Dupont slide owners, something to watch out for

[Beech]

Quote Yamaha ad:
Features DuPont™ Vespel® material inserts. Space-age polymer/composite material, that is stronger than hardened steel, aluminum, or even titanium. 15T scale Rockwell hardness of about 80 (UHMW slide runner hardness rating is about R64), and capable of withstanding extreme friction and heat environments. Pieces are placed at a 30-degree angle across the entire slider for constant contact and even wear. Made using compression moulding process. Lightweight, yet strong, and partially made with current UHMW plastic slide runner material

Note the the last sentence Partially made with current Uhmw plastic slide runner material

 

[markshop]

I wonder now with the new dupont slides being so hard are the track clips now wearing faster? Like when we went to semi metalic brake pads on cars The rotors need replacing too now.

 

[larsd]

Why could they not put the vespel-material all the way back? Now my slides are perfectly good, except below the rear small idler wheel, where there is no vespel and the slide is all worn down after 1250 miles.

Maybe they have a fix for this in 2016..

 

[Blue Dave]

For my 121" sled I had to cut them to length and I noticed that there were no inserts in the ends that I cut off.

In my opinion they should offer the Dupont slides in different lengths and charge more for the longer versions that would have more inserts.

 

[Daranello]

I wonder now with the new dupont slides being so hard are the track clips now wearing faster? Like when we went to semi metalic brake pads on cars The rotors need replacing too now.

I put a new ice attack xt on when installing duponts... the track is fully clipped with solid clips and in 1,200km ive noticed ZERO clip wear

 

[snowman 700]

I wonder now with the new dupont slides being so hard are the track clips now wearing faster? Like when we went to semi metalic brake pads on cars The rotors need replacing too now.

I put a new ice attack xt on when installing duponts... the track is fully clipped with solid clips and in 1,200km ive noticed ZERO clip wear

I think the number 1 reason for clip wear at least in the area I ride is Snirt. We have a lot of sand and it mixes with the snow and really wears the clips fast. I have even noticed the sand embedded in the slide which is like running sandpaper at speed across the clips. So for me I have invested in a clip tool and keep a supply of spare clips. The Dupont slide inserts are still softer than the clips.

 

[Blue Dave]

OK, back to original post by suprfst, still wondering about 2 things; what year and kind of sled and how many total MILES on sliders. It does appear consistant that once these things start to wear, they wear fast, that's fine, but at what mileage, on average, does this happen????? understandably that varying conditions will result in varying end results but still should be able to determine an average.

I am less concerned about mileage since there are so many different factors that can contribute to the wear rate. What I need to know is at what thickness do they need to be replaced. If the insert is only 5 mm thick and the overall thickness is 20 mm then they need to be replaced before they are 15 mm thick. So is it 16 mm, 17 mm, ?????

I believe if you can fit a 10mm wrench on any part of the slider then it is time to replace them Dave, at least that is what I remember being told on here before.

Yes, the 10 mm rule was true of the standard slides since they are made out of a solid material that will wear the same at all thicknesses. From what I have read here, once the Dupont inserts wear too thin they can fall out and then the remainder of the base material wears extremely fast. If the Dupont slide is 20 mm thick with 5 mm thick inserts then they will need to be replaced before they wear down to 15 mm.

suprfst,

Are you 100% certain that the inserts are only 5 mm thick?

If this is true then we need to be concerned before the slides wear down to 15 mm. Can anyone confirm that the inserts are only 5 mm thick?

Sorry if this is a double post, my PC got locked up. Anybody have the answer on the insert thickness?

 

[cannondale27]

Its pretty hard to measure unless someone took a new insert out.I would say the 5mm is accurate.IF the inserts are gone you still would have a normal slide left. So you could continue running them till 10mm.It is easy enough to just look or feel the inserts to verify that they are there.When and if my inserts are gone I will replace with another set.I do feel they glide better and it is comforting looking down and seeing a nice thick slide there.I still am not seeing any wear other than the outer corners of slide.Lot of mud and dirt south last weekend.Very happy.

 

[Blue Dave]

Its pretty hard to measure unless someone took a new insert out.I would say the 5mm is accurate.IF the inserts are gone you still would have a normal slide left. So you could continue running them till 10mm.It is easy enough to just look or feel the inserts to verify that they are there.When and if my inserts are gone I will replace with another set.I do feel they glide better and it is comforting looking down and seeing a nice thick slide there.I still am not seeing any wear other than the outer corners of slide.Lot of mud and dirt south last weekend.Very happy.

Others have posted that the slide material is not as durable as the standard slides. Once the inserts are gone they apparently wear extremely fast.

 

[Daranello]

im at 3,000km and still look great... 5mm or not it doesn't make a different they work!

 

[Blue Dave]

im at 3,000km and still look great... 5mm or not it doesn't make a different they work!

I agree that they work much better than the standard slides. Well worth the extra money IMO. However knowing at what thickness to replace them before the inserts are gone is important. Once the inserts are gone they apparently wear down to the rails very quickly and then you will wish that you had cared about the insert thickness.

 

[cannondale27]

The Duponts are 19.8mm thick at edge.So if you are worried about the slides if the inserts come out(I am not)then replace them at 16.8 which would be less than 1/2 wear of inserts.At half wear I would think they would stay in the slide.I dont believe they wear that fast after inserts come out that you wouldnt see or feel that the inserts are out.At rate mine are wearing I believe 2 seasons before the 16.8mm threshold is easily attainable.

 

[87gtNOS]

I had put on NEW track clips before I put on my new Dupont slides.....about 18 of them.

Upon inspection, the 18 new clips look as worn as the originals....

These sliders might last longer, at the expense of burning up track clips.

This summer I will be doing a 128 conversion....I will determine at that point if I will put on another set of Duponts, or back to graphite.

 

[VectorLTX2012]

There must be some common traits between those that are having "good" results with the DuPonts that are different than those folks that aren't doing as well. Then again it could be one's interpretation of good and not so good or what they are comparing the performance to.

I've checked my original sliders yesterday for thickness before my ride and the thinnest spot I found was 14 mm and there is 2800+ miles. I do have the marginal wheel kit on in the front from day one along with a looser track and I also run with scratchers most of the time. They really do a great job of filling the skid with snow even on what one might consider a non-scratcher day.

 

[87gtNOS]

There must be some common traits between those that are having "good" results with the DuPonts that are different than those folks that aren't doing as well. Then again it could be one's interpretation of good and not so good or what they are comparing the performance to..

I think it's a distraction.
Everyone is only looking at the sliders. No wear at all on mine!!

But look at the track clips!! They are taking a beating.