[dnyberg]

MY indy 500 polaris slide around a lot on turns and during acceleration. I think i need more grip by putting on studs, but im not sure if this will help. Or should i just get a paddle track [1 1/4]?
Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[Dave600]

MY indy 500 polaris slide around a lot on turns and during acceleration. I think i need more grip by putting on studs, but im not sure if this will help. Or should i just get a paddle track [1 1/4]?
Any comments would be appreciated. [/b]

Studs are a necessity on ice trails. It really comes down to preferance. If you dont like to slide at all, then i would stud it for sure, if you ride in mostly good snow pack, then maybe a 1 1/4 would be better because it would still slide a bit but have better hook up. I would put 96 down the middle if you do decide on studding. Even with 96 studs if you push it hard enough you will still be able to slide it a little around the corners, but it will be way less and way more controlled.

just my 02.

 

[snowfun348]

Dave600: I have not even ridden any of my last 4 sleds until I have put in studs. I am not an aggressive driver but I want to go where I want to go, not where the sled wants me to. Studs will stop 90% of the sliding in icy turns and will help noticeably on braking. As far as sliding in deep snow, the paddle track would be better. You have a decision to make as to where you need the most help from better traction.

Rubber side down.

John.

 

[team wisz]

imo studs are not a good thing.if you are an agressive rider you may just tear or pull them out of the track.eventually you end up with a big hole or tear and then one day on a trail in the middle of no where opps there goes the track.seen it happen just yesterday,i was riding along and what appered in the middle of the trail but a ripped track.i get up the trail a little ways and theres the sled it came from being towed lol.i have had to replace 2 tracks they had studs in them when i bought the sleds.on both never even got an entire season in.those were the only studs i have ever dealt with.i have never run with studs and never had a problem.if you want studs imo just go buy a new camoplast prestuded track.you might as well spend the money on that now as you are only going to spend it in the long run.

 

[CORY9]

I've tried to run without studs but a couple spins and slides an I gave in. It's a matter of safety if you ask me, just can't stop well enough without them.

Just go down the middle of the track , easy across the asphault and you'll be fine.

 

[NewfieBullet]

imo studs are not a good thing.if you are an agressive rider you may just tear or pull them out of the track.eventually you end up with a big hole or tear and then one day on a trail in the middle of no where opps there goes the track.seen it happen just yesterday,i was riding along and what appered in the middle of the trail but a ripped track.i get up the trail a little ways and theres the sled it came from being towed lol.i have had to replace 2 tracks they had studs in them when i bought the sleds.on both never even got an entire season in.those were the only studs i have ever dealt with.i have never run with studs and never had a problem.if you want studs imo just go buy a new camoplast prestuded track.you might as well spend the money on that now as you are only going to spend it in the long run. [/b]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread because we've been through this discussion a dozen times, but it amazes me that people can be this misinformed about studs, and spread such misleading information on the internet. How any can think that "studs are not a good thing" is beyond me. They can save your life, plain and simple. The only reason for not studding your sled is if you routinely ride in deep powder where studs will be of no benefit to you. Stud your machine proprely and you won't tear the track. Don't stud the outside strips, but stick to the middle. Use a sufficient amount. Retorque them on occasion. That simple.

If fact, having studs can save your track. Too many times I've seen people with no studs spinny wildly trying to get up an icey road embankment, or coming off a lake. There's almost always rocks poking out in places like that, and a spinning track on sharp rocks leads to torn lugs. Put studs in there and you avoid the spinning, and avoid tearing lugs.

But the biggest argument will always be safety. Two years ago travelling the D trail in Chilsom there's a hill that always gets icy, with a stop sign and a road right at the bottom. My buddy didn't have studs in his sled (thought they were "not a good thing") and, even though he knew about the hill, knew to be careful and slow down, he simply could not stop and slid right out into the middle of the road. Had a car been coming he would've been smoked. Another day crossing Callander Bay on mostly glare ice he could not go any faster then 30-40mph without nearly losing control of his sled. I was cruising along at 60-70 and never even realized there was an issue with the conditions.

I convinced him to put in some traction screws and he simply could not get over the difference in how his sled behaved, and he swore that he would never ride without studs again. Him and all of his friends had always avoided having studs, always had some excuse as to why they were no good, or not necessary. Really I think they were too fricken cheap to spend the couple of hundred bucks it cost to buy them.

And seriously, I think the only real reasons that anyone who trail rides and doesn't have studs is that they simply don't want to spend the money, or they're ignorant about the benefits.

 

[snofrog]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread because we've been through this discussion a dozen times, but it amazes me that people can be this misinformed about studs, and spread such misleading information on the internet. How any can think that "studs are not a good thing" is beyond me. They can save your life, plain and simple. The only reason for not studding your sled is if you routinely ride in deep powder where studs will be of no benefit to you. Stud your machine proprely and you won't tear the track. Don't stud the outside strips, but stick to the middle. Use a sufficient amount. Retorque them on occasion. That simple.

