help with 5.7 pilots 06 arex er

[uofm]

put a new set of pilots on. put the correct bumper in but i am still getting darting problems. should i shim the skis more or do i have to much ski pressure? what would be the best way to reliave ski pressure?

 

[AXR]

did you put the taller part of the rubber forward? and what carbides are you using? dual carbide piolets or single?

 

[RTX DUDE]

I put my pilots on and NO dating ever. did you put the outside carbide on?

 

[KnappAttack]

Pilots are not the answer for eliminating darting, even with the second carbide. I just received my ski savers and carbides from Bergstrom to try to alleviate the darting from the pilot skis. They better work or I'll be forced to go back to the stock skis w/dooly's and some push in the corners. The pilots only eliminate about 60% of the darting depending on the conditions. Doolys eliminate 99% of the darting with the addition of shims behind the rubber snubber. Won't know if the Bergstroms and ski savers will eliminate the darting on the pilots till we get some more snow, or travel to where the snow is.

 

[AXR]

another option if you are still having issues would be duce bars on the pilots. i still think they are better than the stock just by looking at the profile side by side in my pic u saw in the ski forum. also i may be wrong but if there are alot of sleds out runnin the pilots then you will end up with some darting because the skis will want to follow the people who have gone by using the same skis. there is no real way to 100% eliminate darting unless you have some sort of ski that no one else is running. thats my 2c anyways

 

[MCApex44]

I noticed the same thing (some darting) with the pilot ski's (6" center, 4" outside). The center carbide sits further down/lower than the outside carbide so on HARD pack that outside carbide doesnt touch much of the time. I have noticed the sled corners much better with the pilots than the 8" doolys I had on last year. The steering effort is much less with the pilots compared to the doolys as well.

 

[welterracer]

Here is the problem most people run into..

YOu have Pilots on your sled,, Either your buddies or the guy in front of you has a similar ski.. your sled will follow that track because it is the same..

THe only time my sled darts if if i get behind another sled that has pilots.... otherwise it never happens..

1# check your ski alignment..

2# make sure you dont have the rubber bushings in backwards or the wrong ones in it..

3# if you have someone else in the group with the same skis as you, Keep them behind you..LOL

 

[tomanytoyz]

stock skies,9in duece bars,limiter strap 1hole tighter,front end lowered half inch,transfer rod halfway,175lb with gear it handles great,little darting.but it changes a little when you suck the gas down since there's LESS WEIGHT in the MIDDLE of your sled!!

 

[NY_Nytro]

Here is the problem most people run into..

YOu have Pilots on your sled,, Either your buddies or the guy in front of you has a similar ski.. your sled will follow that track because it is the same..

THe only time my sled darts if if i get behind another sled that has pilots.... otherwise it never happens..

1# check your ski alignment..

2# make sure you dont have the rubber bushings in backwards or the wrong ones in it..

3# if you have someone else in the group with the same skis as you, Keep them behind you..LOL

You hit the nail on the head. There is a misunderstanding on what causes darting. You dart because your skis follow other "like" ski tracks. So someone thinks...hey if I put two carbides on one ski my ski won't have the same carbide pattern it won't dart. And it works until your buddy or whoever upgrades to the same skis or carbides and then you dart again. Just look at all the anti-dart gizmos that you can mount to your ski, they just cut more lines in the snow. The dude in front of you happens to have the same gizmos and then you will dart again.

It's all about having a unique ski or carbide then the previous riders on the trail.

 

[jds1000]

Another thing that makes a sled dart is setup. You should have the rear of your suspension set as soft as possible without excessive bottoming. I know some guys set the rear suspension really stiff for that once a month really big bump and the rest of the time their sled rides like a brick. The problem here is that if the rear is too stiff it puts too much weight on the front skis and results in darting. I learned this many many years ago when I found the only time My sled wouldn't dart was when I had My then girlfreind on the back. Also you should make sure your front shocks aren't set too stiff either. I've also found that with rider forward sleds that when you are cruising down a fast trail and your darting if you sit back a little you will take some weight off the skis and the darting will go away.

 

[ROCKERDAN]

I totally agree.....round most parts the PILOT DOO ski is the most popular ski on the most popular sleds on the trails.....

if you follow a sled with same skis,you will most likely dart more since your following them....

im not big on any type of a dual runner as IMO they SLOW YOU DOWN with more drag.

Dan

 

[danq]

My pilots dart too. My rear suspension has a big boy spring and revalved shock... I bottom once or twice a day so I think it is about as soft as it can be.

I "had" about 1/2" of toe out last time out. That's too much, so I'm going to try 1/4" toe out on my trip this coming weekend. If that doesn't work, I try the limiter strap.

I don't notice any less drag with the pilots over the doolys. Still get the same gas mileage..

 

[apltx08]

I kept my STOCK skis shimmed with a 1/4" peice of alum. 1.5" square and installed 6" DEUCE runners, shorten strap 1 hole and eliminated 90% of darting and WOW these runers BITE in corners and no loss in top end or gas milage...compared to WOODY'S DOOLYS that create a lot of drag and push like cazy in corners!

My last set of DEUCE on my RX1 '05 had over 6000 kms and still good, they last for a long time...