You’d be surprised what can be patented. I’m not sure if they have on a patent on it but it seems like I read that they had a patent on “raising the chassis to enable it to go through snow better”.
Iceage ELEVATE kit - interesting!!!
- Thread starter Chewy22
- Start date
You’d be surprised what can be patented. I’m not sure if they have on a patent on it but it seems like I read that they had a patent on “raising the chassis to enable it to go through snow better”.
Ski-doo was touting the increased height when they went to taller spindles on T3 XMs! I doubt there's a patent on it or someone would have sued already.
Guys, we are super excited to roll this product out and get it in consumer hands. I will try and go through and touch base on most of the questions/concerns.
Overall Performance Goal
The second we rode the new 18 cats last year we knew cat finally had something. The Ctec motor coupled with the clutching and track system puts impressive power to the snow. The sleds get on the snow and move like nothing else. The fist thing we noticed when it was sitting in the shop next to the axys and g4 is how low and squatty it looked. The sled handles well in stock form but it still left us wanting more.
Hundreds of miles and piles of parts in the scrap bin later we have the Elevate Kit. Bringing the front end up 2" tapering back to 3/4" of lift in the rear has allowed the sled to show what its really capable of. The extra height helps the sled roll around more in deeper snow making for a more fun and less 'planted' feel. Having more height has also increase the angle you can sidehill before "paneling out". This was especially noticeable in our late season testing in hard spring conditions. You can now lay the sled into the hill and it just hangs there instead of trying to push you off. (see axys vs pro, xm vs t3 comments above) With the increased height getting the nosecone and panels so much higher out of the snow we now are plowing less snow allowing the sled to float on top with reduced effort. Our spindle is fully engineered (not just spacers bolted on) to ensure more strength from all angles even with the 2" taller base section. The spindles also include steering stops, this helps eliminate the possibility of bending tie rods all the time. You do not lose any steering angle because of this.
Approach angle/skid
We spent a TON of time tweaking and modifying on the approach angle and how we handled the drop in the rear. Obviously cat has the best approach on the market and the sled gets on the snow with ease. We DID NOT want to ruin this. The rails have a fully customized bend for this application to keep the approach as mellow as possible. We also remounted the front track shock and limiter strap allowing us to get more travel in the front portion of the skid. This helps the sled handle bumps on the trail much nicer. And obviously one of the biggest skid gains is the proven strength of our IceAge rails.
Balance
I see a lot of guys trying to jerry rig things or wanting to only do spindles and drop the skid. If it was this easy we would have done it this way and made a cheaper kit. Maintaining the proper balance of the sled and skid setup is paramount. You can VERY easily make the sled handle far worse then stock. After hundreds of miles and a pile of parts in the scrap bin, we can assure you, this is a fully developed system not just some bolt on widgets.
Specs
Spindle angle - Stock
Spindle height increase - 2.1"
Spindle weight - 3# 7oz (3oz heavier then stock)
Steering geometry - unmodified (same tie rod clearance to a-arms)
Height all added below ball joint - Stock shocks/geometry to fit any a-arms.
6061 T6 billet construction. This is a massive billet part.
skid is dropped .75" in rear and 1.2" in front.
Rails design is unique to the elevate kit
Custom bend profile
increased front track shock travel/stroke ( ~.625")
Wider ribs by ~50%
7000 series aluminum, much stronger then OEM.
Overall Performance Goal
The second we rode the new 18 cats last year we knew cat finally had something. The Ctec motor coupled with the clutching and track system puts impressive power to the snow. The sleds get on the snow and move like nothing else. The fist thing we noticed when it was sitting in the shop next to the axys and g4 is how low and squatty it looked. The sled handles well in stock form but it still left us wanting more.
Hundreds of miles and piles of parts in the scrap bin later we have the Elevate Kit. Bringing the front end up 2" tapering back to 3/4" of lift in the rear has allowed the sled to show what its really capable of. The extra height helps the sled roll around more in deeper snow making for a more fun and less 'planted' feel. Having more height has also increase the angle you can sidehill before "paneling out". This was especially noticeable in our late season testing in hard spring conditions. You can now lay the sled into the hill and it just hangs there instead of trying to push you off. (see axys vs pro, xm vs t3 comments above) With the increased height getting the nosecone and panels so much higher out of the snow we now are plowing less snow allowing the sled to float on top with reduced effort. Our spindle is fully engineered (not just spacers bolted on) to ensure more strength from all angles even with the 2" taller base section. The spindles also include steering stops, this helps eliminate the possibility of bending tie rods all the time. You do not lose any steering angle because of this.
