Tune without studded track

[marc001]

Has anyone run there Sidewinder with a tune with no studs in the track? I would rather not stud the track but would like to try a tune.

 

[snoseeker]

I have 1.5 no studs tune to 270 and as long as it is super hard packed it good I do ride the UP it works great up there

 

[1nc 2000]

With a tune if you hit a small ice patch on the trail while on the gas hard the sled will really light up on ya. Then when it catches you better be hanging on cause it's going to rip the handlebars out of your hands.
No studs here running a 1.75 track in the snow belts.

 

[MattZx6]

I'm running a 137" x 1.75" un-studded track with TD 270 Tune. This is my first sled in 20+ years without studs but my riding area has changed and went from predominantly high speed lake running to trail and off-trail terrain. Figured i'd give the 1.75 a go before I made any decisions and honestly I went in to it expecting not to like and figured I'd be adding gold diggers after the first ride. Much to my surprise it was really a non-factor and never really crossed my mind too much again after the first ride. There was ONE time I had a serious pucker factor when I got on the throttle a little early in a long left hand, high speed sweeper and the back end stepped out of me very quickly. I had visions of a dramatic MotoGP'esque high-side playing out in my head, but fortunately it ended up being uneventful.

To be honest i will go as far as saying the traction of the 1.75 backcountry in my riding environment performed well beyond my wildest expectations. Maybe because I've been running heavily studded tracks for so long my expectations were incredibly low, who knows?

If you are doing a lot of lake running or riding in an area where icy hard pack trails are the norm, no questions asked... run studs.
If you are a drag racer and need ultimate traction to stay out front of your buddies...show up prepared.

 

[thor452]

I cant imagine a tune with no studs on mine I am stock and the rear end tries to pass me allot. It happens so fast that I cant believe I have not gotten into trouble yet and will be doing something about it this year.

 

[Yamadog]

Loose is fast I ran my 265 hp viper xtx 1.6" paddle for 1 yr before studs and the only place different is braking they don't improve anything on acceleration or corners.

 

[stevewithOCD]

To Stud or Not To Stud........that is the question.......a loaded one at that!
It all depends on where & what you ride on.
I hate studs & ran an Ice-Attack pre studded track the first year stock.
On Northern Maine groomed trails when the trails are crispy hard & fast in the morning, it was a handful. I was throwing out new undies every night.
I should have invested in Fruit of the Looms stock.
My friend ran his unstudded 'Winder last year & i can tell you this, there is NO way to control his sled to keep up with me with 96 picks. This is STOCK results!
I'm sure tuned would be worse.
A 1.5 or 1.75 unstudded track on hard as ice trails does nothing more then a 1.25. It's just rubber on ice. It may even be worse!
If you don't ride groomed trails then forget everything i just said & maybe visit the Mountain section.
If you do, then heed the advice most will tell you on this forum...........STUD this beast.......or invest in lots of undies!

 

[marc001]

To Stud or Not To Stud........that is the question.......a loaded one at that!
It all depends on where & what you ride on.
I hate studs & ran an Ice-Attack pre studded track the first year stock.
On Northern Maine groomed trails when the trails are crispy hard & fast in the morning, it was a handful. I was throwing out new undies every night.
I should have invested in Fruit of the Looms stock.
My friend ran his unstudded 'Winder last year & i can tell you this, there is NO way to control his sled to keep up with me with 96 picks. This is STOCK results!
I'm sure tuned would be worse.
A 1.5 or 1.75 unstudded track on hard as ice trails does nothing more then a 1.25. It's just rubber on ice. It may even be worse!
If you don't ride groomed trails then forget everything i just said & maybe visit the Mountain section.
If you do, then heed the advice most will tell you on this forum...........STUD this beast.......or invest in lots of undies!

My riding is 99% groomed trails and that is mostly rails to trails. I lost the track on my 94 thundercat down a ice covered road running about 90 mph and never studded another track after that. You wanna talk about changing shorts after a wild ride.

