Carbides on Tuner Skis

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dmsrx

Member
I have the tuners on an 03 RX1 that I have upgraded to be basically a carbed 07RTX. Torsion rear suspension, Attack front end, Clicker GYT-R front shocks and Rider fwd seat and riser from and Apex. I have the tuner skis I bought from someone on hee and they work really well on my set - up. Very happy with them. I have 4" stock carbide on the inside, 2" on the ouside. Actually the carbides were on them when I bought them 3 yrs ago.
I have no darting, zero ski lift and the steering is about as light as can be expected on an RX1. I do pick up some push in certain conditions when riding aggressive but all I do is slow down a bit. I had stock saddlless skis on it, Tall Keel at 1st, way too much ski lift, darting was bad. Went to the mid Keel and was better but still fought ski lift like crazy and both were too sensitive to conditions. Especially hard frozen trails. They were ok when the snow softened but still never cured the ski lift. The tuners did and am very happy.
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
snobuilder said:
Many horror stories about the trakers in not so ideal conditions...like hard frozen and rutted which IS common for them who ride in all sorts of weather. Having a set of sharp edged c channels on your ski bottoms just doesn't make sense unless you slow way down in them conditions so as not flip the sled when catching a frozen rut on a corner.
I have read many reports from them who otherwise like the trackers that they can be unexpected devils at times.

Tried tuners, sold them the next fall at a swap. C and N trail skis work well.
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Yeah I was concerned about horror stories about Sts then rode dfattacks sled and knew he was on to something. I took it slow with Sts set them up exactly per directions rode about 500 miles & started to fine tune by putting more pressure on skis just a tad and holy moly do they carve with zero darting. dfattack got on my sled and noticed the difference we both have identical 2012 Apex XTXs and mine has skis planted at all times no mater how hard you accellerate. As far as ruts nothing worse than deep tire ruts on unplowed Frs right? Our Sts cut right thru the ruts track straight & does not follow ruts pretty much effortless steering & you can really relax in all conditions. The bud with Apex SE & duce bars gets tossed thru ruts & has to fight thru varied conditions so much more effort for him. I highly recommend you try Sts on your Apex with stocker single keels they are that good! Your cabin is not that far from me so I'm happy to help you get them installed & adjusted.
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
groomerdriver said:
Just like skis.....a VERY expensive EXPERIMENT. But an experiment that has gotten many people hurt too...unlike skis.
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Anything that does not follow mfg directions can be dangerous regarding motorsports. Sts are not dangerous when installed correctly. dfattack has a slight push on his xtx mine does not with just a slight adjustment on mine. dfattack chooses not to adjust that push out ok with me when he is ready I'll help him. Don't promote fear of something you have not used I know I sure didn't just followed directions. Really not dangerous at all & dfattack would never put his friends & family in harms way on snowmobiles. He is a very safety first kind of rider but very willing to let 165 ponies run in correct conditions. lol.. Actually Sts are the safest carbides I have ever used zero darting in any condition & pin point handling goes where you want & very important to have that type of handling when speeding bullet on your side of trail. I think you would like them but up to you to take the plunge.
 
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groomerdriver

New member
whitedust said:
Anything that does not follow mfg directions can be dangerous regarding motorsports.
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Oh please....mfg. directions! LOL!!

And spare me the rest of your BS. I know people that have tried them and gave up on them. I've driven sleds with them....but only a few miles.

All of the people saying "no thanks" and flipped their sleds after they put ST's on. No thanks. I'll try a good used set but new ones....forget it. Too much money to gamble with.
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
groomerdriver said:
Oh please....mfg. directions! LOL!!

And spare me the rest of your BS. I know people that have tried them and gave up on them. I've driven sleds with them....but only a few miles.

All of the people saying "no thanks" and flipped their sleds after they put ST's on. No thanks. I'll try a good used set but new ones....forget it. Too much money to gamble with.
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Your choice for sure you want to call others opinion BS also up to you doesn't matter to me and doesn't change what we know to be fact by actual ST use.
 
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towtruck

New member
you have probably heard enough but for what it's worth my 05 renagade came new with 6" on the outside and 4" on the inside - the logic at the time was you will have more ski pressure on the outside when turning-
they worked very well with little to no darting
 
J

journeyman

New member
whitedust said:
Yeah I was concerned about horror stories about Sts then rode dfattacks sled and knew he was on to something. I took it slow with Sts set them up exactly per directions rode about 500 miles & started to fine tune by putting more pressure on skis just a tad and holy moly do they carve with zero darting. dfattack got on my sled and noticed the difference we both have identical 2012 Apex XTXs and mine has skis planted at all times no mater how hard you accellerate. As far as ruts nothing worse than deep tire ruts on unplowed Frs right? Our Sts cut right thru the ruts track straight & does not follow ruts pretty much effortless steering & you can really relax in all conditions. The bud with Apex SE & duce bars gets tossed thru ruts & has to fight thru varied conditions so much more effort for him. I highly recommend you try Sts on your Apex with stocker single keels they are that good! Your cabin is not that far from me so I'm happy to help you get them installed & adjusted.
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Same here, I do remember seeing the snowtracker's are dangerous thread. I noticed that has been hard to find now. I wonder if they were told to get rid of that thread. It was on the HCS forum if my memory serves me. So yeh I guess I did probably stay away from them because of that. I know Knapp has used them a lot and says nothing but good things about ST's. I wonder if it wasn't just as much rider error than anything. I have ridden sleds since I was a boy so its not like I am any novice so they really don't scare me.

