3" lugs and overheating

Dootimes2 · Mar 4, 2015

Who is concerned with heat issues with the 3 inch track. Is the cooling system the same or does the axys have more cooling. I have to keep scratchers down now even off trail in low snow situations. 3" lugs usually make this worse.

AndrettiDog · Mar 4, 2015

the T3 doo is having issues so yeah, I'm concerned. But I've since decided the 2.6" is the way for me.

Devilmanak · Mar 4, 2015

It all depends on how you ride. On a rip with 6 Pros, my T3 did the best of all of them when it comes to overheating, we were on glare ice and some dirt, we all stopped every half mile or less to shovel snow into skids. I kept it under 25-30mph, others didn't. I drug a heel in the snow every once in a while, others didn't. The Pros were hitting 200 plus, I was normal (4 bars) to 5, occasionally saw a 6. The worst Pro as far as heat did have a 3" track, but regular Pros were almost as bad. 3" tracks are much worse as far as heat, but very manageable with some care.

Sheetmetalfab · Mar 4, 2015

Don't forget the axys has a bypass thermostat.

RMK-King · Mar 5, 2015

If it is anything like my 14 Pro with a 3" you wont be doing much spring riding with it, I have seen 190 with scratchers down.

RMK935VA · Mar 5, 2015

There is a way to control the overheating on the Pro with a 3" track and it is not expensive. Ski-Z makes a snow deflector that mounts on the back of the skis. I put them on mine (162" X3). No more overheating. They are reversible and can be removed in a couple of minutes if you want to take them off for some reason. I also run the Ski Doo reversible scratchers. They are about 5" further forward so they lubricate better and you don't have to worry about sliding backwards and bending them. With the deflectors, my temps never go over 135 degrees. The price of the deflectors is about $55. Money well spent in my opinion.

damx · Mar 5, 2015

I ran a 3" on my 14. Pro. And I have a t-stat by pass, it would still run hot, stock pro word be 120-140. I would be 140-160. The problem I see is that the 3." Don't not throw fine pow as much as stock but big snow ball's, and does not cool good.

sledneck_03 · Mar 5, 2015

RMK935VA said:
There is a way to control the overheating on the Pro with a 3" track and it is not expensive. Ski-Z makes a snow deflector that mounts on the back of the skis. I put them on mine (162" X3). No more overheating. They are reversible and can be removed in a couple of minutes if you want to take them off for some reason. I also run the Ski Doo reversible scratchers. They are about 5" further forward so they lubricate better and you don't have to worry about sliding backwards and bending them. With the deflectors, my temps never go over 135 degrees. The price of the deflectors is about $55. Money well spent in my opinion.

i may have to run these ski-z. seems like they arnt taking off like they should if they work that well. carbides cut in more than scratchers ever will.

CO 2.0 · Mar 5, 2015

The T3 has horrible scratchers. I have had no issues with the 3" powerclaw on my 15 proclimb with the cat scratchers down on long hard pack stretches, and it has a short cooler and no snow flap. I don't think there will be too much of an issue on the new Polaris.

Pine-sol · Mar 5, 2015

The ski-z works. I put them on this year. With the low snow down low this year it was taking forever to get back to the the snow because of the overheating. After installing temps dropped 30 degrees. No more stopping. They work very well.

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Jaynelson · Mar 5, 2015

In the deep snow that a 3" is designed for, it'll be fine.

You WILL need the scratchers down on anything that looks like a packed road/trail.

If the roads up/down to the mountains are icy like this year, and you can't spin up any snow on the sides, you WILL have to stop and shovel snow on the coolers - just like the current Pro (or worse), just like the T3, just like any other long-track long-lug mountain sled even has been or ever will be. Whichever is slightly better is splitting hairs.

You can try whatever the latest flatlander widget is to try and fix that, but it just boils down to having to take extra care when using the sled for what it's not designed for. The last few rides I've just been leaving my shovel assembled and readily accessible, so you can throw snow on super quick. Three 1-minute stops en route to the alpine is not a big deal for me, and if the alpine was all ice - well - I'd stay home cause that sounds miserable anyways..

Reg2view · Mar 5, 2015

There's a reason Poo has a different snow flap on the Axys 3", so I suspect Poo figured something was up, too.

Wheel House Motorsports · Mar 5, 2015

Jaynelson said:
In the deep snow that a 3" is designed for, it'll be fine.

You WILL need the scratchers down on anything that looks like a packed road/trail.

If the roads up/down to the mountains are icy like this year, and you can't spin up any snow on the sides, you WILL have to stop and shovel snow on the coolers - just like the current Pro (or worse), just like the T3, just like any other long-track long-lug mountain sled even has been or ever will be. Whichever is slightly better is splitting hairs.

You can try whatever the latest flatlander widget is to try and fix that, but it just boils down to having to take extra care when using the sled for what it's not designed for. The last few rides I've just been leaving my shovel assembled and readily accessible, so you can throw snow on super quick. Three 1-minute stops en route to the alpine is not a big deal for me, and if the alpine was all ice - well - I'd stay home cause that sounds miserable anyways..

case and point. lol

guys wondering about trail overheating on a 3" track on icy trails. DUH. its like asking if your mud tires are gonna do good on ice, NO. its not what they were designed for. run scratchers, throw some snow on every now and then. and enjoy your ride.

