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P-85 Primary, tell me the advantages please

Frostbite

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
I keep reading the P-85 (Polaris primary clutch) is a great addition to our beloved M series sleds. I have heard they are lighter and perhaps maybe put more power to the snow.

Does anyone have an comparative data showing how one is better? Even anecdotal information would be great.

Where can one buy one of these clutches setup for a M series sled and what is the cost?
 
Best enduring mod to my BB 800. Fastrax has been great support "after the sale". You can get them with or without calibration.
 
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Smoother bottom end after engagement, less rotating weight, super easy to work on and find replacement parts, and no self destructing spider.

Gives your polaris tard friends something to laugh at, and your cat tard friends something to scoff at. All the while with you having a more bomber setup than either of them.
 
The biggest draw for me is that you can rebuild it unlike cats stupid clutches.
 
What belt is used with a P-85 conversion?

Does our our Cat clutch puller still work?

I rode a 2010 Polaris Assault a few weeks ago and I know they are supposed to be down on power compared to our Cats but, this thing came out of the hole very strong. The top end wasn't as strong as out Cats but, the first thing I noticed with the Polaris was how it felt like the clutch was much more "in touch" with the engine. It really did feel good, and that was on a 140ish hp sled.

I'm listening........
 
P-85

I bought my p-85 because people were saying how durable it is. Also parts to rebuild it are readily available unlike the cat clutches. I had a cat spider break at a thousand miles. Got another on warranty. Then at a thousand miles started to worry because there were still spiders breaking. Found out about Fastrax and got in touch with them, Curt is very good to deal with. They also did a good job with R&D to make the p-85 work on our M-8s. I did have a issue with my P-85, that's in another thread. Curt stepped up and offered to get me going again. Great guy. So for now I am running the bomb again. Needless to say I am keeping a very close eye on it. As far as performance I would have to say that there is a difference between the cat and P-85. I am running Daltons in both clutches. The P-85 is lighter and I also can run less weight in the Dalton's for any given snow conditions. So that right there is less rotating mass. Also if I set up the P-85 to run in deep snow it doesn't want to over rev as bad on the trail. Not unlike the cat clutch, which when set up for deep snow, over revs badly on the trail. No science here but seat of the pants, I think the P-85 pulls harder with less weight.
P-85 and 2.6 powerclaw, well lets just say I think my arms are a inch longer and my lips are cracking.:face-icon-small-hap
 
I would like to know for sure that if I run it out of gear the belt will not ride out of the primary !!!! My 11 HCR was 85ish MPH this weekend
 
I've ordered a P85 from Curt but haven't had a chance to run it on my build yet (and haven't ran it with a cat clutch either to compare), but here is something to think about. My brother is the service manager at a dealership that use to sell cat and polaris and a few years ago they dropped cat and just do polaris now. Over the years he has been there (I think around 15yrs) he said he has seen LOTS of cat clutches break, and have you noticed that cat is always building a different clutch? Some years is a 3 tower, some are 4 tower, but they are always changing every few years, and he said he has seen MANY more failures on cat clutches over the years and very very few on the polaris ones (and I'm talking about major things like spider breakage). Polaris has had the same basic clutch for many many years, why? because it just works, so why change it? Being lighter weight probably won't give you extra power as a general rule because it is like a flywheel that is always spinning, what it WILL do is get the power from the motor, thru the belt to the track MUCH faster because the motor doesn't have to work nearly as hard to increase the rpm from say 2000 at idle up to 8000 wide open, because it has less weight to move, but once it's there, I think it is pretty much there. Just my opinion, but I'm sold on it without running one yet, and yes Curt is the perfect kind of guy you want on the customer service end.
 
A cheaper option is to run a 911 cover, it makes the cat clutch work according to geo. If you install it right and I would get the whole thing balanced. If money isn't an option then get the p-85 because why not.
 
Ok, all this sounds good but, why couldn't a guy just go on E bay and buy a used Polaris P-85? Is the crank taper different than what is on our Cats?

What else needs to be changed for the P-85 to work on a Cat?

If it's the springs and the weights, I can handle that.
 
I don't know what all is different, but the Poo clutch definitely does not bolt right on a Cat. There is machining that has to be done.
 
P-85

They machine the taper to match the 800HO crank and I believe the shivs are machined to match the AC belt you want to run.
 
So who all has run the 911 Thunder Products cover? Has the life of the Cat clutch been extended when using it? By the time a guy buys a new Cat clutch and a 911 cover and balances it and loads it he is dang close in price to the FTX P85.



FORDpickupman
 
Taper difference?

Do not quote me on this but I believe the new P-85 is a 32 mm taper and the new Cats are a 33 mm taper, but I might be wrong.
 
Do not quote me on this but I believe the new P-85 is a 32 mm taper and the new Cats are a 33 mm taper, but I might be wrong.

That makes sense because they poo clutches have to be machined to fit the crank shaft......at least that's what I remember Curt saying.
 
Early P-85s were 30mm, later on CFI 800s were 31mm, the 600s were a little different also from the R motor to the HO. I believe the Polaris clutch has a shorter taper as the crank end is smaller, where cat uses a longer one as the main support is right there so the clutch sits further. But with the taper one is longer then the other, Sooooo It would be pretty easy to machine the P-85 to accept the cat motor as you still have lots of meat in there to mill out.

I have entertained the P-85 many times and have a few but all my cat clutches have been really good to me so all they do is get cleaning twice/three times a season and I have two clutches knocking 20,000miles, lots of roller secondarys have failed on me tho.
 
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