Camso 280 track on XM

280

From the sounds of it you traveled back in time. 2007 ski-doo summit XRS stiffer paddle worked great in spring snow but would get beat in the powder by the 07 800 non x package with the older 06 summit x track. I personally have never ran or seen the 280 but from what your describing paddles are just a bit to stiff. Put the stock track back on and maybe talk to someone about porting the track to lose some weight.

TreeThrasher said:

So I am running the new lightweight 280 track in 174 length on my t3 174 sled.

When I put the track on I felt like it just didn't build ground speed in the soft snow very well. But I figured it just needed to break it. It pulled like an animal in a track or on a road. And on one day in late October it was June type snow...sopping wet, setup. Pulled good then too.

I now have 400 miles with the track. It just feels like it won't push the sled to any ground speed in soft snow. With my old t3 track, when I hit the throttle it would trench some but the skis would come up and the sled would head forward. After I was on the throttle for a brief period of time the sled would be planing and building speed. With the 280 the motor bellows and strains but it won't lift out of its trench. It now acts like a boat that wont plane. track speed is down on a typical climb from the old t3 track. I am chaulking that up to trenching deeper at any given point in the hill. You have to let off and coax it up on the snow...which can't be done when the sled is really having to work.

To get the sled to have any fun factor I had to loosen the limiter 2 notches from where I was running it with the t3 track. Or the skis were just planted, it would not loft the skis, just settle the rear of the sled.

It's strange to explain, but at any given point with the 280 track on the sled, I feel like the rear of the sled is deeper in the snow.

Skid is in good working order. I have tried a couple different clutch setups and a couple different gearing packages.

What's the deal? Anyone else having any issues with it? Or I am all alone..

Thanks

Jake

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I had the same track on my 15 t-3 163, I had the same issue with it so I took it back off. It worked well at slow speed or on setup snow or in a track but in the powder it was a trenching sob, I'm running a power claw 3" now but snow has went to concrete so I can't tell if it's better but the cats I rode with were much better than my doo with the 280

I have a 2014 T3 174. Rode a couple weeks ago in 3-4' of new snow here in the WA Cascades. I noticed exactly what you were talking about with the stock track. Pin it from slow speed and the sled trenches and stayed that way unless you backed off a little on the throttle and then the sled came right up on top of the snow. May be more of a sled characteristic than a track. Buddy made the same comment on his 850 165-3". A little throttle control goes a long way on the Doo.

TreeThrasher said:

Ya anything that even looks soft....she's a trencher it seems.

Matte, I'm with you on the throttle control deal but I had 1800 miles on the sled with the stock track and never had the issues I'm having now..

We have had some strange snow here in the northwest and I was pretty well chalking my issues up to that until last weekend. Last weekend the 163 sleds had half the trench depth that my 174 did...that was the final straw.

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Ya it's just not a good powder hill climbing track. It works well for the trees and sidehilling, places where your not under full power, but suffers in the deep soft snow. Seems to get too much traction or something. Maybe the the 3.5 pitch Tracks are better with less paddles but seems like most guys are seeing what saw with it.

tinkerjohnson said:

I had the same track on my 15 t-3 163, I had the same issue with it so I took it back off. It worked well at slow speed or on setup snow or in a track but in the powder it was a trenching sob, I'm running a power claw 3" now but snow has went to concrete so I can't tell if it's better but the cats I rode with were much better than my doo with the 280

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I'm loving the Cat track. I put one on my 154 XM this season and it's a monster in our snow. Initially it was a trenching SOB but I've tamed that with scissor relocate and cranking the torsions to 5. Now it's controlable but still playful if you step back a bit on the boards.

TreeThrasher said:

So I am running the new lightweight 280 track in 174 length on my t3 174 sled.

When I put the track on I felt like it just didn't build ground speed in the soft snow very well. But I figured it just needed to break it. It pulled like an animal in a track or on a road. And on one day in late October it was June type snow...sopping wet, setup. Pulled good then too.

I now have 400 miles with the track. It just feels like it won't push the sled to any ground speed in soft snow. With my old t3 track, when I hit the throttle it would trench some but the skis would come up and the sled would head forward. After I was on the throttle for a brief period of time the sled would be planing and building speed. With the 280 the motor bellows and strains but it won't lift out of its trench. It now acts like a boat that wont plane. track speed is down on a typical climb from the old t3 track. I am chaulking that up to trenching deeper at any given point in the hill. You have to let off and coax it up on the snow...which can't be done when the sled is really having to work.

To get the sled to have any fun factor I had to loosen the limiter 2 notches from where I was running it with the t3 track. Or the skis were just planted, it would not loft the skis, just settle the rear of the sled.

It's strange to explain, but at any given point with the 280 track on the sled, I feel like the rear of the sled is deeper in the snow.

Skid is in good working order. I have tried a couple different clutch setups and a couple different gearing packages.

What's the deal? Anyone else having any issues with it? Or I am all alone..

Thanks

Jake

Click to expand...

Thought I would chime in because it is a track thing not a brand thing. I bought the 280 X 174 for my turbo Axys. I had the exact same results as what your having. Took off the 280 and went to the 174x3 X3. Day and night difference. Ive said it on other threads. The 280 might be a great spring track but does NOT work in deep powder.

