UP AGAIN and RIDE SOME MORE!!!!!!

 

[Sheermadness03]

WHO CARES about gas mileage???? if we were so worried about spending a buck,,we wouldnt have taken up SNOWMOBILING as a sport.. a TABLE tennis racket, a sheet of plywood and a can of green paint and a box of BALLS is FAR CHEAPER than ANYTHING on a FLIPPIN snowmobile.... FILL HER UP and HAVE A BLAST!!!!! when she runs low,,, FILL HER UP AGAIN and RIDE SOME MORE!!!!!!

I'm in, lets fill her up and RIDE!! -Ed

 

[xsivhp]

WHO CARES about gas mileage???? if we were so worried about spending a buck,,we wouldnt have taken up SNOWMOBILING as a sport.. a TABLE tennis racket, a sheet of plywood and a can of green paint and a box of BALLS is FAR CHEAPER than ANYTHING on a FLIPPIN snowmobile.... FILL HER UP and HAVE A BLAST!!!!! when she runs low,,, FILL HER UP AGAIN and RIDE SOME MORE!!!!!!

WELL SAID NOSBOY!!!!

 

[nosboy]

How are we going to make a net???????? Maybe Ol Girl's NYLONS???????? Now thats INGENIOUS!!!!!!!

 

[JeepTherapy]

WHO CARES about gas mileage???? if we were so worried about spending a buck,,we wouldnt have taken up SNOWMOBILING as a sport.. a TABLE tennis racket, a sheet of plywood and a can of green paint and a box of BALLS is FAR CHEAPER than ANYTHING on a FLIPPIN snowmobile.... FILL HER UP and HAVE A BLAST!!!!! when she runs low,,, FILL HER UP AGAIN and RIDE SOME MORE!!!!!!

I care about gas mileage! My sled went from 15-17 MPG when it was new to 9-10 now that I have had it for a couple years. I think there is something wrong with it. My dealer tells me it is fine. It is under warranty. If you calculate the difference in fuel cost for a 2000 mile season it is significant. Especially when a gallon of gas gets up around $3 I would rather spend that money on upgrades for my sled.

But I wouldn't care about it if I didn't think there was a problem with my sled. Something has caused the reduction in fuel mileage and needs to be fixed.

 

[cougar1985]

could be something as simple as the belt.

 

[JeepTherapy]

could be something as simple as the belt.

The dealer is going to pull all of my maintenance records. Based on what the plugs look like I think the motor is running pretty good. My plugs are perfect. My warmers also work very well so I think that rules out the stator?

From there we are going to first look at the clutching setup. I will add belt to the list of things to check. I am also going to check bearings/bushings on the skid, drive wheels on the skid, square of the skid and front end alignment. If anyone has any other ideas I will check them too.

Here is what my average plug looks like;

 

[viperdougc]

The dealer is going to pull all of my maintenance records. Based on what the plugs look like I think the motor is running pretty good. My plugs are perfect. My warmers also work very well so I think that rules out the stator?

From there we are going to first look at the clutching setup. I will add belt to the list of things to check. I am also going to check bearings/bushings on the skid, drive wheels on the skid, square of the skid and front end alignment. If anyone has any other ideas I will check them too.

Here is what my average plug looks like;

have you checked the reeds....what is the mileage on your sled again???

 

[nosboy]

The dealer is going to pull all of my maintenance records. Based on what the plugs look like I think the motor is running pretty good. My plugs are perfect. My warmers also work very well so I think that rules out the stator?

From there we are going to first look at the clutching setup. I will add belt to the list of things to check. I am also going to check bearings/bushings on the skid, drive wheels on the skid, square of the skid and front end alignment. If anyone has any other ideas I will check them too.

Here is what my average plug looks like;

I sincerily HOPE that you change the belt every season?????

 

[JeepTherapy]

No, I don't change the belt every season, should I? What determines when to change the belt? This season I will probably only ride 300 miles, should I still change out the belt? I bought my first sled new in 02, my second sled new in 04. I let the dealer maintain them and have them prep them at the begining of each season. The warranty just expired last year on the 02 and I have another year on the 04. So I have never worked on either of them. I know the belt in the Viper has been replaced but I don't remember when.

