Kingers BOOSTED garage....

[kinger]

Something that has caused me so much aggravation over the years was my sled dollies. I HATE them always falling off. Finally took the time to look for and invest in some good ones. Made my local dealer start carrying these Ski Savers. Awesome dolley!! Even matches the new sled haha.

 

[kinger]

Another weekend of 10” of snow...in April...in North Iowa!! Total since getting the new sled on March 23rd is 31”!! Remind me to buy a new one in December!!

 

[kinger]

Total tally was 48" from March 24th-April 16th 2018! Wow. I ended with a near perfect break in of 180 miles on the SW. Lots of good accel and decel pulls that you wouldn't get to do just on a trail. Warm up, shut down, etc. Weird smelling burnt plastic/oil/residue on a snowmobile. I'm pretty excited for my first BRAND NEW sled ever. Its put away and will be on Ulmers dyno sometime this summer for some POWA!

 

[kinger]

Well she's off to Ulmer for some 280 flash and install the EVO exhaust, turbosmart BOV, 4 wheel kit, and some odds and ends. Allen makes it to easy for me to lazy! Thanks @Ulmer Racing!!

 

[kinger]

I finally got 100 miles on the sled this year! Heading north tomorrow for more. The sled is finally fast LOL. It is definitely in the same league as my boosted apex power wise. The sound is a bit much to take, so different and more tractor'ish then I would care for. The EVO bullet sounds killer but too loud. Not ear ringing loud but enough that I need to modify it this summer to quiet down at idle and low rpms through towns. The traction of the 153"x 1.75" in the loose powdery snow is killer! Really an arm stretcher! I like that stump pulling grunt. The chassis is still up for debate, it rides decent although I am already making some changes. It felt bouncy and stiff, the seat felt hard and actually bruised my inner thighs a little when I hang off the seat on hard corners. Its not horrible by any means but hopefully my adjustments will make it better.

Here are the changes I made last night before this next 300+ mile trip.
-Sandale 2.5" stock exhaust mod
-Stingray Mods front shock spring (160-180lb)
-Reduced FF3's from 95psi in front to 70 psi
-Reduced rear FF3 from 140psi to 120 psi
-Center shock preload with new spring is 0 preload + 3.5 turns

I will try this. I'm hoping for more transfer out of the hole, and softer in the bumps without bottoming. The muffler quieted the sled down to stock almost. Its probably too quiet but that is ok! This north trip will be the true test, I want to see if it will bash moguls on Saturday like my ZX2 in the apex did, I want to see how fast on the lake it will go to compare against apex, and I want to see how easy it is to drive in the tight trails. The final iteration of my apex was 100% PERFECT for my tastes so I'm excited to see how close the winder gets with a fraction of the mods compared to the Apex!

 

[kinger]

Pictures! Note the wires under the fuse box rubbing on bare metal!! EEKK! I added some furry side Velcro to prevent rub through.

 

[rxrider]

Hi Kinger
Great to hear your new ride is working good.
I still ride my 2007 Apex Warrior Turbo.
Europe have decided to sell regular gasoline only, most gas stations that is.
Only a few are selling premium these days, the nearest one is 110 miles away from my house.
I still have a 2006 I may or may not build as a 375HP sled on pump gas, but I have to run premium….
I may have to buy a piston driven airplane to be able to buy 100LL LOL
They refuse to sell 100LL unless you come taxing your plane to the pump hahahahahaha
Turbo sled with wings may work

 

[kinger]

Well good and bad update - sled has 388 miles on it now. Worked really really good for first 100 miles of my trip. Then things went south. It started over heating even though i was in DEEP snow. Many attempts to cool exchangers, I notice its low on coolant, fill it empty's, fill again, can't find a leak and look at my engine oil site tube its full past the full mark and very milky. I assume that is where my coolant was going. Towed in by 05 Vector (They don't make them like they used to!) and came home a day early which I was furious about. Its been at dealer all week lots of tests and they can't figure it out yet. I will update once resolution is found.

Meanwhile sled vs SC apex vs turbo apex. I could write for hours on the differences. So far I'm leaning towards the Impulse apex I crashed with the Zx2 is still bar none the fastest, best handling, sled that made me giggle like a school girl I have ever ridden. As it SHOULD be with those types of mods, extra cylinder, high RPMs, etc. I may build another one to keep as a spare and or ride when I am tired of SW. That said the SW in my BTX version out of the box with what I consider basic crappy air suspension was surprisingly close to the Apex in so many ways. The acceleration was insane, response was better then Apex although I was tuning that out of the apex so that may be a wash. Bottoming out the metal suspension reminds me why I ride the ZX2 ( Currently moth balled just in case I want to put it in!). Overall for fractions of the amount of modifications the SW is the real deal. I am impressed with the OEM advancements and engine management is phenomenal almost like a Motec!

If I was forced to pick one, definitely pick the Apex turbo. If I was forced to pick a order it would be Apex Turbo, SW, Apex SC in that order. That said I like the SW 'feel' and I find myself wanting to ride it harder and harder. The SW in the deep snow is INCREDIBLE compared to apex in the same length track. So fortunately this isn't torture camp and I think I will take all my spare apex parts and do one more build over the summer. Having two will be nice. Hopefully this is a yamacat assembly thing with the SW and it can prove to be reliable like the Apex was. I may try to create the best iteration of my Apex as I have a few ideas to one up the Impulse turbo I crashed. I think I can get the weight within lbs of the SW and power off the charts especially since my Motec hasen't sold, 350+ on 91? Maybe

 

[kinger]

Well SW is getting a new motor from Yamaha under warranty, however its not assembled by yamaha. The dealer is forced to buy all new parts separately and assemble in their shop before dropping in the sled. So much for a brand new virgin

Going to dig out the SC apex and see if I can resurrect her! Its half parted out but I have some many parts from the crash turbo sled I think I can get it trail worthy in a weekend! We shall see!! They don't make them like they used too!!!

 

[kinger]

Here is how the old girls sits, hasn't run in 3 years. This should be interesting!! I'll run with SC again not turbo for now.

 

[rxrider]

Hi kinger
Sad to hear about the SW.
I would have been interesting to tear the motor down to see WTF went wrong on that engine.
You found coolant in the oil…. cracked block or cylinder head comes to mind, have seen that before.
Blown head gasket is another one but not very likely with the boost level you run.

I hope to take my 07 Apex with MCX315 out for a test ride next weekend, will not be able to ride much though.
I also have the 06 laying around with all parts on the shelf except the cylinder block.
I've been thinking about taking the engine out of the 07 and finally build the 06 Apex with custom 375 HP+ turbo system built by me and my friend with parts from different turbo builders in Canada and the USA.
You inspire me to get going, sadly the old Apex 06 has been in parts for almost 5 years :-(
Talk to you later

 

[kinger]

I didn't make much progress on Apex. The season is almost over even though we still have record snow. I am seriously considering building my ultimate apex with Motec, pump gas stock compression impulse turbo, lightweight suspension, tunnel and custom paint scheme I have in my head to make it more unique then the marble. The SW is just killing me with this break down and it wasn't a apex in either handling or power...close but no 4 banger!

 

[maim]

build it kinger, you know you want to.

 

[kinger]

Haha! Yep I do! You guys know me to well. The SW had big shoes to fill anyway and this isn't helping!

 

[rxrider]

Hahahaha, boostheads forever, we both gotta build our last Apex.