Time for a poll

I bought a 163 x 2.6 and changed it out to 3.2" .
It seems to work very well for the 20 days (4 trips and 5 days each) I have ridden it so far. Have logged 1037 miles so far. Have been switching back and forth between the stock polaris belt and a Dayco XTX 5020 . Have only had to adjust the belt deflection when swapping back and forth. both belts work equally well for me and have not noticed much performance difference between the two brands. On a side note my son has destroyed a couple of Polaris and Dayco belts on his Axis that is set up the same as the one I have described . The only difference is the TKI belt kit on mine and he is a more of an Energizer Bunny rider and I think the drive belt just gets Very hot and Fails. Gearing down on mine helps also.
Been very lucky this winter and trip timing as there has been huge amounts of Fresh Deep powder. That may be the reason my vote is for the 3"+ track
Have added a SLP pipe and Head with TKI belt drive kit geared at 19-63 . Am changing to 20-63 as soon as the top gear arrives from TKI.
Still not out climbing 174 ski Doos on the open slopes but can hang with them most of the time in the steep and deep trees:face-icon-small-hap
I ride with a bunch of 174 T3 Doos and some 2.6" and 3" Axis sleds. We always wind up in the same places regardless of track length and lug hight but the I think the bigger lug tracks are having more fun and getting to the untracked snow first.
Will not be changing to a shorter track sled or less lug depth any time soon .

I found an LE model with the 163x3" track at a local dealer here in MN and had to have it. Every mile that's on it was in the Big Horns. The 3" never let me down and I'm completely happy with it, so the 3" track gets my vote.

In the same early season deep snow conditions, the 2.6 worked better than the 3. The guy with the 3 had an SLP pipe too against stock 2.6 sleds (one had a Diamond S Quiet Titanium muffler on it). I watched and listened as all three sleds went at the same hill. The 2.6 sleds went higher faster. I think that the 3 is geared too low causing slower track speed than optimum. There was also a Pro in the group with the X3 track. He could not come close to the Axys sleds (2.6 or 3). This 2.6 versus 3 phenomena repeated itself through the whole season. The track that intrigues me is the new Camso 2.8. My guess is that it is going to work better than the 2.6 or the 3. It is light and it has a progressive design. I guess that we will see what happens next winter. I was baffled about an earlier comment about T3 174s outclimbing the Axys 3. Again, here, we ran rings around the T3 174s with our 163 2.6 Axys sleds. I guess everybody has their personal experiences and biases. I am just reporting what I saw and experienced. Even though the best and lightest rider in our group rode the 14 Pro with the X3 track, he could not go up the deep snow pulls that we were doing with our Axys 2.6 sleds.

3 inch all the way

i don't know my tecnicalitys like some of u guys. The chain case isn't all its cracked up to be. They break to i personally have had issues with them never had a belt drive but i have seen more belt drives go then chain cases. but when a chain case goes ur hoopdeed no brakes no nothin and u usually don't bring a spare gear. they both have there pros and cons i feel a chain case is way stronger and thats part of the reason i still snow checked a 3 inch with the chain case because iv seen a 3 inch in action and it works better on any day with decent snow and the chain case i feel is a stronger suit for the 3 inch hear in bc the 3 inch shines 9 times out of 10

I have the 2.6 x 163 and buddy has 3 x 163.

It is true that his gearing tends feel like the sled hits a wall when accelerating and also the sled is more jumpy and harder on the shoulders than the 2.6 due to low gearing and more traction.

The little bit of slip with the 2.6 makes the sled feel a bit smoother and lighter.

Simple, the 3", chain case and low gearing are for the 220+ lb. guys and the 2.6" is for the rest of us.