tunnel Ice- anyone ever figure out a way to stop it?

[kelly Smith]

Temperature under the tank and the seat were also my concern. Wrapping the exhaust was my way to lower the temperatures.

 

[cloead]

After riding a bit my block off plate seems to be holding up. Only thing I wish I would of done differently is come back further with the plate. I am getting some grass/mud/leaf (not nearly enough snow to be riding) flung up by the track and it is landing on top of my plate at the very back.

 

[canoehead]

That's going to develop a lot of heat under the seat without sufficient air flow. I started with a version that also covered the width of the tunnel but got worried about heat so I cut it down to the width of the protectors. You don't need to overdo the plate coverage to reduce icing.

X2

 

[TomG]

Not to hijack the thread but I just bought a "new to me" '13 XTX. The PO had removed the tunnel protectors. Any thoughts on what to rivet a plate to without the protectors there?

 

[nitris223]

Take your seat off and take off the under seat heat shield and rivet through the top with the aluminum plate underneath in the tunnel. That's how I did mine , you don't block in the header pipe but that's how it is done on the MTX's . They don't come with protectors in there. There should be several pictures on here of how it's done. Best bet is to google it first and you will weed through a lot of post and usually get to the pictures quicker. Sometimes searching on the forums you will read through 50 post or threads before you find a picture or the information that you want.

 

[TomG]

Nitris, thanks, I've seen the under seat plates. I was thinking more in terms of Grizz's full coverage plate. Maybe that's not necessary if the tunnel protectors are already gone. I might see what I can fab up that provides a little more coverage but mounts in the location you're talking about.

 

[nitris223]

We have 2 MTX's and I installed a block off plate in mine and nothing in the wife's sled. We both get the same amount of ice which is very little. I have yet to kick the side of my tunnel to get rid of any ice build up. It seems like the xtx and shorter get the ice and under tunnel exhaust sometimes make it worse. For you to do something like what Grizz did but with out having tunnel protectors to attach to you would have to get a wider piece of aluminum sheet and make 2 bends on each side. One bend for depth to clear the pipe and header and another bend for rivet attachment. Give or take a inch you would need a piece 18" to 20" wide and your desired length for coverage.

 

[sloan188]

^^I ride a 2009 XTX 1.25 Ripsaw and my buddy has a 2013 XTX 1.75 BC with tunnel cooler. I did a tunnel block-off similar to Canoehead's (close to Grizztrack's) and my ice build up has been considerably reduced. My buddy's doesn't have tunnel protectors (and consequently no block-off plate) and has the same or less ice than mine.

 

[nitris223]

I think the ice build up has a lot to do with the type of snow conditions. If I lived somewhere with a more mild winter weather the snow would be different then a place that has really cold temps all the time. Our snow around her for the last few years has been a lot like sugar granules and not the big fluffy flakes like I use to see on the east coast of Canada. I was all ready to carry a rubber hammer to beat the ice off when I bought a nytro and so far it has been used in the shop for other things. It doesn't make a difference here if I am riding in 4 feet of powder snow or ripping down a groomed trail, I get the same little ice build up. Now my buddy with his tunnel dump on the XTX , that is a different story, he carries a rubber mallet.

 

[Sevey]

Ive noticed its not so much snow type as it is temp. Up to -8 the snow that packs up there seems to recycle itself. It will build up but there is enough heat to warm it up, causing the clumps to fall off. Beyond -10, thats when the ice really starts to form and build your very own glacier. The steam created from hitting the exhaust refreezes quicker and just makes a mess. MS

 

[nitris223]

I never see that warm in the winter here in Saskatchewan until maybe March or mid march. I draw the line at -25c and average riding temp for us in -17c to -20c. - 10c here would feel like heaven if that was our winter.

 

[mjpellet]

View attachment 101403 I just made a tunnel cover and rivet it to the tunnel protectors. 15 3/4 wide x 48 inches long. Before I covered in the tunnel I wrapped the exhaust and prayed the area near the front of the Tunnel with Very high temperature ceramic spray. My goal was to keep the exhaust temperatures in the pipe and out the tail pipe.
Now wait for snow to Try it out.

What brand of wrap did you use? I've never wrapped an exhaust before, do you spray it afterwards for it to set up?

 

[kelly Smith]

I picked up a 2 inch X 50 foot roll of premium grade exhaust wrap that was good for 1350°F continuous / 2000°F Intermittent and wrapped my exhaust (heat shield product). Used some SS ties to keep tight on the pipes. (If you have problem on how to wrap your header there is ample instruction Videos and blogs.) After the wrap, I sprayed the wrap with DEI High Temperature (HT) Silicone Coating (1500 degrees), this holds all the wrap together. You can pick up these or similar product at any automotive speed shops in your area. Mopac Performance Distributors was in my area.

 

[porkchop]

My neighbor & I fabbed up a plate today, didn't even have to drop the skid out just removed rear bolts and pivot down.
A brake + car lift was the cats #*$&@.

 

[Sevey]

Watch it, you are infringing on canoeheads design. There could be a copyright infringement. Just kidding. lol

Looks great. I had a chance to test the plate I made up this summer, just a few weeks ago. Worked awesome.
Can't wait for the season to get going.
Ms