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With new engines galore and hot technology, Cat is stirring up plenty of rivalries across the brands this year.
One such match-up pits the F8, with a new Suzuki 794cc EFI laydown twin, against Ski-Doo's 800 Blizzard, with its high-output PowerTEK engine. We've got Real World stats on the two later in this issue, but we've got the dyno info on them right here.
Another rivalry that has been receiving almost equal attention on the trails is the squabble between Cat's long-heralded lightweight speed king, the Firecat 700, and the new F8. Is there reason for the F7 crowd to turn tail?
Regardless of the bragging rights, grudge matches on the lakes and handling tests through the woods, here's the word on the F8's power numbers.
F8 not laying downWell, the engine is still the laydown format that started years ago in Cat's 440 program, but many thought this engine wouldn't make the power that Arctic engineers boasted. It has been widely reported that preliminary factory tests showed the 800 as having 6% more torque and wide open throttle (WOT) than the former Firecat 700, and 26% more torque at 6,000 rpm than the 700.
We were excited to see that the new 800 made the torque that we were anticipating, pulling 99.9 foot-pounds at peak. Compared to 94.3 ft.-lbs. for the F7, that's almost exactly 6% more. We dynoed the F7 EFI a while back and reported that at 6,100 rpm, the F7 pulled 71.6 ft.-lbs. The new F8 showed 87.2 ft.-lbs. at this lower rpm. That's almost 28% more torque for the F8 at 6,100 rpm. So we know that Cat was right on when it told us how much more torquey the F8 engine is than the F7.
Looking back at former tests of the Ski-Doo 800 H.O. PowerTEK, the F8 wins in the torque department by almost 6 ft.-lbs. at peak.
But what about horsepower?
At season's start, our seat-of-the-pants testing had us believing the F8 had all of its touted 145 horses. However, it fell slightly short on the dyno. We were able to coax 143.7 horses out of the twin. Our former test of the single piped F7 generated 140.1 horses, and the Ski-Doo 800 also pulled 140 horses.
Weighty issueLooking at power-to-weight on these three standard sleds dry, the F7 EFI is still tops with .30 hp/lbs. The Blizzard comes in second at .29 hp/lbs. and the new heavier F8 is just behind at .28 hp/lbs.
It's no secret that Cat's sleds put on some pounds this year. The standard F8 is more than 40 lbs. heavier than last year's standard F7. But the Cats also get an injection of style and a level of fit and finish never before seen from the Minnesota manufacturer.
This dyno test proves that the new F8 has the torque that Cat lovers still crave, but we've only scratched the surface here. With Ski-Doo also harboring a 155-horse, 800R engine of mass exhilaration in its lighter line-up, and Polaris boasting its lightweight 140-horse Dragon 700, Cat is no longer the power-to-weight ratio champion of years past.
Check out these Cat stats!Arctic Cat F8
RPM, Horsepower, Torque (ft-lbs.)
6,100 101.3 87.2
6,200 103.0 87.3
6,300 104.5 87.1
6,400 105.1 86.3
6,500 104.4 84.4
6,600 106.9 85.0
6,700 108.8 84.7
6,800 107.8 86.1
6,900 115.5 87.9
7,000 122.7 92.1
7,100 127.6 94.4
7,200 129.1 94.1
7,300 137.8 99.1
7,400 140.5 99.7
7,500 142.7 99.9
7,600 143.6 99.2
7,700 143.7 98.2
7,800 142.6 96.0