more ideas for making the nytro lightweight?

natedawgedog

natedawgedog

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something from 2019!
Hi everyone! the mission I have this year is to make my nytro xtx as lightweight as possible without spending too much money on the project and also I dont want to make it so lightweight that it starts to sacrifice chassis durability.
Ive searched and read a ton of material on here and other sites for ideas and plans for my project and have come up with a few questions that I hope ya'll can help or answer for me.

so last night I was removing my tunnel to bring it to the local aluminum shop to have him bend me up a one piece tunnel and am wondering what thickness of aluminum should I go with to keep strength but remove a little weight?

does powdercoating the tunnel really help with snow and ice buildup under there?

and some questions about cooling... I have the mpi super sized tunnel cooler so I am going to be deleting the radiator/fan setup but I am also wondering... If I was to fab up a some aluminum to delete the OE tunnel cooler also would I be playing with danger in keeping my engine cool enough? or would it even be benificial weight wise to do so?
the mpi tunnel cooler is huge (8' of coolers) and I belive has more surface area than both of the OE coolers combined.
if it were deleted also with a plate in the tunnel cooler spot would I gain a little bit of clearance between my tunnel and track also? thus giving snow and air more room to evacuate from the front of the tunnel, gaining more track speed and possibly more top end?
 
I powdercoated my tunnel last year, but I also went to an undertunnel exhaust. Seems to me the snow sticks to the tunnel pretty darn good still.
 
.060" is probably the thinnest you would want to go with a tunnel and you will want good running board supports.

2 years ago I ran just tunnel coolers no bulkhead or radiator, it worked fine but did get warm on trails without much soft. I would guess judging by your hyfax life that you will get a coolant temp light from time to time if you remove it. It's also a pain running the coolant line behind your engine and unless you are very careful to keep your new plumbing as simple and light as possible or I dont think you'll see a weight savings. But you will gain track clearance.
 
Nikolai said:
Any idea what the MPI coolers weigh? They look heavy.
Click to expand...

Do you agree with tunnel thickness? You have made more "normalish" tunnels than me.
 
If not using chromoly running boards or some kid of structure that assists in the strength of the tunnel, I wouldn't go less than .080. And even then I'd still use some kind of running board brace, preferably the 08/09 cat SnoPro (longest ones available). I'd probably even go .090 next time. Aluminum sheet by itself isn't very strong. The Nytro tunnel is only .050 or .060 but it's supported by huge steel suspension brackets and small steel plates throughout.
 
I could get a weight on the coolers tomorrow to find out.

I do have skinz airframe boards from my xtx already, so would you say using the .060 would be sufficient or should I go with something a little thicker using those boards?

before buying this xtx I have always been a "mild mod" type of guy, and never done things like tunnel swaps, stripping my sled down to barebones, and be actively searching for ways to make it the best overall sled for me. but the power from this snowmachine is so addictive and the reliablity of the motor has me wanting to keep this one around for a while instead of trading in on the latest and greatest. I guess the 4-stroke sickness has got to me and I would go with boost if I had better than 87octane fuel out here to use (then I wouldnt really have to think about the weight as much)
 
It's not my first choice but you guys have Av gas ;)!
 
rlcofmn said:
It's not my first choice but you guys have Av gas ;)!
Click to expand...

I have thought of using av gas also but at $6.73 (100gal+ bulk price) a gallon and putting 3k+ miles a year would put a hurtin on my wallet!

Nikolai said:
Any idea what the MPI coolers weigh? They look heavy.
Click to expand...

I wasnt able to get to the shop today to get a weight on those coolers today so I will get them tomorrow
 
What would it cost to ship a 5 gallon pail of accelerator out? That's what I use, only I'm blending with 90. For me to run 100 octane a 5 gallon pail will blend 240 gallons for 300 bucks. If you only wanted to run 7 lbs or less I'm sure one pail would last all season even blending with 87. For me running 9 lbs, it will last my 1500 mile season.

Boost

Just Sayin ;)!
 
Nikolai said:
Any idea what the MPI coolers weigh? They look heavy.
Click to expand...

just got it all weighed everything that came in the box. coolers, uncut hoses, and hardware in unopened in bags still, everything weighed out to be 10lbs 6 ounces

Ive got the tunnel out now and ready to bring it to the shop to have him bend me up a new tunnel, just trying to decide how thick of aluminium to use...
 
Dimebag said:
You could always go down the lightweight battery route.. ;)!
Click to expand...

ive been debating that one for a couple weeks now. I think I am going to get one for warmer days, day trips, and drag racing. if Im going out on longer trips or colder days I will put the 'ol fathful back in there.
 
by the way dimebag hows your engine rebuild comming along?
 
Thats what Im thinking too. To use the ballistic for warmer days.
Im getting a YTZ10S for this winter. Its plenty of juice to start the Nytro even on the coldest days,
and still some kilos lighter. ;)!

Regarding the engine rebuild,
Im building a new garage this summer, so the engine wont get opened up until the roof is on.
Im guessing we'll get started on the rebuild in late september. Should be plenty of time to get new parts anyways.

I'll keep you updated on our findings.
 
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