cat skis

[blueironranger]

My 14’ XTX came with the 6” MTN ski and they are very aggressive on the trail, but I didn’t find them wide enough for off trail play. Looked at the proclimb-7 ski bottoms after a took a chunk out of my stock skis on a rock but ended up getting a great deal on a new set of Powder Pros which are also very aggressive on trail. Installed a 160# Center spring to take some bite off the skis and make the front more “playful”

 

[RTX]

It’s crazy to think guys spend between $5-$700 dollars on ski setups. When I heard guys were switching to cat skis and they were good, I thought why not? Let’s give em a try. If they sucked, then it was only $200. Sure glad I made the switch!

While i agree with the high costs involved. There can be tons to gain from a good set of skis. Over the years i have owned/purchased pilot 6.9, stock 06 apex skis. Stock 14 viper skis, simmons flexi skis. Usi tripple threats.
All have their pros and cons. I have swapped them between sleds as i purchase new sleds. Knowing what i know now. If i was ever to buy skis again, i would purchase used skis. New is just too dam expensive
Stock

 

[rebmo]

We have a Viper and a 15 Turbo Cat. The Viper skis were never very good especially with the cheapo oem 4" carbides. The Cat Turbo with the CAT 5" skis was pretty good and certainly better than the Tuners which only worked with 6" carbides on harder trails. Once the snow got loose the tuners were really bad and anything deep they really failed. We tried a lot of setups and the CAT darted but once the tow was set correctly the CAT skis were pretty good.

At the beginning of last year we put Mohawks on the Viper and first run were up in the UP with 14" of snow falling over a couple days. The Viper was dramatically different. You could run hard and still steer in loose and deep snow even a bit off trail (legal spots). The Mohawks are capable of off trail 7" wide as well as flexible which makes them great on trail even on icy corners. The mix capability works on trails where you hit icy corners and loose snow pockets where they handle both very well. We ran the 6" carbides. Now the only downside on the viper is the 1.25 paddles don't hook up that great in deep snow so that's the drawback. I used to be the skis.

I was so impressed with the Viper handling with the Mohawks I put them on the CAT 9000 4stroke Turbo and got the same improvement as the Viper. The 137" track (Viper 129) and full studs (viper up the middle) make the CAT a pretty decent runner in 6-10" snow. The Mohawk skis again are a great improvement.

The improvement is mostly noted in control in turns with mixed loose and icy conditions. Grip is good hitting the loose parts. Also the Mohawks flex over bumps in turns much more than either stock ski and provide better control and confidence. Deeper snow there's not comparison between the stock and Mohawk skis. The Tuners were useless in deeper snow. Do you need the Mohawks? I'd say they are great if you are pushing it and want more control over stock on the trails. You can get by on the CAT skis OK, but I never felt save with the Tuners, just couldn't hold in loose snow. That's my opinion. Tried many different setup tweaks with the Tuner and CAT skis. The CATs dialed in better. I still have them as a spare set and wouldn't hesitate to run with them but not as high performance as the Mohawks. There are other pricier performance skis out there such as Curves that can also improve performance. I do like a wider ski but I had to jack up one side of the trailer ski runs to overlap and get both sleds in the trailer.

If you just want better skis at a lower cost, I'd say CAT skis over the Tuners any day.

 

[Wannaviper]

I started using Cat skis when I bought a used 2-14 XTX. I bought Mohawks for the XTX to allow for better off trail performance (Love the Mohawks) and put the 6" wide skis off the XTX onto my 2015 LTX with Snowtrackers. I have since bought 5" Cat skis for a friend's Viper and my stepson's Sidewinder, and both are set up with the trackers. Honestly, I see very little difference between the 5" and 6" skis, but if there is an edge, I would give it to the 6" skis.

 

[deweysgt]

Cat skies with Snowtrackers best set up ever. You can even use the flat Snowtracker flat plate with a standard carbide and still get the effortless steering, straight tracking and excellent carbide wear

 

[Snowmobile Mike]

With all the talk on Cat Skis isn't it also depending on WHICH Cat skis ! Which year and model ? Or are all skis from Cat between 2014 -2019 pretty much just between 5- 6 inch ? My buddy had a 2016 Artic Cat crosstour 146 Black and Orange and I had my 14 Viper Ltx Se 137 that Cat steered BEAUTIFUL , I think his set up had a outer and rear staggered runner , is that correct ? Interesting note he totaled that sled got a 2018 Crosstour and the thing STUNK ! He said he found out they used wrong Cat skis ??? Can I get same skis as that 2016 with staggered runners ? For some reason before he got rid of it he went with dually runners ??? I could look up part number but you guys are The best trying all different combos etc. Yeah sad to say monies is always a issue , thought I could get away with shims and better runners I guess not but gotta at least get first ride on this thing , I never rode it yet my 2014 Viper wasn't to bad BUT NOT LIKE THAT CAT 2016 CROSSTOUR !!!