Jaynelson · Mar 5, 2015

Wheel House Motorsports said:
case and point. lol

guys wondering about trail overheating on a 3" track on icy trails. DUH. its like asking if your mud tires are gonna do good on ice, NO. its not what they were designed for. run scratchers, throw some snow on every now and then. and enjoy your ride.

Totally, great comparison. This mountain sled stuff is getting pretty specialized, so people need to decide what they're willing to put up with, and consider buying a lower/less aggressive model if they don't like the compromises, or if that is not their primary objective/use.

If you put drag slicks on your car to run better times at the track....you better be willing to drive home pretty slow if it rains. It's do-able, but not what it's designed for.

Sooner or later, a 3" track on a mountain sled with small coolers WILL require special love to keep cool on hard snow. So will the 2.6" and the 2.4 for that matter.

Scott · Mar 5, 2015

My 3" X3 experience with keeping cool.....
I can get a little warm in spring snow when sneaking through the trees at slow speeds. Especially on a single track trail.
But as soon as I get off of it, and get 50 yds, I'm cooled right back down again. No worries.
I watch my water temps all day, probably more than I watch my tach. What's a speedometer?

On those hard frozen spring mornings, we are very careful to stop often and load snow on the coolers. Could get dicey when I had the OverTheTop scratchers.

HOWEVER, I've got the stock scratches back on mine again and they work WAY better than the Overthetop reversibles that I had, although stockers are not reversible, of course.

No to clarify, I loved those OTT scratchers in most conditions, but my set had much SMALLER gauge wire and they wouldn't make any down pressure after a few rides. They just bobbed along and bounced off the ice and did nothing.
I'd have to stop and tip the sled, bend them down and hope they worked for a few miles before I had to do it again.
One broke off after a season, so I went back to the stockers. MUCH better. I can keep my temps down below 140 in almost ANY condition so far, although I haven't had them on ROCK HARD crust yet.

You could also wait a bit for the sun to come out and things soften up...no problem.
Trying to ride on ice hard crust isn't any fun anyway.

Pine-sol · Mar 5, 2015

I'm not sure about any flatland "widgets". But what i do know after running the x3 for the last 2 1/2 seasons in just about all snow conditions all over the west, is that it just plain works (track). And yes, there are some overheating issues with it,(till you get to the good snow). Sometimes the good snow is on the trail from the parking lot, sometimes it's 20 miles up the trail. I have accepted this from day one. I used to have to stop and do the shovel thing (never been able to cool my sled down in one minute though). But this year has been especially bad for extremely packed and/or icy trails. So in my search to better care for my specialized track & engine, I ran across the ski-z. The things just work. Now, different conditions can require different speeds, but they have always worked for me. I was skeptical at first, but they continue show me that they work. Now , no more stopping & shoveling. Which is nice. Plus my temps aren't bouncing back & forth between 175 - 200, to 125 when I stop & cool down. I can run 140-160 down any trail which I'm fine with. Thus, taking better care of my machine.

Jaynelson · Mar 5, 2015

Leave it running while you throw snow on and it cools down virtually instantly. I wasn't saying they don't work - just the die-hard mountain guys usually don't install stuff to make sleds more trail-friendly. Not as a rule, just in general...pay extra for a lightweight sled with all that kinda stuff removed, just to add back on. Kinda silly.

I've actually never had to throw snow on my pro to stay under 150 until this year....usually the scratchers and juicing it on the sides does the job. This year is a different ballgame tho!

Dootimes2 · Mar 5, 2015

Wheel House Motorsports said:
case and point. lol

guys wondering about trail overheating on a 3" track on icy trails. DUH. its like asking if your mud tires are gonna do good on ice, NO. its not what they were designed for. run scratchers, throw some snow on every now and then. and enjoy your ride.

I am not concerned about the trail. My main question was more about how much worse they are off trail at slow speed as Scott said sneaking through the trees on a single track in low snow. Once conditions get too set up and frozen I have plenty of other things to do than ride crap snow.By the way I am twice your age and have probably bought twice as many tires too and know the difference.was simply looking for a comparison.My 07 Rev with a 174 could go all day long without scratchers down in same snow my pro could not go a mile.Simple as that.

Pine-sol · Mar 5, 2015

Whatever man. They weigh less than a 1/2#, plus you pop them off in about 1 min.
We can't all live in Canada. Some of us non- diehards actually have to really want to get to snow. So, if a 1/2# gets me there, I'm happy.

Dootimes2 · Mar 5, 2015

Pine-sol said:
Whatever man. They weigh less than a 1/2#, plus you pop them off in about 1 min.
We can't all live in Canada. Some of us non- diehards actually have to really want to get to snow. So, if a 1/2# gets me there, I'm happy.

If they work they work and if they keep me riding I'm all in.Actually if they help out the wife it is even better.it is a lot easier for me to keep bouncing on and off the trail than it is for her She is a very capable rider but something this simple is a no brainier if it works. Especially on a set up single track through the trees.

3" lugs and overheating

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