06 Apex ER, only 108 MPH GPS

[ApexerER]

What are you guys doing to get 115+ miles per hour. I had best conditions of the year, hard ice with about an inch of snow on top and could only pull 108 GPS. Previous best was 106 GPS. Dream Meter was bouncing between 120 and 121. Stock sled pulling 10900RPM. 192 Studs.

 

[welterracer]

Hell my sled wont break 110 this year on snow.. (but its been fluffier than last year)

Its funny.. niether my sled or any of my friends sleds can actaully do an honest 100mph on snow.. On ice yes, but not on snow..

 

[MCApex44]

The 192 studs are probably holding you back a few MPH. That one inch of snow on hard ice will rob you of a few mph also. Check your idler wheels...the pieces of crap that they are could be slowing you down. Do you run dual carbides? Too much ski pressure allows you to steer fine but will kill some top end.
As Welter mentioned...on snow its tough to get real good top end numbers. On glare ice my sled (only 144 studs at the time) has popped 129-131mph on the dream meter. On the trail/snow it struggles to get past 100.

 

[ApexerER]

I am not running dual carbides. The idler wheels are all in good shape and bearing are good. The sled will pull 96 to 98 MPH (GPS) on snow. Maybe I am not as far off as I thought. It seems like I have the slowest Apex compared to the top speeds I have seen on here....

 

[KnappAttack]

What are you guys doing to get 115+ miles per hour. I had best conditions of the year, hard ice with about an inch of snow on top and could only pull 108 GPS. Previous best was 106 GPS. Dream Meter was bouncing between 120 and 121. Stock sled pulling 10900RPM. 192 Studs.

Those 192 studs are killing your speed. 10,900 is too many RPM. Try a new 8DN-01 belt. with stock clutching to get the RPM down to 10600-10700 and that will pick you up 4-5 MPH. If you could get rid of the studs, you'd gain around 7-8 MPH. 144 studs over a Iceripper looses 5 MPH. The guys running the big speeds here have 1" tracks, use less studs and have the clutching/gearing running more efficiently. If your not setup to run speed, you won't. Its all in the setup.

 

[ApexerER]

So 108 GPS is OK for the setup I have....I would not want to get rid of the studs or the track. 90% of my riding is on hard groomed trails so my setup works for my riding. I was just wondering why I was so far off everyone else. Thank you

What are you guys doing to get 115+ miles per hour. I had best conditions of the year, hard ice with about an inch of snow on top and could only pull 108 GPS. Previous best was 106 GPS. Dream Meter was bouncing between 120 and 121. Stock sled pulling 10900RPM. 192 Studs.

Those 192 studs are killing your speed. 10,900 is too many RPM. Try a new 8DN-01 belt. with stock clutching to get the RPM down to 10600-10700 and that will pick you up 4-5 MPH. If you could get rid of the studs, you'd gain around 7-8 MPH. 144 studs over a Iceripper looses 5 MPH. The guys running the big speeds here have 1" tracks, use less studs and have the clutching/gearing running more efficiently. If your not setup to run speed, you won't. Its all in the setup.

 

[stoutner]

Yes, your speeds are on the money. A lot of "dreamers" on here claim that their Apex runs 115-120 mph on the GPS with "stock" setups. They are dreaming. With 144 studs and stock setup, 110 is really good. 120 is not gonna happen unless you have a 75 mph tail wind on glare ice.

 

[SledFreak]

Yes, he is about right for that many studs and on snow. 120 is defintely possible on ice, with clutching and gearing changes. But, with the 192 studs and the over reving and if he has the stock clutching, then yes, he could do better. He should be able to get 108-112 on snow with 144 studs or less. Transition from snow to ice is good for 7-10mph, depending on the ice. It all depends on the conditions and setup. If he only cares about going to a 100 fast he has the right setup. Actually with 192 studs I would be running the 22 top gear.

 

[maxdlx]

They where bragging on snow trax that the new 177hp 1100 turbo from cat could run 106 mph in perfect conditions. 106 on a plain old non-boosted 150 hp 1000 seems damn good to me. LOL Maxdlx

 

[ROCKERDAN]

I dont think you are that far off....as mentioned above,192 studs IMO is WAY OVERKILL....too much added weight,and it makes these sleds HANDLE like CRAP in twisties...

I also believe the 120mph on radar MARK is thrown around way to much....sure i know some of us have got there,but this is in PERFECT ICE conditions,NO SNOW whatsoever....you ran on 1 inch of snow is slowing you down too.