 

[nosboy]

I usually get around 1000 miles out of a belt IF I DONT GET STUCK real bad.. ive TOASTED BRAND NEW BELTS,,, so it really diesnt matter how many miles you have,,,you could cook a belt in 30 seconds!!!! there are measurements in the svc manual,,,but,,,usually the dealer will change it for you!!!!

 

[JeepTherapy]

I usually get around 1000 miles out of a belt IF I DONT GET STUCK real bad.. ive TOASTED BRAND NEW BELTS,,, so it really diesnt matter how many miles you have,,,you could cook a belt in 30 seconds!!!! there are measurements in the svc manual,,,but,,,usually the dealer will change it for you!!!!

I feel a little ignorant for not knowing if the dealer changed the drive belt or not. I looked up the wear criteria on it and plan to go measure it when i get the sled in the garage. I am sure there is more to it than just measuring it. I would think that glazing is probably a bad thing. Thanks for the heads up.

My Viper has right around 4000 miles on it now. I put a bit over 2k on it the first year I had it. Now my riding has been a bit spotty because of some health issues and lack of snow. This summer I plan to pull the head and get it modded, add some bender pipes (already have) and get the preliminary clutching set up. I would like it to be running/performing well before "I" take it apart and get any dealer/warranty issues addressed before "I" do anything to it.

 

[Bushman]

Snow conditions are a huge factor, In 2002 we got blessed with 7' of beautiful lake effect snow & I had the plessure of burning over 3/4 of a tank in 30 miles, I could just about wet myself remembering that ride

 

[yamaholic22]

A 8DN belt should last a lot more than 1,000 miles if your clutching is setup right and you take care of your belts and clutches (keep them clean). One thing that helps belt life HUGE is warming your drivetrain up on a stand before you leave the hotel in the morning. When you parked it the night before all the water on the heat exchangers was dripping on the track and the snow fell out of the tunnel and snow fell off the suspension and it all freezes your track up, not to mention that when rubber in the track and belt is cold it is very stiff, and the thick oil in the chaincase is thick from sitting cold all night. Warm it up on the stand and it makes a HUGE difference by loosening up and putting a little heat in the track, idlers, chaincase, belt/clutches.

 

[JeepTherapy]

A 8DN belt should last a lot more than 1,000 miles if your clutching is setup right and you take care of your belts and clutches (keep them clean). One thing that helps belt life HUGE is warming your drivetrain up on a stand before you leave the hotel in the morning. When you parked it the night before all the water on the heat exchangers was dripping on the track and the snow fell out of the tunnel and snow fell off the suspension and it all freezes your track up, not to mention that when rubber in the track and belt is cold it is very stiff, and the thick oil in the chaincase is thick from sitting cold all night. Warm it up on the stand and it makes a HUGE difference by loosening up and putting a little heat in the track, idlers, chaincase, belt/clutches.

Leave the Hotel, I have never left a hotel and got on my sled. I walk out my back door and get it out of the enclosed trailer that it spends its time in. Then when I leave the house I drive very easy down the two blocks I have to drive to get to the trail. Then the first mile or so of trail I take it very easy to allow everything to warm up. I also let my sled sit and drip before I put it in the trailer. Otherwise the trailer gets all iced up.

Bushman, where did you see a 7' lake effect snow? I couldn't even begin to imagine getting around on a snowmoblle with that much snow.

 

[yahadriver23]

Finally got low on gas the first time, do all viper's caution lights come on when low on fuel (down to the last notch) along with the gas symbol?

 

[Sheermadness03]

Finally got low on gas the first time, do all viper's caution lights come on when low on fuel (down to the last notch) along with the gas symbol?

If all is working correctly they do. The (!) caution light always comes on with one of the other icons (if all is working correctly), the (!) caution light to get your attention and the icon to let you know where to start looking for the trouble. -Ed