Sno Cat
Expert
Having spent some time in the plastics business, my opinion is the repeated heated & cooling of the sliders does not ‘temper’ the sliders. The sliders are made from a semi crystalline (SC) thermoplastic. This family of t-plastics does not behave like crystalline metals that can be tempered. Tempering is the realignment of molecules through deliberate thermal cycling. In an SC t-plastic, the molecular alignment cannot be changed by thermal cycling. When friction elevates the temperature of the sliders to the melt flow index, the sliders melt & flow ie., they wear. Having logged thousands of miles on Yamahas, the sliders seem to zip down to the wear line & then the wear rate decreases. My opinion is this has nothing to do with the alleged tempering & it has everything to do with the weight of the sled & the geometry of the track & rails no longer interfere with each other as much as they do when the sliders are new.
The solution is for Yamaha to use a harder semi-crystalline thermoplastic with PTFE modifiers. I would personally spend 2 or 3X as much for a pair of sliders to avoid changing them 2 – 3 times per season. Yamaha should solve this chronic problem.
The solution is for Yamaha to use a harder semi-crystalline thermoplastic with PTFE modifiers. I would personally spend 2 or 3X as much for a pair of sliders to avoid changing them 2 – 3 times per season. Yamaha should solve this chronic problem.
fourload
TY 4 Stroke Master
My Srx's ate slides too. After owning many Yamaha's there are many things to consider...Fat boys eat more sliders .LOL Tight tracks eat sliders quicker. Running fast on new sliders that haven't been broke in properly ruins sliders. Running in hardpack without studs makes sliders wear faster. (They break up the hardpack better.)Yamaha slides do wear fast then slow up. Bigger wheels help. Different limiter strap settings do help some. I do have to admit it is a pain in the Azz thinking about these things all the time especially on a 15000 dollar sled.
LAKECITYAPEX
Extreme
Thanks for replies. I'm going to use the marginal snow wheel kits. What is the right part # for an 07 apex RTX? The 2010 yamaha catologue is showing SMA-8FA95-00-00. Is this correct?
Reverse
Extreme
I have a 2010 Apex GT LTX with 1120 Kil. ( about 700 miles). I bought it new, rode the sled 99% of the time in excellent snow conditions and mine are below the wear line. Granted the sled has been subjected to some pretty high speeds with the yamcharger, clutching, PC and Ig mod.
I read somewhere some time ago about some graphite sliders. Anyone know about this, not crazy about the wheel kit idea, are there any other sliders out there that will wear better?? Are the factory Yamaha sliders that you get with the sled not as good as some aftermarket??
I read somewhere some time ago about some graphite sliders. Anyone know about this, not crazy about the wheel kit idea, are there any other sliders out there that will wear better?? Are the factory Yamaha sliders that you get with the sled not as good as some aftermarket??
LAKECITYAPEX
Extreme
Reverse
yamaha makes a factory HIGH PERFORMANCE Graphite slide. my dealer said they will last longer. The part # in the yamaha acessories catologue is SMA-8FT92-00-HP. they are $19.95 per slide.
I picked my up today. Hope this helps.
yamaha makes a factory HIGH PERFORMANCE Graphite slide. my dealer said they will last longer. The part # in the yamaha acessories catologue is SMA-8FT92-00-HP. they are $19.95 per slide.
I picked my up today. Hope this helps.
gun nut
Expert
I'm ready to order the idler wheel mounts from Pioneer, instead of buying a set of larger wheels. I am just wondering why there isn't more talk on TY about them.
The reason I am doing it is that although the hyfax is good for a long time when close to the wear line, it's a pain looking at the hyfax every time I ride, and worrying about wearing through. I grease my wheels, so I won't have to buy a new set. $90 for kit, instead of at least $150 for 6 oversize wheels.
If anyone has the Pioneer kit, I'd like some input. i don't see a downside.
The reason I am doing it is that although the hyfax is good for a long time when close to the wear line, it's a pain looking at the hyfax every time I ride, and worrying about wearing through. I grease my wheels, so I won't have to buy a new set. $90 for kit, instead of at least $150 for 6 oversize wheels.
If anyone has the Pioneer kit, I'd like some input. i don't see a downside.
gun nut
Expert
The real reason the wear stops is because the wheels take over. Many TY'ers put on bigger wheels and the problem is solved'. I'm going to install Pioneer's kit to lower stock wheels.
yamahahaapex
TY 4 Stroke Master
dont know if its the wheels taking over or maybe that the space between the track and the rails is thinner that the rails act like a heat sync picking up the heat through the hyfax
Sno Cat said:
although we will agree that if a different grade of plastic was used ...the results would dramatically improve..
we will disagree on the effect of heating and cooling cycles and in fact I will suggest that the material is some form of UHMW
heres some reading ...
http://claremontpolymer.com/020~Plastics/130~UHMW-PE/
http://www.thomasnet.com/heading.html?c ... g+Services
heat treating is often used on plastics to affect the molecular chain
