dirkdiggler
Suspended
zeke-xtx said:
You can either keep wearing out slides and changing them or step up and spend the 300 and get the wheels. There is a performance gain as well. My guess is 2 to 3 mph. Simpley because you're not dragging on the slides anymore.
The mad Russian took his 2011 up for it's first ride and burned through a set of hyfax in 400 miles. We changed the hyfax install the excel wheels and he's got over 2000 miles now and his hyfax have zero wear!!!
sled frog
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excell motorsports bigger wheel kit , problem solved
snowrules
Extreme
i installed oversized oem polaris wheels all over and larger rears. they are off a 79 srx i believe 7.5 inches instead of 7 inches and added a marginal wheel kit to the bend on the rail. i can easily get 4000 plus kms on a set and even when i change them they still have a little ways to go and may even be good for much longer but i do it anyways just to be safe. i also ride in some pretty bad conditions including glare ice on lakes and alot of road running with no problems ever. also found the oem polaris wheels last forever i have used the same sets on my old two strokes and then switched them to my two apexes they have over 18 000kms on them and have not come apart or cracked the rubbers on them are still all good all i do is change the bearings every year. i ran studs with them the whole time too. so for the one time cost of replacing all the wheels versus buying numerous sets of slides i think it is a worthwhile upgrade. just my two cents
Shiek
VIP Member
wheels
"i installed oversized oem polaris wheels all over and larger rears. they are off a 79 srx "-- polaris did not make an srx to my knowledge, yamaha
had the srx's
"i installed oversized oem polaris wheels all over and larger rears. they are off a 79 srx "-- polaris did not make an srx to my knowledge, yamaha
had the srx's
snowrules
Extreme
sorry shoulda broken that sentence up the oversize rears only are off a 79 srx.
Essarex
Pro
Yamahas and slides,,,it is tough to have a discussion about one without the other. I fought this issue with my first Yamaha, 2002 SRX, and now I deal with it on my 2006 Apex GT.
My SRX smoked through the first set in 60 miles and it cut my weekend short that first ride. Dealer refused to do anything for me and blamed the trail conditions. And of course, like so many of us with these problems, I stated that all the other sleds in our group were using the exact same trails and conditions without an issue. That problem was due to the track tension mostly. It was set to Yamaha specs which require a 22 lb tension on the track between the front and rear wheels, to give 1.5 inches of deflection. I know now NEVER to run ANY track that tight.
I curred that slide problem with a looser track, fully open/clipped track, ski doo / polaris front wheels, and being extra cautious to find snow on the side of poorly covered roads and other thin snow covered trails.
This year my 2006 Apex cut my ride short when the slides wore through to the rails. When I started that ride earlier in the day, there was 4mm of meat at the thinnest point in the slide, below the wear line. At this point, there is also another 2mm that you can't see from the outside, but is there when you cut the slide and view its cross section.
We were running in really crappy slurry-like BS, 50% snow and 50% sand. I don't blame the machine or design, but I will say that the F8 and Etec riding with me, did not burn through and the F8 is still on those same slides! And that was the week after New Years!
Point is, you have to watch closely and pay attention to what you're in, and not gage your tolerance using other machines in your group. Find snow off the trail or road and don't use excessive speed.
Also, know that when you go with oversized wheels, while they do lift your rails off the track clips, they WILL introduce lots of track resistance due to the constant track deflection going up and over the bulging wheels. On snowless surfaces (which I hope by now you have decided to stay off of) the wheels reduce friction, BUT once back in the good stuff, they will slow you down, alot.
My SRX smoked through the first set in 60 miles and it cut my weekend short that first ride. Dealer refused to do anything for me and blamed the trail conditions. And of course, like so many of us with these problems, I stated that all the other sleds in our group were using the exact same trails and conditions without an issue. That problem was due to the track tension mostly. It was set to Yamaha specs which require a 22 lb tension on the track between the front and rear wheels, to give 1.5 inches of deflection. I know now NEVER to run ANY track that tight.
I curred that slide problem with a looser track, fully open/clipped track, ski doo / polaris front wheels, and being extra cautious to find snow on the side of poorly covered roads and other thin snow covered trails.
This year my 2006 Apex cut my ride short when the slides wore through to the rails. When I started that ride earlier in the day, there was 4mm of meat at the thinnest point in the slide, below the wear line. At this point, there is also another 2mm that you can't see from the outside, but is there when you cut the slide and view its cross section.
We were running in really crappy slurry-like BS, 50% snow and 50% sand. I don't blame the machine or design, but I will say that the F8 and Etec riding with me, did not burn through and the F8 is still on those same slides! And that was the week after New Years!
Point is, you have to watch closely and pay attention to what you're in, and not gage your tolerance using other machines in your group. Find snow off the trail or road and don't use excessive speed.