 

[murdered141]

With all the talk on Cat Skis isn't it also depending on WHICH Cat skis ! Which year and model ? Or are all skis from Cat between 2014 -2019 pretty much just between 5- 6 inch ? My buddy had a 2016 Artic Cat crosstour 146 Black and Orange and I had my 14 Viper Ltx Se 137 that Cat steered BEAUTIFUL , I think his set up had a outer and rear staggered runner , is that correct ? Interesting note he totaled that sled got a 2018 Crosstour and the thing STUNK ! He said he found out they used wrong Cat skis ??? Can I get same skis as that 2016 with staggered runners ? For some reason before he got rid of it he went with dually runners ??? I could look up part number but you guys are The best trying all different combos etc. Yeah sad to say monies is always a issue , thought I could get away with shims and better runners I guess not but gotta at least get first ride on this thing , I never rode it yet my 2014 Viper wasn't to bad BUT NOT LIKE THAT CAT 2016 CROSSTOUR !!!

2014 was the only year the viper had the cat ski with the staggered carbide, his must have been setup right, but come to think of it the cross tour has the uncoupled skid which will always have lighter steering, reason being is the wider range of motion in the rear skid that is controlled by the amount of air pressure in the air shock, thus creating a fulcrum point on the front skid shock, less air pressure in the rear takes off ski pressure, hope this helps.

 

[Snowmobile Mike]

2014 was the only year the viper had the cat ski with the staggered carbide, his must have been setup right, but come to think of it the cross tour has the uncoupled skid which will always have lighter steering, reason being is the wider range of motion in the rear skid that is controlled by the amount of air pressure in the air shock, thus creating a fulcrum point on the front skid shock, less air pressure in the rear takes off ski pressure, hope this helps.

Thanks Bud good Info ! But for SURE my 14 Viper Ltx Se red and BLACK KKKK only had a single runner, I know cause I shimmed and changed runners to Bergstroms singles ! Maybe one of those early late build things ! ???

 

[sxr70001]

Cat sells a staggered carbide that fits on the 14 Cat Skis. I ran it before I got snowtrackers, and it works pretty good. Definitely the carbides that came with the sled were junk like so many other things.

 

[Big Pussy]

My 2015 XF7000 LXR came from the factory with 6" skis and three hole staggered runners. They are still on there but I just sharpened the carbide. Initially the sled was twichy, like Sippy Doo's I have rode. I had to change the toe to make sure that the skis were toed out about 1/4". It settled down nicely. My buddy has a 2016 Viper 137 with tunners. His son rides it and complains about the pushing. He rode my 7000 and said it was way better. I don't think there is anything wrong with the 6" Cat skis. When the runners are done, I will replace with the longer 4 hole 6" carbide factory pieces. The host plate protects the keel real good and makes the keel deeper. Toe out setting is critical as it is with all Cats.

BP

 

[Cabinflyer]

I'm going to get some Arctic Cat skis to replace the tuners. $329 for the set, includes everything. They come with 4" carbides.
Question:Is that enough for normal speed trail riding on a 137" Viper SR S-TX DX with a non studded track?

 

[CooperT]

I'm going to get some Arctic Cat skis to replace the tuners. $329 for the set, includes everything. They come with 4" carbides.
Question:Is that enough for normal speed trail riding on a 137" Viper SR S-TX DX with a non studded track?

get some dual 6” slim jim’s, no darting at All! We tried the single 6” and they didn’t work as well...

 

[Wannaviper]

I'm going to get some Arctic Cat skis to replace the tuners. $329 for the set, includes everything. They come with 4" carbides.
Question:Is that enough for normal speed trail riding on a 137" Viper SR S-TX DX with a non studded track?

IMO, probably the best handling combination of ski and carbides for trail riding the Viper would be Cat skis with semi-aggressive Snow Trackers. Snow Trackers steer easy; they do not dart; and they hold the trail like no other carbide on the market.

 

[hibshman25]

Highly recommend snowtrackers on tuners.

 

[Vmax]

I bought 4" Woodies for my ZR 7000 El Tigre, time will tell if that was a good decision or not.
It was recommended according to the Woodies chart