Tracks

To dig, grab and displace snow takes a lot of hp.
Sled will want to move forward AS LONG AS THERE IS A STIFF BASE UNDERNEATH. Otherwise, will just try and dig, which is what a lot of these track are designed for. I'm talking as in you can see it in the roost behind. Over the years it's been interesting in the different designs tried.
Here's what I've seen in my opinion for what it's worth:
The staggered pattern as in a Cat Power Claw etc. Conquest 280 offers unbelievable hookup AS LONG AS THERE IS A SOLID BASE UNDERNEATH, if there isn't, it's going down to try and find it! On the other end of the spectrum take a Polaris track / Skidoo track, name your poison which one, will typically try and PACK snow and still give lift in deep snow. This track design thing has been going round and round for years but some things don't change, that is types of snow!
The "digger tracks", for lack of a better description, all work on the same concept. In the right conditions they are unbelievable. I just don't want to be following one as you could hide a football team in the trench if it's deep snow with no reachable base.
Another thing, anyone who has done a lot of clutching will know what I mean when I say the "digger tracks" eat up a ton of horsepower trying to MOVE ALL the snow, instead of trying to pack it. This = lower track speeds in the pull.
In set up snow diggers are impressive, other than that, no thanks.

Well this is excellent news.....not in that the track doesn't work well, but that people are giving honest reviews. Unlike some paid spokespeople that have been running them all year singing their praises. Thanks for the reviews.

So what is the ideal track then?

I'm really glad to read this post. I won't be getting the 280. What is the optimum stock track replacement for a t3 163? I like my current track, missing about 10 lugs now, and will have to get something eventually. Would like to get something without the flex edge. Thoughts?

Track

Meyersnow said:

I'm really glad to read this post. I won't be getting the 280. What is the optimum stock track replacement for a t3 163? I like my current track, missing about 10 lugs now, and will have to get something eventually. Would like to get something without the flex edge. Thoughts?

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I was running the 280, i pulled it off and now im runnimg the power claw and really like it

thanks

Reeb said:

Well this is excellent news.....not in that the track doesn't work well, but that people are giving honest reviews. Unlike some paid spokespeople that have been running them all year singing their praises. Thanks for the reviews.

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Who would lead his fellow snowmobilers astray to line his pockets? I almost bit the bullet after seeing the video but stuck with the heavy, durable, x3 instead. My buddy endorsed the x3 by kicking my butt in the trees and all he got out of it was a big smile!

Ya I'm gonna stay happy with my X3, CE 2.5 and Cat 2.6" for now. The sleds don't need new tracks with the results what they are after a year in consumer hands.


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It's simple.

Stiff, straight lugs trench in powder but hook in spring snow.

Softer, laid back paddles work in powder but not too well in spring snow.

A good combo is the Powerclaw or the stocker paddle tracks that are decently stiff, but give a bit.

Best powder track I've been around? Attack 20. However, in anything but powder, it was junk (including downhills), but it worked awesome in powder and really lifted up and got on top of the snow.

The weight difference just had me hoping it would be enough to swap over on all my sleds. 10lbs of mass off the biggest power robber in our drivetrain is a huge jump.


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Figured I'd throw my 2 cents in. I swapped out my 3" Doo track on my turbo 850 this year to a Conquer 280, based solely on Camso's claims and it being a nice weight loss also. The first trip out with it I immediately noticed it was a trencher. I complained a little and was told that I should give it a few hundred miles to let it "break in". So I did. Now remember, this is on a great running turbo 850 with lots of lightweight goodies and a KMod skid that was setup correctly. This thing should have jumped up on the snow and railed. It did not. I put about 500 miles on that 280 and got to the point I almost couldn't believe how bad it trenched. I was in all kinds of snow too. Bottomless dry pow to heavy wet western concrete, and it trenched through it all. I thought maybe it would be good in some setup snow with how stiff it was too... but I think my extra track speed just turned that thing into a chainsaw. No amount of throttle control could make it quit either. I remember one specific time I was crawling out of a steep creek bed in warm setup snow, which didn't have a great base underneath I'll admit, but I just creeped out over the lip of that creek side under WOT. When I crested the hill it was FLAT, like pancake floating on the ocean flat, so I let off thinking that the trackspeed would drop and the sled would climb back up on top of the snow as it slowed... it didn't. It was like that 280 had sawed through the top crust and was just pulling the rear of the sled down to china, ON FLAT GROUND. I blipped the throttle 5 times each time letting the track spin down to zero and it still wouldn't surface. Craziest thing I've ever witnessed lol. Needless to say I found a guy that would swap me my 280 for a stock Doo 3" and am switching it back. That track is WAY over hyped IMO. I love how light it is, but the lugs on that track are just way too stiff and being cupped on top of that, it just moves snow out from under your sled and won't stop. It shouldn't be called a track, it should be called a snow evacuater.

PS I sold the 850 turbo now and am going with a Mtn Cat with the 3" PC. The last sled I had with a PC was a 2.6" in a turbo Pro and that thing was downright hard to get stuck. The PC just makes perfect sense to me. The fingers on the outside bite for sidehilling and spring snow and the Attack 20 inside paddles pack the snow up underneath the center of the track when it's dry and deep. I would have loved to try that Impulse 850 with a 3" PC, but my sled ADD kicked in and here we are lol.

Reeb said:

The weight difference just had me hoping it would be enough to swap over on all my sleds. 10lbs of mass off the biggest power robber in our drivetrain is a huge jump.


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100% agree.


Too bad the track never came around as advertised.