Best mods for new 2015 Pro Climb 153" SnoPro Limited

Frostbite said:

I have lurked over on this side but, I stay pretty much on the M Series side of the house. I have an 09 M8 and it looks like I may very well have a 2015 M8000 153" coming soon. I have read the reviews and I am wondering what mods you guys would suggest I do first?

I read the stock skis aren't so hot. What do you suggest?

What exhaust can sounds best without being obnoxious?

Are bar risers or any re positioning needed?

How about clutching, is the stock OK or should I do something else right out of the chute?

36" front ends sound popular, I did one on my M8. Do you suggest a different front end on a 2015?

What other mods should I consider?

Thanks for your help in advance.

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- MBRP makes a can that isn't too loud
- As far as skis go, my favorites are polaris grippers and doo's pilot 6.9's on this chassis. I've tried PPros, Mohawks, and Slydogs on the Proclimb - the grippers are my favorite (personal choice).
- some folks prefer a rox pivoting riser pointed forward (level with post), or a post forward kit (personal choice)
- front end: pick your poison, whether it be Cat's 16 front end, Skinz, or Alt Impact. I've ridden Cat and Skinz, and prefer the Skinz front end (that's what's on my turbo 4 stroke)
- clutching is pretty good out of the box for a majority of riders. I personally like MDS weights with a 911 cover and either a Tied secondary or the Hercules Helix.
- Venting is a must. A lot of heat is kept under the hood of these sleds, too much in my opinion.
- If you want more power, SLP's or Jaws pipe set adds a bit, big bores add a bunch more performance.

I used to run an 08 M8 with a full SLP package, EXIT shocks, PP skis and camo 2.5 extreme with a bunch of weight loss, my 13 M800 is a better sled hands down with minimal tweaking. I tuned the clutches for my liking, added a belt drive, and a Jaws pipe set, still running the 38" front end with Polaris gripper skis, EXIT shocks all the way around.
Hope this helps you. These sleds don't need much for modifications to work well.

If your worried about noise id go with a slp pipe. They sound awesome and not loud at all. Or if you wanna drop the extra coin get a diamond s quiet can. They sound so good and are a huge weight savings.

I don't know a ton about clutching on these sleds cause this is my first year on one (coming off a 2011 M8 ) but i was advised to do the 911 primary cover and Hercules helix as stated above. I also sent my secondary out to get balanced. Its not necessary but its something i always do on my sled.

As far as skis x2 on the polaris gripper skis. I rode a few proclimbs last season with different skis and the grippers are great! You can also pic them up pretty cheap. I got mine for $225 in the classified section and they were brand new. But most dealers can get you them for about $260.

I bought a HCR so i wanted to Narrow it up. Since i was spending the money i felt i might as well go with 36" stance. I went with alternative impacts setup. Dan was great to deal with and the a arms are top notch!!

If you want a little extra power the SLP stage 2 kit is great. full pipe, y pipe and can, boyessen rage cage and PCV and their air vents. My friend has it on his sled and its great. I went for a little more power and got a jaws pipe and y pipe. Boyessen rage cage. PCV with ignition control, diamond s can and a custom headlight delete with a better intake.

diamond s quiet can is the quiet one but pricey .
a pair of ski and set of board .
for me the 36 front end is not a big must because i ride wood cuter trail . don't have big side hill to go side hill on them .

The polaris gripper skis bolt right up and utilize the stock rubber from the cat ski. Only thing you will need is new bolts cause the skis are wider. Its a 10mm bolt x 150mm long. I got mine off of McMaster-Carr.

Mds weights are good i havent heard anything bad about them. I ride low and High elevation so i run BMP gold star adjustable weights. I find they work better for me. Just my 2 cents. The side panels on these sleds suck. I hate that they open from the front but oh well. I was advised by other users on here to silicone up any gaps i found to keep snow from getting in and i was surprised at all the places i found.

Whats the aluminum bottom gear youre talking about??

I went right ahead and did a belt drive. I have seen so many sleds at my dealer with chaincase related issues so i said screw it id rather not deal with it. Plus it saves a bunch of weight.

A lot of guts are running the Rox pivoting riser in a forward position on the stock riser to move the bars forward. My sled had the HCR fixed vertical steering. I removed all that and put in a steering post out of a m8 standard and made my own 3 in post forward block and i like it much better than the rox riser. Again just my 2 cents.

