Highest Speeds on Sidewinder/Thundercat

[Upstater57]

Fully agree that the more time a track spends at high speeds shortens the expected life a lot.

I view tracks as a wear item like tires. You do not want it to delaminate at high speed. Any sled I have with more than 200HP, the track is changed out at about 5 - 6 thousand miles just as a safe guard. If a track is studded, even on a low HP sled, I think 10,000 miles should be max mileage before changing it out. Having one go out the back makes you more cautious. Kevlar Lake and high speeds will heat them up.

 

[Simplespeed]

I view tracks as a wear item like tires. You do not want it to delaminate at high speed. Any sled I have with more than 200HP, the track is changed out at about 5 - 6 thousand miles just as a safe guard. If a track is studded, even on a low HP sled, I think 10,000 miles should be max mileage before changing it out. Having one go out the back makes you more cautious. Kevlar Lake and high speeds will heat them up.

I agree , check condition often, pay attention to detail when you stud, and especially when you are completing adjustments with slack and centering as this is very important… I lost a track on 160 horsepower sled at full speed on a lake that had 1600 miles on it… The reason it happened was the track had a defect in the belting used to manufacture the track and this defect was non-visible…. Took all I could do not to lose control of the sled at the time ….

 

[Motorhead]

Yes, I too always shoot for the quickest way from A to B. Unfortunately, in my neck of the woods, the distance between A and B is 2 miles. Lol

All testing is done on groomed trail with scratchers down. This might scrub some speed depending on conditions, but cuts down on heat and adds lubricity and cooling. We try and make it as safe as we can.

Understand completely when you say "Your neck of the woods"!
We always find many spots that give us that opportunity to do the WOT runs, but when visiting the County to also put on some miles, one also has to just put on some miles without Downtime, so we pick our spots and try really hard not to unleash the beasts, as too many spots are available! As far as track failure goes, even at 80-105 for extended times, everything gets warm or HOT! Then add the WOT after an extended fast pace, and everything becomes heat soaked fast. Ive been fortunate, never had a track completely blow off, but have lost a few during WOT runs, which gave me warnings as the studs were hitting tunnel or cooler as they are coming apart! Yep, your neck of the woods have cost me many burn't 2 strokes also, and that shortens a vaca plan. County trails have always proved faster than my sleds!! Ha Ha...

I find that riding with the family instead of just me and my racing buddy, preserves our sleds!

 

[Doc Harley]

Slapping together a 135mph sled... Congratulations. And the fact you guys do this "on trail" lol. I couldn't. Thankfully we have big lakes to stretch our legs, when needed. Kinda helps keep us somewhat comfortable.

 

[Turboflash]

Honestly i dont think a bearing belongs in any primary clutch. But look for tiny cracks at base of sheaves to start with.

Always happens on movable side low by bearing. Need mirror and light to see if clutch is still on engine. I've never seen it happen on stationery side. Allot of guys open side panel, look at clutch, don't see cracks, close side panel. Cracks cannot be seen that way because they're on movable side not stationery side.

 

[Fleecer]

Always happens on movable side low by bearing. Need mirror and light to see if clutch is still on engine. I've never seen it happen on stationery side. Allot of guys open side panel, look at clutch, don't see cracks, close side panel. Cracks cannot be seen that way because they're on movable side not stationery side.

I appreciate the info TF, and I'll be keeping a close eye on this. If I can get the performance of this sled to mimic your big cat....I'll be happy!! Lol

 

[fatchance]

I agree , check condition often, pay attention to detail when you stud, and especially when you are completing adjustments with slack and centering as this is very important… I lost a track on 160 horsepower sled at full speed on a lake that had 1600 miles on it… The reason it happened was the track had a defect in the belting used to manufacture the track and this defect was non-visible…. Took all I could do not to lose control of the sled at the time ….
[/QUOTE
What was the outcome in that situation? I just experienced that

 

[74Nitro]

Ouch!

 

[twyztid]

Exactly why you don't see me giving a crap about speed. Only how quick it can get from A to B.

I get people asking me about the top speed my quad at the sand dunes here in Michigan all the time as well. I tell them I don't care about top speed. I want to be "quick" and don't really care about being "fast". It's the same reason that high-powered drag cars are so impressive to me

 

[fatchance]

Ouch!

Oh Yeah,,, Happened at 115mph. Heart rate? check Engine idle? check Shorts? Grimace! Went from smiles to frowns within 700 feet for sure.

 

[KnappAttack]

Oh Yeah,,, Happened at 115mph. Heart rate? check Engine idle? check Shorts? Grimace! Went from smiles to frowns within 700 feet for sure.

Is that your new 24 Steve? That sucks! Looks like just part of the outside banding.

Any idea why that would have happened? Could it have been broken fiberglass rods? I've had that happen before where the rod breaks.

 

[Fast]

With some of us owning Sidewinders for 6 seasons now, I wanted to start a thread on Max Speeds attained thus far. It seems ever year we get faster and faster, so I thought it prudent to share our results here.

I'm not interested in starting a bashing fest. If some want to lie, so be it, however I ask that everyone is honest. Here are the rules:

1. Speeds can be speedo, GPS, or radar gun. Please state how you recorded speed.
2. Indicate distance and terrain. For example, 1/4 mile on ice, or asphalt etc.

A lot of time and research goes into tuning and we all understand that. If you rather not share your setup, that's fine. If you don't mind sharing, please list tune/clutching etc, as I'm sure many could learn here. In the end, I think this could be a productive post, as people can compare performance, see what others are doing, and perhaps improve their sleds.

So....here we go, I'll start. Took my last ride of the year today, temps were low 30s F, and conditions a little soft. The local club groomed last night, but it never went above freezing, so things didn't setup hard, however trails were smooth.

My sled is setup for trail riding with medium windshield and I don't run studs. Sled was factory height, not tied down or anything. On my way home, I was rolling about 100mph, came up to a long stretch with good vision, and held it WOT for about .5 miles. Had my GPS in my pocket it recorded 141 mph. My best all winter was 146 mph while trail riding.

Start sending those numbers....

There's a Stage 6 TD race tune ms17 running 148mph in 1320 feet on c16 with just rods and pistons and an srx doing 150mph pretty sure a polaris boost can't touch that

 

[Simplespeed]

My Insurance picked up the cost to replace blown track…

 

[Motorhead]

Slapping together a 135mph sled... Congratulations. And the fact you guys do this "on trail" lol. I couldn't. Thankfully we have big lakes to stretch our legs, when needed. Kinda helps keep us somewhat comfortable.

Well to be honest, I’ve thought the same about some of your posts. Stopping by a bar or the many watering holes that you speak of, and then lining up? I may love my speed when conditions and trails/roads allow, but I learned my lessons about alcohol and motor toys, many years ago in the 70’s, and still to this day follow my Golden rule. Alcohol only once the toys are put away for the day, or night!! And then, I have been known to indulge for sure! So yeah, keep it as safe and as fun as possible! My Wider isn’t that fast, but has been pretty reliable, and I do love to beat on it whenever safe and possible!

 

[max rolph]

hi MH, what have you done as a set up for clutching with the Tcat