Do you need to drill rail to mount Yamaha's marginal snow wheel kit on the FX Nytro RTX?

[garcenw]

I'm considering getting Yamaha's marginal snow wheel kit (p/n: SMA-8FA95-00-00) for my 2013 FX Nytro RTX. Do the brackets mount to the existing holes at the arch in the front of the rails or does one need to drill new holes?

Thanks in advance.

- Walt

 

[Pmtg04]

I wouldn't recommend them. I researched (I'm new to yamaha and nytro this year). The yamaha kit has really small wheels, which spin crazy fast and blow out. They're cheap in price for a reason.

I went with the Excell kit....https://www.excellmotorsports.com/X-Wheels--wheels

 

[garcenw]

I have the Excell kit. I was looking for something up front at the arch. There are many complaints about the Yamaha wheels, but some seem to have good luck with them. I only do a few hundred miles per year, so if they last 1000 miles, I'd be happy.

 

[Mooseman]

I use them. I did lose one once but I think it was my fault for not regreasing/replacing the bearings one season. Other than that, works fine. Not much else available.

 

[garcenw]

Mooseman, did you have to drill the rail to install or did it use the existing hole by the front arch?

 

[WiscSledder1969]

I have them on my RTX and they work great. I believe you just use existing holes. Do you have two sets of holes or one up front? You can see where mine are mounted.

 

[Sevey]

I am pretty sure you have to drill a hole. They help out but the don't save the day. The nytro is flat out - hard on sliders. Been using the white sliders lately and they are pretty resilient.
The wheels hold up well if the bearing is regularly repacked

Watch using the oversized wheels , ran into a problem last year that broke my rail
Ms

 

[garcenw]

Sevey,

Localized stress on the rail is a concern. I still haven't installed my Excell 6 wheel kit as I'm on the fence. Aluminum is typically not very ductile/malleable like steel is and I would be concerned that a small crack would zipper into a larger crack. I'm not by my sled right now, but do you recall how far below fresh hyfax your oversize wheels hung, if at all?

 

[garcenw]

WiscSledder1969,

My 2013 RTX rail is slightly different. I have one factory hole per rail and it's not at the location of the blank hole in your pic or where you mounted the standoff for the wheel.

 

[Gone Blue]

Not sure if u have to drill holes in a Nytro rail. My Nytro already came with a set up front. I did have to drill a hole in my Phazer rails to mount them. I think the best set up is to use the Yamaha lo snow wheels with a full set of Excell wheels. I ran this set up in my Phazer and was getting over 4,000 miles on a set of the cheapest hyfax I could find. Running the Excell wheels with the Yamaha lo snow wheels should take some of the stress off the small wheel bearings. G.B.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sevey]

Sevey,

Localized stress on the rail is a concern. I still haven't installed my Excell 6 wheel kit as I'm on the fence. Aluminum is typically not very ductile/malleable like steel is and I would be concerned that a small crack would zipper into a larger crack. I'm not by my sled right now, but do you recall how far below fresh hyfax your oversize wheels hung, if at all?

I had the kimpex oversized wheels and they hung down at least a quarter inch on new sliders. They are a great idea and do really save the hyfax - but - if you hit any sharp object where that wheel takes the blow and not the rail, the wheel will heave on the rail and likely crack it. I ride hard but am not abusive. If the trails suck, I slow down.

Last season I cuffed the skid running a trail where ditch ran through it (the snow pack had collapsed and left a sharp depression) and cracked the rail in two places. The front wheels flexed hard and cracked the rail hard on one side. The outer wheel flexed the other rail and cracked it (which I didn't discover until this summer). And I had this happen at a whopping speed of 15kmph. I was pissed. I ended up putting stock wheels back on. not worth the risk.

Maybe worth it if you only ride in Quebec or northern ontatio.

Also - for the little idler wheels to be effective, you will have to mount them further ahead of the hole you are referring to.
MS

 

[Mooseman]

I had to drill in mine. You use the block to drill a small pilot hole and then drill to the size of the mounting bolt.

I have been using oversized Doo wheels since the sled had 1k km, now has 14k and no cracking issues . Excel wheels didn't exist then . In fact, I'll be changing my slides for the second time after this season. Will be going to white slides as natural plastics without colour lasts longer .

 

[garcenw]

Also - for the little idler wheels to be effective, you will have to mount them further ahead of the hole you are referring to.

Sevey,

That might the case if one's rail looked like that in the pic WiscSledder1969 posted. My hole is in a different location. If you look at my pic above, the excessive hyfax wear area starts right underneath the empty hole in my rail and peaks about 3 inches/8 cm back. I started with fresh hyfax and that wear depicted is just from 44 miles/71 km of riding in Old Forge, NY last weekend. Conditions were horrible. So why did I even bother? I have limited opportunities to ride due to my work schedule and have to travel 500 miles north to ride and thus will seize an opportunity even if it seems the conditions will be marginal. Conditions were worse than we expected with lots of rain and my buddy and I called it quits after just 44 miles/71 km last Saturday. My sled's temperature warning light kept coming on even with attempts at dipping into the side and hyfax was disappearing right before my eyes. Warm temperatures (45F/7C) didn't help the situation.

My drive back to DC takes me right past Excell Motorsports on NY route 12, so I stopped in and bought the 6 wheel kit on impulse, but haven't installed it yet. I also ordered Over the Top's ski mounted ice scratchers when I got home.

I'm going to replace the hyfax today or tomorrow. On a visual inspection, the hyfax is presently worn well above the bottom edge of the wheels. I'll get a good pic and measurements when I replace the hyfax and post here. So it would seem that once you wear the hyfax a bit, the OEM wheels will be proud of the hyfax which seems similar to the case you end up with oversize wheels with fresh hyfax. Without having taken measurements, the differences seem to be:

1) With oversize wheels, you start with the wheels being proud right off the back. This increases your exposure time to high deflection wheel impacts over the course of a given set of hyfax’s life, thus increasing the likelihood of cracking a rail.


2) With oversize wheels after the hyfax wears substantially, an impact to a wheel can deflect said wheel a greater distance torsionally, when compared to an OEM wheel, before the hyfax shares the impact load. Greater torsion equals greater strain/stress and thus increases the risk of getting the rail to the point of the aluminum’s ultimate stress. A fracture then ensues.

In any event, the question to forum members is still, “Does the Yamaha marginal wheel kit’s bracket bolt hole line up with the existing hole in the arch of 2013 Nytro RTX rail?”


- Walt

 

[Sevey]

Ya the nytro grinds sliders pretty good when conditions are not favourable. Like the earlier comment the white sliders are way more resilient to the black ones.

I think you will just have to size the hole up for yourself. The Rtx has different hole pattern on the rail vs the regular nytro.

I am not saying- don’t do the oversized wheels- just wish I thought ahead of the mess I got into. It can happen quick. The little bang I had broke both rails in the skid, cracked my exhaust collector and cracked the mounting bracket on the oil tank. It left quite the impression.....
Ms

 

[garcenw]

The little bang I had broke both rails in the skid, cracked my exhaust collector and cracked the mounting bracket on the oil tank.

Sevey,

I hate to laugh, but wow, LOL! That was some "little bang". How did a "little bang" into the idler wheels transmit such loads to the exhaust collector and oil tank bracket? With sudden impacts, even 15 kph can result in violent transmissions of energy. Did you hit something hard under the snow in that ditch or did the sled get wedged into the ditch? Were you able to rider her home or did you need a tow? Do tell...