Like you said, SLP is great. They really have good turn key packages out there. My friend loves his. If i didnt like doing things myself so much and fabricating my own parts i would have probably done a slp stage 3 kit

Have both Grippers and PPs - I like the grippers much better.

I believe the aluminum lower gear was only on the 14s, think AC went back to steel on the 15s.

Good reviews on SLP stage III and II kits, can't go wrong there.

Several ways to go with clutching, all seem to work. I changed the secondary helix although I don't know if it was much different than the stock 36 and changed the primary spring with glide washers. It's all personal preference. No experience but sounds like the 911 and Hercules helix really help with consistency and belt heat. I never really experienced much fade with my setup but my clutches ran pretty hot. If you ride hard, those two options might be good.

The biggest thing is pulling weight off the sled. Can, belt drive/oil delete, and hood are the easiest with significant weight reductions. Working on a custom hood with headlight delete that I will try this winter.

Stock skis need to go. I still like Powder Pros on mine, but I also prefer an aggressive ski that turns when I want it to. Polaris Grippers would be next on my list. They are also a lb lighter per ski than PPs.

Replace that aluminum gear in the bottom of the chain case right away. They are light, but they contaminate the oil, wear, and then break the chain. Maybe fine in some stock sleds, but didn't hold up to this big guy on a big bore. Rental shop at Togwotee wasn't having any luck with them either in their fleet. I would put a manual tensioner in there as well while you are at it. Options range from aftermarket to the snowcross sled setup to the one that goes in the Yamaha versions of the sleds. Belt drive is always a nice upgrade too. Some guys have had improvements gearing these sleds up from the 2.62 that Cat put in to try to keep belt heat down to the 2.45-2.5 range. Wyoboy got his clutches dialed in well enough that 2.33 that came in the 2012s is actually working for him. 2.62 is still working well for a lot of guys too.

Diamond S quiet can is hard to beat. Big price tag, but quality is top notch, fits well, is as quiet as stock at idle and a little deeper on top, and adds 4hp to a stock sled. Lots of people happy with the SLP stage II and III packages too.

Get some kind of aftermarket intake/hood. Quickest and cheapest way to drop 10+ lbs after a can.

The rear shocks can still benefit from a re-valve. The stock rear track shock doesn't have enough rebound damping and will give you a buck on occasion. Fronts are pretty decent.

Frogzskin the openings on the hood and seal up some of the front belly pan gaps with silicone.

I have a t-top post like the HCRs always had and comes on the 2016s. It's the same post position as the adjustable one. I like to run my riser angled forward about an inch from there. Like said before, 2" forward is pretty popular. There are various ways to do it. The easiest being a Rox riser tipped forward in your existing clamp. There is a t-top adapter available from RSI or Zbroz that you have to cut the adjustable post down for. Other option is put the HCR post in. The "standard" laydown post can also be installed and then moved 2-3" forward.

You will need a clutch compressing tool to work on the secondary if you change anything. Check the secondary helix bolts periodically. If they loosen up it causes big problems for the clutch.

Frostbite said:

Now I am confused, was the aluminum lower gear on the 2014 only, or was it on the 2015 as well? I thought it was part of weight reduction package on the 2014 sleds but, I have no idea what happened with it on the 2015 models?

I will have to investigate the frogskins and see which ones I need. Should I buy them directly from Cat?

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Looking up the sprocket on a dealer website shows the same part# for both the 2014 snopro and 2015 limited lower sprocket. If it was superseded maybe it only shows the updated number??? Maybe someone who has taken their 15 apart will chime in.

If you buy Frogzskins from Cat, they are constructed from a more coarse mesh. They probably allow a little more airflow and might be a little tougher, but they don't bend around sharp edges or keep the really fine snow dust out as well. I usually get ones right from Frogzskin. I also bought a couple of yards of the fabric from them so I can make my own as needed. The ones I covered are right on the front where the sides meet the center section of the hood (bought them), and the big holes that face forward right at the top of the side panels (made my own by sticking the material to the inside of the panel with clear silicone). I'm also not running any of the duct work on my clutch side panel.

boondocker97 said:

Looking up the sprocket on a dealer website shows the same part# for both the 2014 snopro and 2015 limited lower sprocket. If it was superseded maybe it only shows the updated number??? Maybe someone who has taken their 15 apart will chime in.

