Tallest lug track I can run...

Coles_55

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Can I run a 1.375" Track with no studs?? I have the drop brackets on and I would remove the heat exchanger protectors. Let me know what you think.
 
xsivhp said:
You can run a 1-1/2" track with no studs, tunnel protectors or heat exchanger protectors.
If that's true, then why can't I stud my 1.25" ripsaw? Or so I've been told over and over.
 
yamahauler4 said:
If that's true, then why can't I stud my 1.25" ripsaw? Or so I've been told over and over.

because a 1.5" track wont "cut" its way through your tunnel into the gas tank and heat exchanger when it starts to balloon at high speeds, it just hits the rivets on the bottom... studs on the other hand add weight to the rotating mass and make the track and make the track balloon more...

but its your money and your sled, if you think you can pull it off, go for it (you will have to run the track really tight to cut down on ballooning), but dont come back here saying no one told you when you need a new engine because you overheated it when your front heat exchanger became a coolant drain... I'd rather be safe than sorry... (I'll apologize in advance for sounding like an a-hole but if you could stud a 1.25" track, dont you think someone would be recommending it instead of everyone telling you that you can only stud a 1" track?)
 
WNYViper said:
because a 1.5" track wont "cut" its way through your tunnel into the gas tank and heat exchanger when it starts to balloon at high speeds, it just hits the rivets on the bottom... studs on the other hand add weight to the rotating mass and make the track and make the track balloon more...

but its your money and your sled, if you think you can pull it off, go for it (you will have to run the track really tight to cut down on ballooning), but dont come back here saying no one told you when you need a new engine because you overheated it when your front heat exchanger became a coolant drain... I'd rather be safe than sorry... (I'll apologize in advance for sounding like an a-hole but if you could stud a 1.25" track, dont you think someone would be recommending it instead of everyone telling you that you can only stud a 1" track?)
True X2. Had to drop down to 8 tooth drivers for mine.
 
WNYViper said:
because a 1.5" track wont "cut" its way through your tunnel into the gas tank and heat exchanger when it starts to balloon at high speeds, it just hits the rivets on the bottom... studs on the other hand add weight to the rotating mass and make the track and make the track balloon more...

but its your money and your sled, if you think you can pull it off, go for it (you will have to run the track really tight to cut down on ballooning), but dont come back here saying no one told you when you need a new engine because you overheated it when your front heat exchanger became a coolant drain... I'd rather be safe than sorry... (I'll apologize in advance for sounding like an a-hole but if you could stud a 1.25" track, dont you think someone would be recommending it instead of everyone telling you that you can only stud a 1" track?)
Im not interested in studs, just saying was told it can't be done. Surprised there is room for a 1.5 up front. Not a fan of smaller drivers, trying to make a bigger lug turn a tighter circle doesnt sound efficient to me. But if it can be done, cool to know.
 
Sledhead_BR said:
just wanted to add, that was one of the best mods I made. Huge difference in deeper snow capabiltiy...night and day from the 1"
How much top end did you lose? I noticed a big drop from stk to a 1.25, plus a ton of tunnel howl... how is yours?

xsivhp, didn't say you did... just going by what's posted around here.
 
yamahauler4 said:
If that's true, then why can't I stud my 1.25" ripsaw? Or so I've been told over and over.

yamahauler4 said:
Im not interested in studs, just saying was told it can't be done. Surprised there is room for a 1.5 up front. Not a fan of smaller drivers, trying to make a bigger lug turn a tighter circle doesnt sound efficient to me. But if it can be done, cool to know.

I'm confused, if you arent interested in studs then why are you asking why you cant stud an 1.25" Ripsaw? And you are correct, smaller drivers will make the track turn over harder, I experienced this with my SRX last season with 8 tooth anti-ratchets and an 1.875 track... going back to stock drivers and 1.5" Ripsaw this year...
 
WNYViper said:
I'm confused, if you arent interested in studs then why are you asking why you cant stud an 1.25" Ripsaw? And you are correct, smaller drivers will make the track turn over harder, I experienced this with my SRX last season with 8 tooth anti-ratchets and an 1.875 track... going back to stock drivers and 1.5" Ripsaw this year...
When I was ready to get a new track, I decided on 1.25, and everyone was like 'you can't stud it if you do that without 8" blahblah'. I figured 1.25" was all you could go. I dont want studs, so made no difference to me. Now Im seeing that you can go 1.5", which would mean I could stud about 1/4" deep.

Just asking so I know what the deal is, that's all.

BTW, how did that SRX do with all that paddle?
 
yamahauler4 said:
When I was ready to get a new track, I decided on 1.25, and everyone was like 'you can't stud it if you do that without 8" blahblah'. I figured 1.25" was all you could go. I dont want studs, so made no difference to me. Now Im seeing that you can go 1.5", which would mean I could stud about 1/4" deep.

Just asking so I know what the deal is, that's all.

BTW, how did that SRX do with all that paddle?

ahh... a lot of people dont usually recommend anything over 1.25 unless you are mountain riding, i dunno, seems to be a dead zone there between 1.25-2.00 paddle, between losing top end speed and hifax wear, and not a deep enough paddle for heavy off trail it doesnt seem to fit very well... I dont know, just rambling...

but anyways... yea, 1.875 paddle track on the SRX with 8 tooth anti ratchets was AMAZING... there was definitely lots of tunnel noise, hifax wear, and it was tough on the suspension... but, the hookup was amazing and it with the stock gearing it didnt matter if I was in 3' of powder or on the hardpack, I was beating everyone up to 80mph, (I ride with a worked over SXr600, twin pipe XC600, stock XC700, worked over XCR800, and twin piped ZR800)... if the track didnt start blowing the paddles off I would still be running it, but I was talking to a friend that use to work at a sled shop and he said there was a production run of tracks that had a soft rubber compound paddle that wasnt very good at taking abuse, looks like I got one of them (which makes sense, because they were factory Polaris tracks and Bender was selling them dirt cheap)...

...ramble ramble...
 
When I changed to a 1.5" track I also changed my gearing - dropped a tooth on the gears. One reason for the lower end to spin the bigger track and two it was time to change my gears and chain, starting to wear and chain sag.
 
Sorry, Guess I did not answer the original question. I may have lost a little top end, but nothing hugely noticable. But having lower end power and deeper snow capability was more important to me that top end speed - 90-100mph is fast enough for me. At the end of the day you are going to have to sacrifice a little for one or the other!
 
check out the camoplast cobra, it measures about 1, 3/8". I run a 1, 1/2" ripsaw now, and thinking this is my next track. Its lighter and has good reviews.
 


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