Clutch setup is a fascinating science that intrigues most snowmobilers, although few are willing to put in the time to fully understand how centrifugal forces work.
But every snowmobiler understands the importance of clutching when it comes to transferring the greatest amount of power from the engine to the track. And Team Industries has been successful in finding ways to free up the most amount of power through the transfer process.
This past winter we took two of our stock snowmobiles and installed the Team Tied secondary clutch to see if we could improve the performance of these sleds. We installed the Team Tied secondary clutch on the Polaris 800 Pro RMK and the Ski-Doo Freeride.
Although Polaris features a Team clutch, the big change here was going to a Team roller clutch. With the runs we made comparing the two clutches on the same snowmobile, the Team Tied clutch improved the Polaris stock Team clutch by 50.67 feet in 10 seconds.
The most significant improvements came on the Ski-Doo. Here we did a few more changes, not only with the secondary but also the primary clutch. The Team clutch improved the Ski-Doo by 100.6 feet in 10 seconds. (See charts)
"The Team Tied clutch is different from the stock Team clutch because the two sheaves are coupled by a second set of rollers," explains Jason Koskela, product development and testing coordinator for Team aftermarket products. "The moveable sheave does not rotate as it shifts like the Team TSS-04 model that comes stock on the Polaris."
Koskela says all the rotation is done in the post that is pressed onto a roller bearing, creating a more torque-sensing setup. "All the torque is driven through the helix," he explains. And less rotation of the moveable sheaves means faster backshift and throttle response.
The addition of the Team Tied secondary was the only change we made to the Polaris 800 RMK.
Adding the Team Tied to the Ski-Doo Freeride, however, was a little more complicated.
"The Ski-Doo clutch is not an enclosed roller setup, but its function is similar to other roller drivens except the clutch is cast onto the jackshaft," Koskela explains. "That design does not allow for any clutch alignment to be done easily or allow the clutch to float on the shaft."
Koskela says the spring pressures in the Ski-Doo setup tend to be a lot stronger than a typical Team setup. "Typically we see at least 25- to 30-degree cooler belt temps than a stock setup," he says.
Along with the Team Tied clutch and jackshaft installation, Koskela also installed a slightly stiffer primary spring and heavier adjustable pins to the stock primary clutch.
Clutches cost $299 without spring or helix.
For more information, visit
www.teamaftermarket.com.