If you buy Frogzskins from Cat, they are constructed from a more coarse mesh. They probably allow a little more airflow and might be a little tougher, but they don't bend around sharp edges or keep the really fine snow dust out as well. I usually get ones right from Frogzskin. I also bought a couple of yards of the fabric from them so I can make my own as needed. The ones I covered are right on the front where the sides meet the center section of the hood (bought them), and the big holes that face forward right at the top of the side panels (made my own by sticking the material to the inside of the panel with clear silicone). I'm also not running any of the duct work on my clutch side panel.

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I have my 15 HCR 800 apart right now and it has a steel bottom gear!

How do you like the frogzskins material you can purchase in a roll? Is it too fine?

officer farva said:

I have my 15 HCR 800 apart right now and it has a steel bottom gear!

How do you like the frogzskins material you can purchase in a roll? Is it too fine?

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I like it just fine. It's pretty cheap for the amount of material you get. I went to a craft store and bought a wood burner to cut it. I lay it out on a piece of plywood and draw out what I want with a silver marker. Then go over the top with the wood burner. Really fast and it singes the edge so it doesn't fray. It is the same type of material as the air intakes by the headlights are covered with on the M-series sleds. Water will bead up and roll off of it.

Frostbite said:

Thanks Officer farva, however wouldn't one expect there to be steel gears on a Hill Climb Racer?

On a sled made exclusively to float in the deep powder, who knows?

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Hmm good point I'm not sure? We have a 15 Sno pro here that we're gonna put a belt drive in. I'm gonna pull the cover and take a look!

boondocker97 said:

I like it just fine. It's pretty cheap for the amount of material you get. I went to a craft store and bought a wood burner to cut it. I lay it out on a piece of plywood and draw out what I want with a silver marker. Then go over the top with the wood burner. Really fast and it singes the edge so it doesn't fray. It is the same type of material as the air intakes by the headlights are covered with on the M-series sleds. Water will bead up and roll off of it.

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Thanks I'm gonna order a roll! That's exactly what I needed to know!

Pulled the chaincase off last night on the 15 Sno Pro 800 we have here and it has a steel sprocket. Not sure when they changed them or if this sled had been updated.

officer farva said:

Pulled the chaincase off last night on the 15 Sno Pro 800 we have here and it has a steel sprocket. Not sure when they changed them or if this sled had been updated.

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Thought I read AC went back to the steel gear in 15. Maybe AC updated the part number for the 14s. The aluminum gear is junk.

Chewy22 said:

Thought I read AC went back to the steel gear in 15. Maybe AC updated the part number for the 14s. The aluminum gear is junk.

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Ok good to know. I didnt even know they had ones with an aluminum gear! I have very little experience with the proclimbs. But i can imagine that sprocket would be a problem!!!

if your going to do the 15 and back put the grippers and the pipe set on it and re clutch it. IMO ride it first and then ask yourself what need to be done?
this is the best bang for the buck and makes it a very nice ride.
as said in the other thread you need to learn how to ride this in more of a forward position it is a lot sharper knife than the M.
the post forward helps as you have to ride if more forward and the post is too close to you. you can do the hcr post with the rox set up or rox make a mount to move the bars on to the other side of the post not on top.
bdx makes a light weight hood you loose 10 lbs in the best location.
i wish someone made flat side panels that tuck in about 1" on each side. CO.20 has some time with the boards and panels. as well as wyboy

Frostbite said:

I have been reading other posts and see modifications like:

Narrower Running Boards and maybe side panels

Post Forward

Lightweight hoods

Can someone please enlighten me?

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For running boards the only ones i know of that are narrower are the polaris burandt powder track boards. Wyoboy1000 did a nice post on these. Im currently in the process of doing them on mine. They require a little more work to put on compared to a set of arctic cat (bdx) or B&M Fab boards. But you can pull in your side panels a bit if you do the polaris birds.

Post forward is the route i went. C3 makes a kit i believe they make a 2 and 3 inch post forward kit. they only work on a standard cat steering post. They won't work on the HCR or the adjustable post. If you go for the post forward kit you have to modify your air box so it clears the steering post. Like said before you can always do the HCR steering post setup and do a rox riser pointing forward to get the bars more forward.

I don't know a ton about lightweight hoods. I know C3 powersports, Fire and Ice and patricks custom carbon fiber make ultra light carbon fiber hoods but they're pricey$$ Mountain fit makes a reasonable lightweight hood but from what i was told its tough to get it setup to use the stock intake. Both my friends have turbo proclimb 800's so they don't utilize the original style intake. A cheap way to shed some weight off the hood would be a headlight delete. CPC racing, BDX and skinz all sell them. Or you can do a homemade one. There have been a few posts showing how other members made their own.