I have alot of little tricks done to get to 120mph on radar....and I know every apex i ride with,i can pull away from pretty hard from 30mph on up....

for simple comparo.....i run a 1 inch predator fully clipped track,96 studs(1.175),modified PL clutching,23 gear with cut clutch for OD,My Ram AIR,lightweight synth chaincase oil.....and lowering the sled on radar day....and now im running a pc3/ign module...i go thru all my alignments to be sure all us set perfectly...and a few other little tricks i keep to myself...and still just barely hit 120.....

also remember,conditions mean alot....i have gone out to the lake when it looks killer,all ice....and run 112.....then gone out when it looks like it might be so so,and run 120.....every single HOUR the ice conditions change,and you will see diff speeds on the gun....ive been playing with radar guns on my machs for over 20+ yrs now...seen it over and over again,....i recall back in 93 when 110 was a BIG deal...now the apex has less HP and isnt any lightweight..and still runs good speeds...

what Im saying,is it takes alot to get to 120....the different between 112 on most apexs and 120 is HUGE...and take alot to get there...trust me.

Dan

 

[Mikecam]

Stock set up 144 down the middle and 110 gps this year.

 

[silversurfer]

I dont think you are that far off....as mentioned above,192 studs IMO is WAY OVERKILL....too much added weight,and it makes these sleds HANDLE like CRAP in twisties...

I also believe the 120mph on radar MARK is thrown around way to much....sure i know some of us have got there,but this is in PERFECT ICE conditions,NO SNOW whatsoever....you ran on 1 inch of snow is slowing you down too.

I have alot of little tricks done to get to 120mph on radar....and I know every apex i ride with,i can pull away from pretty hard from 30mph on up....

for simple comparo.....i run a 1 inch predator fully clipped track,96 studs(1.175),modified PL clutching,23 gear with cut clutch for OD,My Ram AIR,lightweight synth chaincase oil.....and lowering the sled on radar day....and now im running a pc3/ign module...i go thru all my alignments to be sure all us set perfectly...and a few other little tricks i keep to myself...and still just barely hit 120.....

also remember,conditions mean alot....i have gone out to the lake when it looks killer,all ice....and run 112.....then gone out when it looks like it might be so so,and run 120.....every single HOUR the ice conditions change,and you will see diff speeds on the gun....ive been playing with radar guns on my machs for over 20+ yrs now...seen it over and over again,....i recall back in 93 when 110 was a BIG deal...now the apex has less HP and isnt any lightweight..and still runs good speeds...

what Im saying,is it takes alot to get to 120....the different between 112 on most apexs and 120 is HUGE...and take alot to get there...trust me.

Dan

Funny, people were talking about lowering the pressure on the floats to increase cornering once and I mentioned "the guy with the red rtx from ontario could probably help" but I couldn't remember your name. lol

Anyway, speaking of studs; I liked the play I would get in the rear with my studless tracks. Can you throw that thing around at all with 96 studs, or is it stuck to the trail like other studded sleds I've ridden?

Derek

 

[ApexerER]

Thank you for all your replies. I was pretty unhappy with 108 GPS and that has been the best I have seen. Previous best was 106 and 102 was normal. I thought I was way behind the 8ball compared to everyone else. If that isn't the case than I won't complain. I forgot I am running a 23 tooth gear. Stock other than that and the 192 Studs. I don't feel as though 192 studs is overkill. The thing still spins like a mother on the plowed ice track we race on. I don't ride with any other Apex's so I don't have anyone to comare my sled too so thank you.

 

[bigbigrichie]

I got 111 mph on the gps on Lake George the other day.
i thought that was pretty good for stock, and only have 700 miles on my sled so far, Should get a little better as she breaks in more

 

[SledFreak]

Thank you for all your replies. I was pretty unhappy with 108 GPS and that has been the best I have seen. Previous best was 106 and 102 was normal. I thought I was way behind the 8ball compared to everyone else. If that isn't the case than I won't complain. I forgot I am running a 23 tooth gear. Stock other than that and the 192 Studs. I don't feel as though 192 studs is overkill. The thing still spins like a mother on the plowed ice track we race on. I don't ride with any other Apex's so I don't have anyone to comare my sled too so thank you.

With 192 studs I would run the 22 top gear. It will accelerate higher and give better top end even with the 192. The 192 are killing top speed any ways so might as well go for the accleration. It should still pull you to 110-114 on a road/ice.