Change 7t to 8t drivers on 2016XTX

[A&Shuntr]

Going to be doing some work on the sled and have the axle out, it came with the 1.75" track and now runs a 1.25". Current drivers are servicable but could use some TLC/trueing. Would there be any advantage going to the larger 8t driver? Gearing has already been changed to 24/37.

 

[sideshowBob]

JM.02c

Your 2016 XTX Apex came with a 146" x 1.75" Back Country track new.
With that 1.75" track it needed 7 tooth x 2.86" drivers for clearance.
Larger drivers, if you have the needed clearance, are more efficient and less likely to ratchet.
If you are installing a 146" x 1.25" track you now should have the clearance for 8 tooth x 2.86" drivers.
Increasing from 7 x 2.86" drivers to 8 x 2.86" drivers is like gearing the sled up 13% and that is a big change!
The Apex 146" XTX is a big heavy sled so, IMO, if you do go to 8 tooth drivers I would recommend you change your gearing to something more around 21/37[1.76:1] as that would still allow decent top end speed but maintain good trail throttle response. I suggest changing the top gear as it is more readily available and less money. Your sled should have a 70 link chain right now but you would need a 68 link chain to run 21/37 gears.

As a side note:
I have my 136 Yamacharged Attak geared at 22/40[1.82:1] and it easily exceeds 100mph with great throttle response and acceleration on the trails.

 

[A&Shuntr]

Thanks, anybody offhand know the OD difference of the 7 vs. 8? Could you run a 1.5" track with the 8t? Seems like there is mountains of clearance now with the 7t.

 

[RobX-1]

Thanks, anybody offhand know the OD difference of the 7 vs. 8? Could you run a 1.5" track with the 8t? Seems like there is mountains of clearance now with the 7t.

Yes, this is exactly what I did on my '18 Apex XTX where unlike in '17-'16 where you could get the XTX in a 1.25" or a 1.75, for the '18, if you wanted the XTX, you had to accept the 1.75" with 7 tooth drivers. Therefore, when I initially swapped out the Backcountry 1.75" with a Ripsaw II 1.25", I also swapped out the 7 tooth drivers and replaced with 8 tooth drivers. When I compared the '17 XTX w/ 1.25" track vs the '16-'18 XTX 1.75" track, the gearing was the same so I didn't have to change anything in the chain case.

I have since replaced the Ripsaw II 1.25" with a Ice Storm 1.5" and there is still plenty of room. Now, if you were to get the Storm 1.5" and choose to stud it, then there may be some clearenace issues but they may still be minimal.

 

[RobX-1]

@A&Shuntr Here's some pics of the Ice Storm installed in my '18 XTX to give you some context on the clearances of a 1.5" lug track using 8-tooth drivers;

 

[A&Shuntr]

That looks great, thanks for the extra mile with the pictures! My dealer has some 8t in stock, I think I will proceed.

 

[Teamblue4]

JM.02c

Your 2016 XTX Apex came with a 146" x 1.75" Back Country track new.
With that 1.75" track it needed 7 tooth x 2.86" drivers for clearance.
Larger drivers, if you have the needed clearance, are more efficient and less likely to ratchet.
If you are installing a 146" x 1.25" track you now should have the clearance for 8 tooth x 2.86" drivers.
Increasing from 7 x 2.86" drivers to 8 x 2.86" drivers is like gearing the sled up 13% and that is a big change!
The Apex 146" XTX is a big heavy sled so, IMO, if you do go to 8 tooth drivers I would recommend you change your gearing to something more around 21/37[1.76:1] as that would still allow decent top end speed but maintain good trail throttle response. I suggest changing the top gear as it is more readily available and less money. Your sled should have a 70 link chain right now but you would need a 68 link chain to run 21/37 gears.

As a side note:
I have my 136 Yamacharged Attak geared at 22/40[1.82:1] and it easily exceeds 100mph with great throttle response and acceleration on the trails.

I was going to change out my back county 1.75 to a Ripsaw 1.25 and change drivers from 7 tooth to 8 tooth with 21/39 gearing what do you think?

 

[RobX-1]

I'm not sure the gearing Bob mentions is correct for the stock XTX. Back when I swapped out my 1.75" track with a 1.25" track on my '18, I also compared the gearing between the '16-'17' XTX's with the 1.75" track. What I found was that they both had a 23T and 37T bottom along with a 68-link chain. I have also tried swapping out the bottom gear with a 40T and 70-link chain for quick acceleration; leaving the top gear stock. I'm running a Thunder Products clutch kit this year in my XTX so reverted back to stock gears.

 

[A&Shuntr]

Any chance this will have an effect on the Apex "drone"?

 

[maim]

from what i have found, the drone is more related to the track pitch as i have driven a 09 apex mtx back to back with an 11 xtx and a 2016 xtx.