Approach angle/skid
We spent a TON of time tweaking and modifying on the approach angle and how we handled the drop in the rear. Obviously cat has the best approach on the market and the sled gets on the snow with ease. We DID NOT want to ruin this. The rails have a fully customized bend for this application to keep the approach as mellow as possible. We also remounted the front track shock and limiter strap allowing us to get more travel in the front portion of the skid. This helps the sled handle bumps on the trail much nicer. And obviously one of the biggest skid gains is the proven strength of our IceAge rails.
Balance
I see a lot of guys trying to jerry rig things or wanting to only do spindles and drop the skid. If it was this easy we would have done it this way and made a cheaper kit. Maintaining the proper balance of the sled and skid setup is paramount. You can VERY easily make the sled handle far worse then stock. After hundreds of miles and a pile of parts in the scrap bin, we can assure you, this is a fully developed system not just some bolt on widgets.
Specs
Spindle angle - Stock
Spindle height increase - 2.1"
Spindle weight - 3# 7oz (3oz heavier then stock)
Steering geometry - unmodified (same tie rod clearance to a-arms)
Height all added below ball joint - Stock shocks/geometry to fit any a-arms.
6061 T6 billet construction. This is a massive billet part.
skid is dropped .75" in rear and 1.2" in front.
Rails design is unique to the elevate kit
Custom bend profile
increased front track shock travel/stroke ( ~.625")
Wider ribs by ~50%
7000 series aluminum, much stronger then OEM.
Sounds legit, I know you love the Axys but like the cat powerplant. I understand the price is largely do to engineering and testing etc, plus the spindles aren't cheap material. But in the case someone breaks one, would you be able to offer a better replacement price if you can verify they have purchased the kit from you?
Those look pretty stout and solid aluminum. I know someone will do it but I bet they can take a pretty serious hit without bending or especially breaking.
We will for sure be offering reasonably priced replacements IF someone was to break one. It is unlikely, but obviously, its a snowmobile, so it will get broken. We do not price like an OEM trying to make our money on replacement parts sales. We want guys back out on the snow running and enjoying our products.
CO, please email me at nick@iceagemfg.com or give me a call 406-763-0365. Id like to discuss exactly what the mod is doing and how it will work alongside our elevate kit.
Increase steering helps you sidehill steeper slopes. So yes I still need it. It helped a bunch on my 16, not as much on the 18 with the better narrow panels, but still is nice to have. I might not do it if I get an Alpha though.
So how does this work with the alpha if you think the rails go in tandem with the spindles?
My bet is it doesn't without having an alpha to test with.
Right now we are not offering a kit for the alpha. The skid must be done accordingly to match the front. We are excited to see what we can do with the alpha when it shows up.
We are hoping for our snowcheck soon to bolt things on and start playing. Also dreaming of a November like last winter so we can get to testing sooner then later!
CO, the mod would still allow a slight increase in steering angle, our stops have a bit of space left before contact, the key is we just did not want the steering system (especially worn ones) to be able to wind up super far allowing the tie rods to hit the shocks. Also, keep your eyes peeled. we have more goodies in the works for the cat, handling related specifically.
That first week of November was epic
I know! I stated riding in amazing powder nov 10th last year. My dealer just got an email saying a shipment of alphas was headed to Salt Lake City!
Mine is here!!
Our Alpha is in and we will be picking it up when return from the Denver snow show. We are super excited with our current Elevate offerings and looking forward to playing with the Alpha as well.
We are taking names and contact info for customers who are interested in getting their hands on an Elevate Kit ASAP when they become available. Call the shop at 406-763-0365 and we will get you down on our list. We will be calling back to take orders when product is ready to ship.
Pray for snow!
We are taking names and contact info for customers who are interested in getting their hands on an Elevate Kit ASAP when they become available. Call the shop at 406-763-0365 and we will get you down on our list. We will be calling back to take orders when product is ready to ship.
Pray for snow!
