cooling is the issue when running on glare ice,(for liquid cooled sled)yamaha's are the worst as far as overheating in low snow conditions. but all liquid cooled sleds are going to be bad in no snow conditions on glare ice.a fan sled would be ok other than the hyfax sticking to the track. i don't think yamaha makes a fan cooled sled

 

Ice scratchers, picks, and carbides...

 

CLAIM TO FAME: Have rode a Summit on snow every month of the year...

I'm sure You meant to say ridden. ( Have ridden a Summit on snow every month of the year.)
Or did You mean, ( I rode a Summit every month of the year).

The grammar police have struck again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That's pretty funny cause if anything the Yamaha's are "known" to overheat!

 

I am new to snowgo's and am not understanding all the technical terms you are using. I'm reading that yamaha's are definitely the worst choice. But I'm not understanding what you are saying in terms of ski-doos. Are ski-doos all liquid cooled?

Sarah

 

No they have a 550 and 380 fan, but like they said, if you get ice scratchers and studs it will make stuff to cool the liquids.

Your slides help the track go round so the stuff that cools the sled helps lube these to

Cant simplify it anymore than that

 

Even with scratchers and studs...if you run on glare ice, you're going to overheat.

I'd rather just cross open water than run my sled on ice for much longer than a mile.

 

Cooling the engine: Liquid cooled engines need require snow or ice particles on the track. Those flakes will land on the heat exchanger(rad) and cool your engine. If there is no snow there is no cooling and your engine over heats.

Cooling the suspension: Snowmobiles have suspensions with very few wheels. Vintage sleds from the 60's/70's ran on wheels (bogies) that could run on glare ice, but today's sleds have long aluminum rails in the suspensions that are covered with plastic (hyfax). If they are not cooled by snow or ice particles the hyfax melts and you can not move the sled.

Given the above background, you can see why it is a problem running a new sled on glare ice for an extended period of time. Some sleds are more sensitive/tolerant then others when it comes to running on ice. ( I rode a Yamaha XTX last year on lake ice and could smell the hyfax heating up, while my buddy on his Ski-Doo REV was fine.) Ice fishermen used Ski-Doo Alpines for many years, as the engines were fan cooled and needed no snow, and the suspensions were bogies and also needed no snow.

Your options are:
1- Never run on ice.
2- Get a fan cooled (Ski-Do 550) sled or equivalent.
3- Put ice scrapers on the suspension to spray ice particles onto the sliders and keep them cool.

Enjoy the winter!

Phil Molto
SnowGoer Canada
Snowmobiler Television

 

Your options are:
1- Never run on ice.
2- Get a fan cooled (Ski-Do 550) sled or equivalent.
3- Put ice scrapers on the suspension to spray ice particles onto the sliders and keep them cool.

4 - Find yourself some open water and cool things down every once and a while.

 

with the new 4 strokes you don't have an exchanger so maybe thats what he/she is talking about? they are cooled with the radiator in the front so the snow that gets churned up into the tunnel does nothing but collect under there.

 

I think the "yamaha better on ice" thing comes more from the fact that the 4 strokes have generally shown to be more reliable after heavy mileage and that nearly anyone can stick a turbo on them and give them more power and high speed for lake running. Power that adds weight and makes them less friendly in the woods, but on ice where they can go balls out for miles and generally not have to worry about eating the engine

 

You could try one of these. Should be good on glare ice...........

 

hahahahhaha thats great

 

with all that ice, sounds like a studded ATV might be better suited for your conditions...

just a thought-

 

If your on that much ice you may want to look into having an hyfax lubrication system setup installed. Ice racers use them to slow the wear of hyfax on ice tracks where there is almost no snow or ice lubrication.

What are others in your area doing?

 

All liquid sleds have an overheat warning light and some have gauges. All can have gauges added to them. Ice scratchers can be added to skis or skid. Heres some ski mounts http://www.hartmaninc.com/scratchers.html.

 

For "shorter" distances like your 1/4 mile run, I just kick a bunch of loose snow into the rear suspension and it gets me through a run like that with no issues.

Phil Molto
SnowGoer Canada

 

lol get a free air boggie suspension sled and everything is taken care of, lol.