Also, know that when you go with oversized wheels, while they do lift your rails off the track clips, they WILL introduce lots of track resistance due to the constant track deflection going up and over the bulging wheels. On snowless surfaces (which I hope by now you have decided to stay off of) the wheels reduce friction, BUT once back in the good stuff, they will slow you down, alot.
snowbeast
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Get a set of srx slides,they are thinner to start,and you are already on the wheels more than slides,and like turk said tighten up the limiter some,but you do need to drive into snow when you smell them,and getting them to set up to heat at first also helps some,but most remove them just before they are at the wear point that they no longer wear. but if they are into aluminum rails,that is not good!cdru said:
apex55
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
Kimpex Pro wheels (5.35")on my 06 apex. 1400 miles with marginal wear.
Essarex said:
I disagree ,, it's splitting hairs imo but I will state my case. The larger wheels maintain the height on the new hyfax along the entire rail, the Yamaha wheels don't which causes waves in the hyfax in record time. These waves cause more track deflection than the initial rise from the Excell wheels on fresh, sustainable, hyfax. Which do you think causes more resistance in the good stuff ? A smooth hyfax skid that can roll with Excell wheels or a skid that has waves and wear points along the entire skid ? You will see more top speed in any snow conditions with the larger wheels and smooth Hyfax .
125km's on new sled
1120km's on Excell wheels
Essarex
Pro
Frosty, the only way you will maintain the hyfax height along the entire rail is if you had wheels along the entire rail, like the old bogie wheel (nonslide) skids. Wherever there is hyfax without a wheel, pressure will concentrate, and a wave will develop. Arguably, an oversize wheel will only aggrevate this condition.
Polaris user manuals instruct you to replace hyfax whenever you anticipate deep snow (even when the hyfax shows life being left). Mountain sleds do not even use idler wheels. All this is because the wheel causes track interference, read "lost hp".
What travels easier down a hard packed trail, a series of round wheels, or a plastic ski?
Polaris user manuals instruct you to replace hyfax whenever you anticipate deep snow (even when the hyfax shows life being left). Mountain sleds do not even use idler wheels. All this is because the wheel causes track interference, read "lost hp".
What travels easier down a hard packed trail, a series of round wheels, or a plastic ski?
snowrules
Extreme
frosty i agree when i take slides off with stock wheels there are very large waves. with oversize wheels they are virtually flat the whole way
Ess , I have 1120kms on the slides in the pic above. No excessive waves or wear. I disagreed with your statement that " Excell wheels will slow you down compared to oem wheels on a 700lb trail sled " Fact is , Yamaha wheel design causes more power robbing friction than the Excell wheel kit track deflection affects it's performance. The pic tells the truth ! On an Apex you either have them or you need them imo .
Chasx7
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I have over 1300 miles on my original hyfax and they still look pretty good. I have to ride 10-15 miles of dirt roads to get to trails where i ride. I dip in as much as possible and have ridden in some nasty conditions and I still don't see that much wear. I run my track with about 1 to 1 1/4" of sag between the track and the bottom of the hyfax. I have 96 1.325 studs down the middle.
Essarex
Pro
Frosty, I respect all my fellow TYers and never mean to question their information, but that being said, I suspect that the conditions between your tests, pic 1 and pic 2, were not held constant enough to base any conclusion on. I do not have oversize wheels on my Apex and my sliders do not even show the slightest wear in 1100km. That is one weekend for me. I could, if I wanted, burn them down in 50 miles, if I ran it up and down the glare ice strip next weekend; oversize wheels or not.
It is difficult to remain objective when you and your machine are the props in the 'experiment'. To be specific, a rider with a new machine is not concerned about his sliders (or what conditions he is riding in, especially if he is following other riders who are not having problems), until he notices he has a problem. After that point, he makes earnest efforts to correct his issue (graphite slides, limiter strap pulled up, OVERSIZE WHEELS, etc), while at the same time consciously picking more favorable routes along the marginal trail.
You may only have adopted the wheels as an add on countermeasure, but I have to believe you are now way more sensitive to where you point your sled.
At the end of the day, you said it best that we are 'splitting hairs' here. Ride safe and ride often.
It is difficult to remain objective when you and your machine are the props in the 'experiment'. To be specific, a rider with a new machine is not concerned about his sliders (or what conditions he is riding in, especially if he is following other riders who are not having problems), until he notices he has a problem. After that point, he makes earnest efforts to correct his issue (graphite slides, limiter strap pulled up, OVERSIZE WHEELS, etc), while at the same time consciously picking more favorable routes along the marginal trail.
You may only have adopted the wheels as an add on countermeasure, but I have to believe you are now way more sensitive to where you point your sled.
At the end of the day, you said it best that we are 'splitting hairs' here. Ride safe and ride often.
Super Sled
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I got 2200 miles, yes miles on the stock sliders. Then when I replaced them as preventative maintenance, I was mad because they still had lots of meat left on them. And I ride hard! This is with stock wheels, all which are still just fine at over 3000 miles on the sled. I do run Slide Kicks ice scratchers. They help alot.
Anyone who burns through slides in say less than 500 - 1000 miles is not getting any snow/ ice on those slides to lube/ cool them. If you ride in marginal conditions expect sliders to wear quick. That track spins really fast and generates lots of heat.
Anyone who burns through slides in say less than 500 - 1000 miles is not getting any snow/ ice on those slides to lube/ cool them. If you ride in marginal conditions expect sliders to wear quick. That track spins really fast and generates lots of heat.
