I love my 900 turbo. I do go fast alot. That being said I ride with a 900 ace expedition sport and he has no problem keeping up with us, I'm not sure how much the wider track will slow the 900 down. The 600 ace that comes with us every once in a while has a hard time. We are always waiting for him.

My thoughts if you don't want the power and think you will be fine with the 900 do it, you will most likely pick up quite a bit of reliability too.

 

I don't have a Gen4 900, But I have friends with both.

The Gen 4 900 is much snappier than the same motor in the XU. Whether it's the clutching, the extra 5hp, the fuel mapping, I don't know, but it feels very aggressive on the bottom end, and pulls hard up to 100kph.

Other than a much higher top speed, the turbo can be a benefit if you run in to slob (slush) on the lake, or for powering your way up hills. It's not significantly louder, but has a beautiful, throaty sound. It's musical, for sure.

Really, though, unless higher speed groomed trails are your thing, I think the regular 900 would suit the needs of 90% of the widetrack buyers. Though we're all dealing with superwides here. In a 20", which is a little more trail oriented, a turbo might make more sense.

 

I love my 900 turbo. I do go fast alot. That being said I ride with a 900 ace expedition sport and he has no problem keeping up with us, I'm not sure how much the wider track will slow the 900 down. The 600 ace that comes with us every once in a while has a hard time. We are always waiting for him.

My thoughts if you don't want the power and think you will be fine with the 900 do it, you will most likely pick up quite a bit of reliability too.

That is good info thanks. Really my only worry is having enough power in slush but I hope to avoid it. I'll be getting the 1.5 studded track. I do wonder about the turbo maintenance and reliability down the road.

I don't have a Gen4 900, But I have friends with both.

The Gen 4 900 is much snappier than the same motor in the XU. Whether it's the clutching, the extra 5hp, the fuel mapping, I don't know, but it feels very aggressive on the bottom end, and pulls hard up to 100kph.

Other than a much higher top speed, the turbo can be a benefit if you run in to slob (slush) on the lake, or for powering your way up hills. It's not significantly louder, but has a beautiful, throaty sound. It's musical, for sure.

Really, though, unless higher speed groomed trails are your thing, I think the regular 900 would suit the needs of 90% of the widetrack buyers. Though we're all dealing with superwides here. In a 20", which is a little more trail oriented, a turbo might make more sense.

I'll mostly be on lakes and bouncing to other lakes. No high speed trails. So really the slush is my only concern for power.

 

I have a 2021 Expedition with the 900 ace no turbo. It has lots of power but lacks top speed. I came off an 850 etec and I’m happy with the 900. I feel it’s gotten stronger as it breaks in.

 

I have a 2021 Expedition with the 900 ace no turbo. It has lots of power but lacks top speed. I came off an 850 etec and I'm happy with the 900. I feel it's gotten stronger as it breaks in.

I have the same sled and yes going from the 850 to the 900 is a big difference . I find the 900 expo does what i want ,i wish it had better shocks as the ride two up sucks .

 

Top speed of the day for me was 83 MPH on a groomed trail. I feel that’s very respectable for a widetrack 900 ace.

 

I never had one but a turbo is obviously overkill for what you do. Put your extra money in the tank and benefit from the peace of mind of a more stable engine.

 

Thanks for the replies. I don't think I've ever been 80mph on a sled.

I guess my only concern is power in the slush then. The NA 900 should have quite a bit of lower end to power through most situations then?

 

You don't need 150hp to scoot across some slush. 95hp does that just fine, it's a very torquey and responsive engine.

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Slush is no problem for the 900, it'll fly right over.
I love the 900 for 95 % of the time, every once in a while i'd like the turbo to blast across fresh powder, but not needed.

 

When I need more power I put it in low gear. I do a lot of technical riding and hill climbing, trail making and so forth. Back country. The non turbo has lots of grunt.

Word has it this gen 4 chassis is much better at putting power to the ground than the old chassis. 84 mph today....

 

Is the turbo version still quiet at idle and low speed? Or is it noticeably louder there too?

 

It's noticeably louder there too.