As for Tracker's response on the Dually's earlier in this thread..... I have been there and tried it. Much can be attributed to what machine you ride and how hard you ride too. As we know the Apex does carry some extra weight out front and I ride pretty aggressive so with those two factors they do push more than any runner I have tried. Its also pretty much a known thing on Apex models that Dually's push with stock skis. You can find posts all over totallyamaha on that subject.
 
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Cirrus_Driver

Guest
Had 6" triple points with shims and ski savers on 2 Vectors and 1 Apex between 09 - 13. The one thing those sleds did well was plant the front end in all conditions - no darting whatsoever. Massive ski pressure with all that front weight. Even the wife was 100% confident on those sleds. Never felt a need to improve upon the forward bite.
 
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Tracker

Guest
journeyman said:
Same here, I do remember seeing the snowtracker's are dangerous thread. I noticed that has been hard to find now. I wonder if they were told to get rid of that thread. It was on the HCS forum if my memory serves me. So yeh I guess I did probably stay away from them because of that. I know Knapp has used them a lot and says nothing but good things about ST's. I wonder if it wasn't just as much rider error than anything. I have ridden sleds since I was a boy so its not like I am any novice so they really don't scare me.

As for Tracker's response on the Dually's earlier in this thread..... I have been there and tried it. Much can be attributed to what machine you ride and how hard you ride too. As we know the Apex does carry some extra weight out front and I ride pretty aggressive so with those two factors they do push more than any runner I have tried. Its also pretty much a known thing on Apex models that Dually's push with stock skis. You can find posts all over totallyamaha on that subject.
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that response all over the net. Its because everyone raises their limiters like everyone says and then it pushes like I say. it like this... a western sled is soft on front shocks, and limiter raised as high as it will go....guess what...they all push with this setup. so now raise the pressure on front shocks to lift sled front, lower limiter to set on ground, and that combo will not push in corners. the track will help you bite and turn, the raising of the front will dig the dual 4 inch carbides in deeper and will bite better....this setup works even better with a heavier sled. the problem I always see is the person does not want to try it. Its easy to try that's fer sure. and once you do you'll be amazed. longer carbides than 4 make a sled push since a smaller surface area will turn sharper just like a 129 will turn sharper than a 153. It is what it is. now its just up to you to try it before the snow melts this year. tracks STEER THE SLED. google crap and check it out. its not just me that says this

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/snow-sports/snowmobile2.htm
 
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snobuilder

Well-known member
Tracker said:
that response all over the net. Its because everyone raises their limiters like everyone says and then it pushes like I say. it like this... a western sled is soft on front shocks, and limiter raised as high as it will go....guess what...they all push with this setup. so now raise the pressure on front shocks to lift sled front, lower limiter to set on ground, and that combo will not push in corners. the track will help you bite and turn, the raising of the front will dig the dual 4 inch carbides in deeper and will bite better....this setup works even better with a heavier sled. the problem I always see is the person does not want to try it. Its easy to try that's fer sure. and once you do you'll be amazed. longer carbides than 4 make a sled push since a smaller surface area will turn sharper just like a 129 will turn sharper than a 153. It is what it is. now its just up to you to try it before the snow melts this year. tracks STEER THE SLED. google crap and check it out. its not just me that says this

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/snow-sports/snowmobile2.htm
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following your logic that shorter carbide turn better then I guess the ice racers are using the shortest carbide runners available?
 
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groomerdriver

New member
snobuilder said:
The power steering Yamahas need little help in most conditions.
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I still need to dial in more front end downforce on my 14 Vec LTX. Have gone 1 tighter on the strap.....going 1 more and hope to get one more ride it. It just doesn't steer as well as my 05 Vector 121".......yet.
 
dfattack

dfattack

Well-known member
I am floored how people can interpret conditions on the same sleds (year and model) and same skis and carbides completely opposite. as they say...to each his own. Use whatever works for you.
 
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groomerdriver

New member
dfattack said:
I am floored how people can interpret conditions on the same sleds (year and model) and same skis and carbides completely opposite. as they say...to each his own. Use whatever works for you.
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Is there a specific post you are referring to or is this a general statement?
 
J

journeyman

New member
Tracker said:
that response all over the net. Its because everyone raises their limiters like everyone says and then it pushes like I say. it like this... a western sled is soft on front shocks, and limiter raised as high as it will go....guess what...they all push with this setup. so now raise the pressure on front shocks to lift sled front, lower limiter to set on ground, and that combo will not push in corners. the track will help you bite and turn, the raising of the front will dig the dual 4 inch carbides in deeper and will bite better....this setup works even better with a heavier sled. the problem I always see is the person does not want to try it. Its easy to try that's fer sure. and once you do you'll be amazed. longer carbides than 4 make a sled push since a smaller surface area will turn sharper just like a 129 will turn sharper than a 153. It is what it is. now its just up to you to try it before the snow melts this year. tracks STEER THE SLED. google crap and check it out. its not just me that says this

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/snow-sports/snowmobile2.htm
Click to expand...

I didn't want to spend loads of time on the Dually's to be honest for the fact I wanted a wider ski on my sled for an occasional off trail adventure. So in essence I was looking for a wider ski for some flotation but also aggressive enough to be a good trail ski. That's probably the main reason I chose not to fool with them too much. The winters here have stunk so my riding is generally in the UP of Michigan. I just want it ready to go when I get there and not have to tinker on my trip.
 
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