• We are no longer supporting TapaTalk as a mobile app for our sites. The TapaTalk App has many issues with speed on our server as well as security holes that leave us vulnerable to attacks and spammers.

2012 AK sled build

Thanks! Definitely have less free time but I am 100% committed to finishing the sled at some point.

I got my spare subframe secured to the table, next to my frame and positioned the same so I could compare measurements easier. Here's where I'm at with the current steering post I had made awhile ago.

Factory steering arm is at a slightly steeper angle.


Backside of rear arm mount to center of ball joint is about 2" (oem setup)


I'm a little under 3".


With my rod ends mounted above the spindle, the height from rod end to rod end is about the same. I shot the laser across the inner rod ends and they are 1.25" c to c above the oem setup. And my outer tie rod ends are about the same distance above the oem ends.



With everything setup up the way it is, I clear the uprights at full steering lock. I'm not sure what affect the different measurements (longer and shallower angled steering arm) will have yet. I need a second set of eyes to watch the spindles while I cycle the suspension.

Anyway, that's where I'm at now. I can't really get any closer to the factory setup without modifying the 3/4 upright tubes which I'm hesitant to do. 1. Because my CF body panels are already built and conform to them and 2. More fabricating lol
 

Once I get the steering locked in, I can go to the local snowmobile salvage and dig thru the box of tie rod boots and hopefully find some that will work.
 
So the other option I have is to cut out the 3/4 uprights completely and replace them with new tubes that meet in the center of the lower 1-1/4" tube. This would give me the clearance to lower the steering post and shorten the steering arm considerably.


I have a factory subframe I could use to build a jig so I could get the upper rear a-arm mounts built properly. I just struggle with the thought of refabricating the uprights.

I could also just cut them right below the upper rear a-arm mount and weld in new short pieces angled towards the center 1-1/4" tube.

And to throw in more information, here the approximate lengths c to c of the oem steering arm and mine.

 
Last edited:
So the main concerns would be:

- What affect does increasing the length of the steering arm have?

- What does moving the tie rods further away from a-arms affect?

- What does changing the angle of the steering arm affect? Is shallower better than steeper?
 
Love the thread, been watching for q while. and congrats. Kids are great. Just wait till they hi university. Ugh!!

I think you might be moving in the wrong direction in the actual placement of the steering yolk. But I could be wrong. But if you look at most of the sleds out today the tie rod is pretty much parallel with the front arm of the a-arm. and the distance back is pretty much the same. Front arm mounting point to spindle. From our personal experience this keeps the bump steer down as much as possible. Soon as you start manipulating the tie rod distance from being parallel its adds to bump steer.
 
Barcode, I absolutely could be going backwards and if I am, I'll change it. I greatly appreciate the input and it gives me a lot to think to about. I need to take a closer look at how all the new sleds are layed out.
 
Eastern Washington Sled is blowing out Timbersled's old inventory on eBay. Got a brand new M Series 153 Timbersled w/ Floats (Float 2 ft, Evol rr) for $1,000 shipped. With my Ice Age axle it should be under 38 lbs. I started parting out the Pro skid today. I'm pretty excited since I don't have to rework the suspension mounts now, that will save me a bunch of time.

Skid(3), track(10) & chassis(6) work will be worth over 19 lbs alone from when I weighed it. That puts me at 430 lbs in addition to my front Floats(3), CF body work(6) and everything else. Should easily be under 420 lbs dry when done.

Can't wait to :sled1:
 
Last edited:
Suspension showed up today, was pleasantly surprised to find it came with Float 3's, the ad on eBay specified Float 2's.


Timbersled rear axle


Ice Age rear axle


Hardware from the track tension adjuster bracket. Multiply by this four.


To be replaced with solid aluminum rivets cut to length.
 
Thats a great deal!! I personally am pretty happy with the Cat skid. I had the main float re valved and add a beefier spring to the front shock. Im on a 2015 Viper.
Have you seen this tech. Its pretty damn amazing.
 
That is very cool, thanks for sharing.


I've been looking at pictures of different tie rod boots trying to find some I think will work. They need be small in diameter(to clear a-arm and body work) and relatively easy to mount. I picked up a used set of Doo ZX chassis boots to try. They're the same R & L, easy to mount, small diameter, and very light. I'm going to try and test fit Sunday to make sure the ID is large enough for the tie rod's range of motion.


 
Had a good buddy who has a lot of experience with Timbersleds come over today and help with the skid. Tried cycling it and found that the rear was binding up.

Pulled the skid out and found the shock bottomed well before the arm hit the rubbers on the rails.




Apparently some Timbersled rails have a second mount hole like this.


So we clamped the rear shock mount in place (where the new holes would be) and reinstalled the suspension and cycled it again. No binding, upper idlers stayed just above the rear wheels when fully compressed, ect. Absolutely no issues. All I can think at this time is either the rear arm/shock is wrong or rails are wrong. Going to verify the rail number with Ice Age in the morning. At this stage I'll probably just drill the holes and be done with it. We know it will work fine.

Decided to set it on the shop floor to get an idea of the stance. It's about perfect. Skid sits flat with some pressure once the front shocks compress. Rear tunnel height is about 32".



Since we got the rear suspension all figured out, I pulled the tunnel back off and will now focus on finishing the subframe.



Another buddy ordered a Timbersled right after me and his coupling adjuster has a much larger range of adjustment. I'm going to see if I can get one like his. I'm not sure why the differences, must have been updates done by Timbersled throughout the years.

 
You might be interested in this option. Ive been testing it this season so far with zero issues. Ive replaced my EarthX battery with a Supercapacitor module and a small RC hobby battery. Is starts and runs the sled perfect. The Supercap module weighs in at .57kg and the RC hobby battery is 558g. So total is just under 3 lbs. Plus what every wires are used. I also added some plugs to easily disconnect each just to be on the safer side when the sleds not in use.
Super cap http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Eaton/XVM-16R2656-R/?qs=JUaLNLaZVXYJ/QBssI7LKw==
Hobby battery https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-flightmax-4200mah-4s2p-30c-lifepo4-pack.html
They dont really conform to the stock battery size/shape. But I figure since your re doing stuff you might want to save more weight.
 
It may not be in the cards with your current design, plus it would mean more fabrication, but you should take a closer look at Doo's RAS 3 steering setup. The new design really eliminates bump steer.
Rack%20steering_VW12.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top