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Also interested to see if anyone thinks the regular 900 isn't enough power in slush to not get stuck?

 

Talking with some people I work with about a trip they were on last week and they all said the turbo burned considerably more gas, they never had numbers but said it was a noticeable difference.
But I'm guessing the turbos were harder on the throttle also.... I would be lol

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For sure there is a big difference in fuel consumption. I mentioned in another thread on a trip a couple weeks ago I got 12.6 mpg. Not sure what the na 900 got but I got home on fumes and he wasn't even close to empty. 3-4 bars left.

Talking with some people I work with about a trip they were on last week and they all said the turbo burned considerably more gas, they never had numbers but said it was a noticeable difference.
But I'm guessing the turbos were harder on the throttle also.... I would be lol

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I groom 2 miles of trail in the back 40 , pulling a tractor tire . The 900 na in low range pulls it no problem .

 

Also interested to see if anyone thinks the regular 900 isn't enough power in slush to not get stuck?

As with most things, that depends....

Are you talking about the sled by itself, or hauling a load? Do you use a komatic, a boggan, or some other type of sleigh?

The 900, even in the XU, as plenty of power to run open water, or to stay on top of slush. Even hauling a moderate sized sleigh, I wouldn't hesitate to power over slushy sections on a lake or crossing a river.

 

As with most things, that depends....

Are you talking about the sled by itself, or hauling a load? Do you use a komatic, a boggan, or some other type of sleigh?

The 900, even in the XU, as plenty of power to run open water, or to stay on top of slush. Even hauling a moderate sized sleigh, I wouldn't hesitate to power over slushy sections on a lake or crossing a river.

Im hoping to build enough storage on the sled so I don't have to tow a small sleigh with my ice gear.

 

Im hoping to build enough storage on the sled so I don't have to tow a small sleigh with my ice gear.

If you're never hauling a sleigh then you'll find that the regular 900 has plenty of power for getting over slush. Obviously you can still get in trouble if you stop in it, but that would be true of any sled.

One thing to be careful of when making your storage is not getting too much weight too high up. That will make the sled really unstable and hard to handle when you do hit slob or crusty ice.

 

I have the turbo and the fact that I am able to cruise 120 - 130 klm on nice warm smooth ice days is awesome, but in saying that those days are few and far between. The next one I get will be a regular 900. It is a sweet engine with a beautiful voice but the weight and complexity is something I don't really need. I will definitely miss it though when the ice is flat as a table an its 5 degrees outside

 

Spent the weekend pulling a Gen 4 Skandic 900 out of the slush repeatedly. Really bad overflow this year. My expedition extreme was the hero of the weekend pulling a b train of skimmers through it all. It was unstoppable. A tundra 600 was useless. Frozen skid after crossing several lakes and ponds. Crossing a section of slush isn’t the issue. It’s after hours of riding and multiple slushy spots that you need the power to push the extra weight in ice. I would take a 900 turbo for those conditions every time. Or better yet my expedition extreme.

 

100% Correct. I have a 900 ACE and a 600R in wide tracks. If I have to pull something heavy through the slush, it's the 600r. The 600 ACE only lasted two season with me. Never again.

 

Even the most powerful sleds get stuck? Eventually you have to slow down and if that is in slush you will sink. When stuck my track is barely touching the ice while the skis and tunnel are on top. I don't think more power would help much at this point. I mainly ice fish, slower speeds, gear, and more frequent stops. If you maintain speed slush is not a problem. Towing gear adds a lot of weight and friction as the slush freezes to whatever you tow so the likelihood of getting stuck increase greatly, plus you are likely traveling slower. Big lakes are more windswept and generally have less slush. Aside from small pockets of slush from pressure cracks there is less slush than found on small lakes and ponds. Steer clear of incoming streams ... overflow.

Snow insulates slush, preventing it from freezing. A wise man would run the lake fast without gear and lay down track that will freeze overnight. Hit all the spots you plan to fish. The next day will be great, just stay on the frozen track.

So the problem with slush depends on what you use your sled for. Power will always help but I don't think it solves everything. Understanding slush goes a long way to avoiding problems.