If fact, having studs can save your track. Too many times I've seen people with no studs spinny wildly trying to get up an icey road embankment, or coming off a lake. There's almost always rocks poking out in places like that, and a spinning track on sharp rocks leads to torn lugs. Put studs in there and you avoid the spinning, and avoid tearing lugs.

But the biggest argument will always be safety. Two years ago travelling the D trail in Chilsom there's a hill that always gets icy, with a stop sign and a road right at the bottom. My buddy didn't have studs in his sled (thought they were "not a good thing") and, even though he knew about the hill, knew to be careful and slow down, he simply could not stop and slid right out into the middle of the road. Had a car been coming he would've been smoked. Another day crossing Callander Bay on mostly glare ice he could not go any faster then 30-40mph without nearly losing control of his sled. I was cruising along at 60-70 and never even realized there was an issue with the conditions.

I convinced him to put in some traction screws and he simply could not get over the difference in how his sled behaved, and he swore that he would never ride without studs again. Him and all of his friends had always avoided having studs, always had some excuse as to why they were no good, or not necessary. Really I think they were too fricken cheap to spend the couple of hundred bucks it cost to buy them.

And seriously, I think the only real reasons that anyone who trail rides and doesn't have studs is that they simply don't want to spend the money, or they're ignorant about the benefits.[/b]

OMG... I agree with you :lmao:

 

[team wisz]

first of all i never said for him not to get them.all i was saying is they do cause problems with tearing or ripping your track. now i have seen the new camoplast tracks,the studs are mounted right in the lugs.imo they look like a much better solution to the age old problem of destroying a track.i know they are a little on the expensive side but if your track dosn't get ripped or torn then it would be alot cheaper in the long run.i know studs are a great safty issue.when i get new sleds for next year i will deffinatly be putting a prestuded track on them.but for the 2 tracks i went through already this season i just put the cheaper tracks on them as i plan on selling them in the spring. 1 final question,have any of you ever had a stud rip out of a track from the person in front of you and it flys up and hits your helmet? i have and it was to the store to buy a new helmet the next day. so imo it is safer for stoping and tracktion,but it is a safety hazard for someone following you.( just a little food for thought)

 

[Dave600]

first of all i never said for him not to get them.all i was saying is they do cause problems with tearing or ripping your track. now i have seen the new camoplast tracks,the studs are mounted right in the lugs.imo they look like a much better solution to the age old problem of destroying a track.i know they are a little on the expensive side but if your track dosn't get ripped or torn then it would be alot cheaper in the long run.i know studs are a great safty issue.when i get new sleds for next year i will deffinatly be putting a prestuded track on them.but for the 2 tracks i went through already this season i just put the cheaper tracks on them as i plan on selling them in the spring. 1 final question,have any of you ever had a stud rip out of a track from the person in front of you and it flys up and hits your helmet? i have and it was to the store to buy a new helmet the next day. so imo it is safer for stoping and tracktion,but it is a safety hazard for someone following you.( just a little food for thought)[/b]

Just so you aren't disspointed with the performance of the prestudded track, don't expect the same kind of traction out of it. They work well in emergencies, like stopping on ice, but it isn't the same penetration that you get out of a true studded track. And as far as pull throughs and ripped tracks, if you use good quality studs and backers installed correctly with the right amount for the horsepower and riding style studs should not be an issue with track life.

talk about luck, getting a ripped out stud in the helmet. I have never heard of that before in my life, thats crazy. Did he have a mud flap?

 

[team wisz]

yes he did have a mud flap. thats what we thought to when it hit.but i'm one of those guys if it wasn't for bad luck i wouldn't have any lol.i was hoping to get some input on the prestuded tracks. thankyou,i just thought it looked like a great idea.i hardly ever ride on ice so the traction isn't really my problem.i think it would be a great improvement on stoping though.i doo 99% of my riding in southern ontario so lakes are never an issue for me.my wife and i just hit the trails and cruise and soak up the scenery.i guess this is why traction isn't really a big thing,stopping isn't usually a problem as we just kinda coast to all stop signs hardly touching the brakes.there are alot of trails in this area with steep hills so that is the only time studs would be really handy.

 

[63November]

I ran for close to 20 years without studs and "learned" to deal with ice, especially when crossing rivers or when riding the ocean with little snow cover. It can be done. You also will see many situations where control is lost which sometimes means a rig will roll. ($100 for windshield, $600 for hood: that quickly gets pricey compared to a shorter track life.)