 

[WinterWolf]

To Stud or Not To Stud........that is the question.......a loaded one at that!
It all depends on where & what you ride on.
I hate studs & ran an Ice-Attack pre studded track the first year stock.
On Northern Maine groomed trails when the trails are crispy hard & fast in the morning, it was a handful. I was throwing out new undies every night.
I should have invested in Fruit of the Looms stock.
My friend ran his unstudded 'Winder last year & i can tell you this, there is NO way to control his sled to keep up with me with 96 picks. This is STOCK results!
I'm sure tuned would be worse.
A 1.5 or 1.75 unstudded track on hard as ice trails does nothing more then a 1.25. It's just rubber on ice. It may even be worse!
If you don't ride groomed trails then forget everything i just said & maybe visit the Mountain section.
If you do, then heed the advice most will tell you on this forum...........STUD this beast.......or invest in lots of undies!

Great post Steve....couldn’t agree more!

If your riding groomed hard trails of Central and N. Maine/U.P. of Michigan/Ontario, or Quebec etc etc...I don’t know how anyone would not stud this sled???? On hard pack, studs help with everything...acceleration, deceleration, cornering and control and stopping.

It’s a night and day difference with studs if you are going to ride this sled like it was meant to be ridden...and I certainly don’t mean crazy and unsafe at all...but I do mean Aggressively. And I’m talking Stock tune here.

If your gonna tune it for even more power...studs are certainly a must imo. I’m stock and have 180 in mine, and it rails and hooks beautifully...bites into the trail and holds its mark...I like that in my machines.

I mean let’s be real...nobody buys a sled of this magnitude, to poke around at 30 or 40 mph!! If that’s how you’re going to ride...then no...no studs needed on any machine, sidewinder or otherwise.

 

[stevewithOCD]

My riding is 99% groomed trails and that is mostly rails to trails. I lost the track on my 94 thundercat down a ice covered road running about 90 mph and never studded another track after that. You wanna talk about changing shorts after a wild ride.

Loosing a track at speed is the ultimate underwear soiling experience.
Every track i've ever blown started with a stud pullout. That's why i have a love/hate relationship with them.
The Ice-Ripper was the perfect track for Me, my Apex & Maine. On the 'Winder it just isn't enough.
At 90 plus mph, i hit the throttle to over-take the cocky 850 & my taillights were next to me. ALL day!
96 studs with tall nuts is working just fine. Sure i'd like more sometimes, but then again id like 300 hp sometimes.........sometimes

 

[geez150]

Mine is a stock tune 137 x 1.25. And I trail ride, not deep snow off trail stuff. First year road no studs, year two 144 Woody's recommend 1.325 sized gold diggers up the center. And my opinion not much if any of any improvement over the unstudded rip saw II. Now many people will be trying to say not enough penetration, but my outlook is, it's the manufacturers guide lines. But anyways my thoughts are that now a days the stock tracks offer a lot of hook up. This isn't the old days of sub 1 inch lug height.

 

[WinterWolf]

I Bet if you went 1450’s you’d notice a huge difference. Line up next to somebody who has 144 or more 1450 or bigger on their winders...and see how you do against them?

And the recommendations/guidelines are a joke. They (the manufacturer) also say that the new “tuner skis” are very good....however we know otherwise!

 

[kinger]

Some are being a little dramatic here. Rode a 300hp apex on a 1.25x151x13.5 track unstudded for years and it was no problem. I was a stud lover before this and like @MattZx6 discovered no discernible difference. In fact going from a 121x15 hacksaw with 312 ( i think) studs to a 121 cobra with 144 studs the cobra was better at hook up, then going from the studded cobra to the unstudded predator long skinny track the hook was again much better. Icy corners stink but where it used to grab and push the sled, now the rear turns out a little and I feel I can actually turn better in the corners. Tune no tune just be smart in the corners. Looking forward to my BTX 153x1.75 and a 300+ kit this year. I trail ride mainly to boot.

 

[**sj**]

unless you are a mountain rider...if you ride a high performance sled...and then in addition are tuning it up....makes no sense producing more power when you cant connect with the terrain.. that would be like a corvette with skinny tires...whats the point...and Ive seen many top notch riders back ends pass themselves on the trails..unless you poke along I say no way..

 

[stevewithOCD]

I didn't listen to SJ back in 2016 about studding this machine.
I am NOW studded! NUFF said.....not trying to be "dramatic'', just my opinion on studding this machine ESPECIALLY tuned on groomed trails.

P.S: In 2017 i sent SJ a message personally admitting my mistake......because i said i would. So i did...NUFF said