Sidewinder runs hot 200°+......cure!

[Doc Harley]

Today a long ride in Northwoods wis. planned. Sketchy low snow, but thought I'd see how it goes.
Temp gauge 196°+ this morning. 203° 206° and a brief time at 226°. Lite comes on right around 206°.....ran off to hit some pow, cooled it off for a short time to keep in movin'. had turn around and call it a day. And this was at 9am this morning.
Guys on here claim big results from Amsoil "coolant boost" so....decided to shoot to the grocery store for a turkey baster and then the parts store for the "coolant boost" which I'm not a fan of snake oil. Im about to call Bullshit!
Pulled the hood, look cap off thermostat housing and proceeded to pull 1.5 Oz from the housing of regular coolant. Which I replaced with amsoil coolant booster. Then I dumped another 1.5 ounces into the reservoir hoping that would mix up and enter into my coolant system. Time to see how this goes.
I decided to stay close so I headed north for about 15 minutes and the sled never reached past 172°. Which is fine I'm going back for the trail that caused me all the headaches this morning. so now I turn South and hit that Low snow, low speed combo coolant killer.......never got above 172° & 192 for the next 140 miles. unbelievable results

3oz of Amzoil "Coolant booster"

Note: anyone thinking of putting scratchers on their sled, in my opinion are making a big mistake without giving this amsoil coolant booster a shot.

End of rant........enjoy the ride.

 

[Doc Harley]

Someone stated these products help to reduce water pump life. Any truth to that?

 

[Shagnos]

Or you removed the cap and un airlocked the system. That is more likely.

 

[Mototown]

Check Your anti freeze , it will be plus -45f on tester . Take out some and then add distilled water . Will help some to

 

[Doc Harley]

Or you removed the cap and un airlocked the system. That is more likely.

It's my third season on her. She usually runs mid 190's. Now I'm in the 170's in the worst conditions ever.

I'm not sure that will support your airlock theory? Again, idk.....haha

 

[DooZ]

Today a long ride in Northwoods wis. planned. Sketchy low snow, but thought I'd see how it goes.
Temp gauge 196°+ this morning. 203° 206° and a brief time at 226°. Lite comes on right around 206°.....ran off to hit some pow, cooled it off for a short time to keep in movin'. had turn around and call it a day. And this was at 9am this morning.
Guys on here claim big results from Amsoil "coolant boost" so....decided to shoot to the grocery store for a turkey baster and then the parts store for the "coolant boost" which I'm not a fan of snake oil. Im about to call Bullshit!
Pulled the hood, look cap off thermostat housing and proceeded to pull 1.5 Oz from the housing of regular coolant. Which I replaced with amsoil coolant booster. Then I dumped another 1.5 ounces into the reservoir hoping that would mix up and enter into my coolant system. Time to see how this goes.
I decided to stay close so I headed north for about 15 minutes and the sled never reached past 172°. Which is fine I'm going back for the trail that caused me all the headaches this morning. so now I turn South and hit that Low snow, low speed combo coolant killer.......never got above 172° & 192 for the next 140 miles. unbelievable results

3oz of Amzoil "Coolant booster"

Note: anyone thinking of putting scratchers on their sled, in my opinion are making a big mistake without giving this amsoil coolant booster a shot.

End of rant........enjoy the ride.

View attachment 145020

Where did u find it?

 

[murdered141]

Great to know that such a product exists but I still believe scratchers are the way to go, you still need something to cool and lubricate the slides and track clips.
My turbo viper with a 2.25" Power claw track on low hard pack snow with scratchers down run's 163-167 all day and that's what it ran all stock, no turbo and 1.25" track on good snow, I know not a sidewinder but take it for what it is.

 

[Doc Harley]

Where did u find it?

Napa auto parts

 

[Crossfire12]

Look up ENGINE ICE ran in some sleds reduced temp by 0-15 degrees will not harm engine, used in dirt bike racing. Works// also scratchers

 

[JayM]

Great to know that such a product exists but I still believe scratchers are the way to go, you still need something to cool and lubricate the slides and track clips.
My turbo viper with a 2.25" Power claw track on low hard pack snow with scratchers down run's 163-167 all day and that's what it ran all stock, no turbo and 1.25" track on good snow, I know not a sidewinder but take it for what it is.

100%, not enough snow to cool engine not enough snow to lube the slides. Both together work.

 

[YukonMP]

Water Wetter is the product that I have used. I think they all work though not as dramatically as the OP experienced. Good for him for having an open mind and giving it a shot. Yamaha does seem to consistently over do it with the strength of the anti freeze mix which diminishes cooling efficiency.

 

[SAB1]

It's my third season on her. She usually runs mid 190's. Now I'm in the 170's in the worst conditions ever.

I'm not sure that will support your airlock theory? Again, idk.....haha

Why is it running so hot? Im running the same LTX SE and it runs 172-174 consistently.

 

[JayM]

It is a little odd that yours runs so hot. Unless it's really cold out (-20deg Celcius) and rock hard trails mine stays hovering just below 170deg with no additives and no scratchers. The studs do a good job usually of helping to keep things cool and lubricated. When it is really cold and the trails are hard packed I put on the scratchers and keeps it at 170deg.

 

[craiger68]

It's my third season on her. She usually runs mid 190's. Now I'm in the 170's in the worst conditions ever.

I'm not sure that will support your airlock theory? Again, idk.....haha

I have over 7500 miles on my '17 LTX LE completely stock. Rode in lots of early and late season marginal snow conditions with no scratchers and in all those miles the only two situations where my temp was not between 168 and 172 was:
1. Long runs on rail grades with no loose snow
2. Idling for more than a minute.

You said, "she usually runs mid 190's". If that has been true for 3 seasons, there was another issue of some kind. maybe your coolant to water ratio was not optimal? thermostat?

Usually, when trail riding, if there are no mechanical issues, and your sled is running hot, it means your hyfax are melting down too. No coolant product will fix that.
This has been my experience, but situations can vary. I hope your temp issues are solved.
CW

 

[Doc Harley]

could be many reasons for my issue low snow, lack of coolant water ratio, temperatures, air lock, Etc it's just a miracle that I dumped 3 oz of that stuff in there and I'm down 20 something degrees minimum. Yeah I'm not complaining but another day in the 170s.