I have been running studs now, for between five and ten years. There's no way I'd go back. We don't, mostly, run anything with big horsepower, but even so, we just run a few studs. 24-48, just enough to get some scratch. And it is truly amazing what even a few studs will do. (A number of years ago, I pulled a studless rig for several miles to get across a number of gently sloping waterfalls, along a beach, which ran into the ocean. All I had were 16 studs in the track on my rig but they were enough to keep the towed machine pointed forward and get safely across those icy crossings.

Even a fairly low HP machine can unglue 4 dozen studs when riding on ice so "hotrod" riders tend toward many more studs. If all you want is decent control and you're not planning to see how many studs your engine can break free, then even a few can be good. (Fewer studs mean fewer holes which means fewer weak spots too. I have my first studded machine in the shop right now for a new track. The old track got a few studs at the 12-14K mark. It currently has 20,000 miles and is starting to throw studs. Of course, the whole track looks like it could come apart anytime anyway with rods exposed wherever the drivers bear against them.)

If in doubt, start small and add more until you are satisfied. (Make sure you have a pattern plan in mind in case you decide to add as you go.) Right down the middle affects steering the least. The broader the pattern, the more you'll need longer skeg carbides.

 

[Pepsi_fuzz]

I am for studs (the newer tracks seem awesome with them) however I'll be a hypocryt, as I don't have studs. I typically do not go out if it's icey. I could be out on snowmobile now, but it's icey. I try to avoid ice. Why? Because too much riding on ice causes your hifax to melt, and I don't want that.

If you are an aggresive rider who likes to live on the edge (rides a bit on the dangerous side, lol) then having no studs might be your thing. Dad has this habit of his sled not cornering well, so he deliberately slides the rear end, pins the throttle, and as long as the track is spinning he's in control. Just like drifting a car. Imagine trying to drift a car with studded tires. Doesn't work well, does it? So if that's your particular riding style, then adding studs will make your ride even more dangerous, as that first drifting experience, might be too late to realize that you can't give it full throttle and throw the end around like you're used to. (My brother enjoys doing donuts on his machine.)

Also, the track you are studding is very important. I've always used studded tires on my car, and this year I didn't. One of the tires let go, and the valves on two or more tires are shot as well. The tires I have now are BETTER than my studded tires, so I left them on. Go figure, the tires (seperate set of rims) with studs slip on ice more than the tires I have now without studs. Basically, although they're studded, the size of the tire and the type of tire means that the studs are only making up for how horrible the tire is. Now if I had my current tires studded THEN I would see some awesome winter tires. Unfortunately, they're my summer tires. I just wanted tires that were good in rain. I accidentally bought some awesome winter tires. Oh well. At least I'm safe. Back on track... literally, lol... studding a "bad" track can be worse than having a good track without studs. Do your research, and then you'll find the right setup for your particular riding style.

 

[team wisz]

well put pepsi.to each his own

 

[tic]

Now I"m just as confused as when I started reading this thread.. I still don't know whether or not to stud my track

 

[NewfieBullet]

Stud it. Doesn't matter what kind of track it is, if it's less then 1.25" it will be better with studs.

 

[Icerider]

I never had a sled without studs, the wife’s sled is not studded she did not want it. This sat we were at Halliburton and she got stuck 3 times trying to get up steep hills that I just went right up with no issues at all. I love to fly along the lakes at tops speeds when I can. I never tried to ride her sled very fast so I asked her if I could try her out on a lake. I pinned it and at around 110kph the ### end started to get loose I could not get it over 120 before backing off it felt way out of control. I had just run the same lake on my sled at 173kph (on the GPS) with no issues at all. I told her that she is getting her track studded and I don’t want to hear anything about it, end of discussion.

 

[joezr2]

not again........

If you ride trails, stud the track and you will never ride unstudded again. Use the proper amount. 1 stud per hp. Too few studs puts too much stress on each individual stud and can/will cause track damage.
Make sure to put more carbide on the skis to balance other wise the sled will understeer.

The additional accelerating and cornering force your sled can generate will be enough of an incentive but the real benefit is in safety. YOu are more likely to make that icy corner or hill (with all the snow spum off by guys without sleds) and be in complete control under braking.

THe handling difference is that between a Civic and a Corvette.

 

[SnoFast]

Studs, it depends where you ride the most. I'll make it real simple for you to decide. If you ride in an area that gets 200 (OK, maybe 150) plus inches of snow a season, then you can probably get by with no studs. Don't get that much snow , you need studs.

 

[NewfieBullet]

Studs, it depends where you ride the most. I'll make it real simple for you to decide. If you ride in an area that gets 200 (OK, maybe 150) plus inches of snow a season, then you can probably get by with no studs. Don't get that much snow , you need studs.[/b]

Like I said, if you need a 2" lug track, you don't need studs. If you can't run a deep lug track because your riding area doesn't get enough snow, you need studs.