17 King Cat Iceage Elevate Kit Installed

[2013 M1100 Turbo]

I figured i would let everyone know my experience in case they were contemplating doing the same. The install of the kit was relatively easy. The only part that took a little time was some grinding to make the front bogey wheel brackets work with the thicker rail. The other part that was interesting is throwing away the old limiter strap bar and utilizing the front anti-stab bar as the new limiter strap bar in the skid. this is due to the height increase of the rail.

I will just say the sled is a completely different animal now. It is almost effortless to get it onto its side. I even had a buddy with that has a 17 sidewinder MTX and had him take a few rips on in and he ended up tipping it over a few times. During that same time i rode his and it just felt like a tank compared to my sled with the kit on it. Even had the father in-law ride it (he is a hardcore doo guy) and he tipped it over and said it was too tippy. Overall, this was hands down the best upgrade i have done to the sled and i am very pleased with it.

 

[Turblue]

What’s the long term feel of the kit? Still have the sled?

 

[2013 M1100 Turbo]

I still have the sled and kit on it. I honestly will probably die with this sled unless they come back out with a 4 stroke again. I actually just helped my buddy put a kit on his 18 king cat because he liked riding mine so much. The only real complaint about the kit is the bushing and steering slop you gain over time in the joints. This was the same as my 1100T I had, but I will deal with the slop to have the ergonomics of the kit. I really like the flat steering it offers vs the laydown style where one had is in the seat and the other is way out in the air while sidehilling.

I also installed the Elevate kit on my sled 2 years ago and I absolutely love it. Lays on edge so easy.

 

[Turblue]

So are you talking about installing vertical steering kit and bushings wearing out at the beginning? I was wondering more about the elevate kit…thx

 

[2013 M1100 Turbo]

Oooops. I thought this was my thread I had on my vertical steering install. Sorry. I absolutely love the kit and would recommend it to anyone with one of these sleds. Like I mentioned above, it is way easier to get it on edge and keep on edge and to me is more predictable when sidehilling. I dont think the sled dives as bad as it did before due to the fact the nose is up higher so it shifts more weight towards back. I did play with the front shock pressures and i have them set about 5 to 10 psi higher than before in the front as well. I had a buddy sell his 17 sidewinder so he could buy an 18 King cat (because the 17 winders dont have the drop and roll chaincase) so he could have a sled with the kit on it after riding mine.

The durability of the kit itself is way better than the stock rails and spindles. Rails have less cutouts and are even slightly thicker which is nice with the added weight of the 4 stroke.

 

[Turblue]

What’s the reason for the drop and roll needed?

 

[2013 M1100 Turbo]

The spindles add a 2" lift to the front of the sled. With that, the Rails are also cut different so at the front they add 1-3/4" of lift and at the rear you drop it to the lowest mounting hole to add 1" of height over stock. With the rails being 1-3/4" lower than they used to be with the sock rails this makes the angle of attack too great at the front for a standard chaincase like on the 2017 sidewinder. The 2018 plus sidewinders and the 2017 and up King Cats have the drop and roll chaincase which lowers the drivers about 2". This allows you to drop the skid lower without having such a severe angle on the front of the track.

 

[MrIQR]

The whole attack/approach angle thought process is dated IMO. Our tracks and suspension have surpassed the need for a shallow approach angle. I run the front of my skid dropped 1” on my axys and it chews it’s way out of anywhere even with a steep approach angle, dropped my alpha skid front and rear. It’s more about the track and shock set up then the angle. Just my .02

 

[sno*jet]

^twin rail cat has more pressure on the rail tips than the alpha does I believe. Approach angle would probably be fine but it would wear out the plastic tips and anti-stab axle prematurely without the ice age profile rails.