A hooligans opinion on slowflaps & temps

[sledhooligan]

I've been reading all the post about cooling issuses and snowflap design with great interest so I did some research my self.......
I cut my flap almost completely off only leaving a few inches to cover the rear part of the tunnel where it rivets on. My sled is an 12 Pro with a 163 the other sled I compared it to is an 12 155 Assualt.
During December when we had little snow the trails where realy bad. We both used our scratchers and I never saw more then 5 to 8 degrees between the two sleds running between 125 to 135. Over Christmas Eve I took my cousin who was riding a sno-scoot up to Rabbit Ears while following him my temps never went above 135 all day with my scrathers down. Christmas day I took my father riding on Black Mtn which had worse trails then RE he rode at about 30 mph all day and once agian didn't go over 135. A few weeks ago on Battle Pass on 12 below day with a trail that was groomed the night before I hit 145 degrees but so did the Assualt traveling at speeds ranging from 50 to 70.
So there you go my 2 cents on the issue. If you are one of those people that refuse to put there scratchers down I believe you'll have issues but if you are one of these people maybe a Rush or Switchback would of been a better chose for you.

 

[POLZIN]

I have to admit Ive watched lots of sleds go by and have also struggled to see how the snow flap makes much of a difference in cooling. its not like it redirects snow into the tunnel. seems pretty clear that any snow thats hitting the flap is already done what if any cooling its going to and its no coming back no matter what flap you have.

 

[RMK-King]

Our last trip to Cooke we rode the trail out to the parking lot from town and the snowflap fell off of my 12 Pro, with the scratchers down I never seen more then 128F. I am not convinced the snow flap is that effective with cooling. The scratchers on the other hand make a huge difference.

 

[300rummt]

I have also seen guys who put scratchers on the inside of the skis the farther forward the better they will cool.

 

[m8sandman]

watched my buddies flap the other day and didn't notice any snow coming out of the holes in the flap, i'd say myth busted!!!

 

[MARV1]

Flap is there to keep the roost down, be considerate of those that may be following you. . .

 

[richracer1]

Flap is there to keep the roost down, be considerate of those that may be following you. . .

I agree as I have the Peak track at it's a roost thrower.

I bought a PDP mtn flap to replace the std IQ PDP sells. Now, to stay on topic sort of, I would run about 123 - 125 for temps on my '09 RMK w/the shorter PDP flap. When I installed the longer flap, 1) the roost was under control, and 2) my temps went down to around 117 - 119. The flap started at 28" long, I cut it back to 26". I have since taken it back again to 24".

 

[2XM3]

Slap on a IQ/dragon flap, works very well,fits in the same holes the slight curve design gets the snow back on the track. I've seen 155+ in some conditions with scratchers down with stock flap, NEVER been above 135 with iq flap ever.

 

[mtnsledder]

Maybe snow conditions make a difference.

With the wet heavy snow we usually have here in the PNW I noticed about a 10 degree decrease in temps after switching to the IQ snow flap on the wife's ProRMK.

 

[hyperduc]

Ran my 12 pro for the first time this weekend, temp never went above 130 on the trail or in the pow. No scratchers, stock flap.

 

[2XM3]

I do agree that condition of the snow seems to make a huge difference from ride to ride.

 

[08DRG700]

I do agree that condition of the snow seems to make a huge difference from ride to ride.

Of course it would!!!! DOH!!!!!

 

[glassman]

The speed you are traveling seems to make a huge difference as well. The faster you can go the more snow you seem to throw on the coolers. When the trail is rough and you cant get any speed up, even with scratchers I will see the temps rise .

 

[gman086]

The speed you are traveling seems to make a huge difference as well. The faster you can go the more snow you seem to throw on the coolers. When the trail is rough and you cant get any speed up, even with scratchers I will see the temps rise .

Exactly.

I find it rather hilare that everyone's an expert about the Pro issues after a couple rides. The new '12 owners are in for a rude awakening... scratchers or not, LOL!

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[xc6rider]

Exactly.

I find it rather hilare that everyone's an expert about the Pro issues after a couple rides. The new '12 owners are in for a rude awakening... scratchers or not, LOL!

Have FUN!

G MAN

What more is there to figure out? In a couple of rides I've put mine through dang near every riding possibility as far as snow conditions. Speaking in terms of running temps, as the post refers to, I'm confident I don't have anything to worry about. I just don't see where anything is gonna change enough to create any difference in what I found from riding already ....

 

[Skeld]

The main problem here is that the gauges allow everyone to see the temps rising and start to panic. If it was like the older sleds with just an idiot light you would be none the wiser happily riding along unless it actually got hot enough to set off the light. So far my experience, although merely 200 miles, is that it is a non-issue. For me at least.

 

[polaris6]

The real beef

So the temp test this last week pretty much confirmed with scratchers down there are 0 cooling issues.

Sled 1 2012 155 pro stock scratchers and stock pro flap
400 miles of Wisconsin trails slow,fast, marginal snow, temps in 30's
128 degrees all day on trail
10-15 mph in city on snirt (snow and dirt mix) 140


sled 2 2012 55 pro stock scratchers and PDP long 24" flap
400 miles of Wisconsin trails slow,fast, marginal snow, temps in 30's
127 degrees all day on trail
10-15 mph in city on snirt (snow and dirt mix) 140

Can't believe I was even worried about it. I do love my PDP flap as it stops any roost and looks great. There is NO difference with or without flap as long as you run scratchers. I won't even look at my temp gague in Towotee in 2 weeks!

myth busted

 

[xc6rider]

I agree polaris6...

Mine '12 155 w/ short pdp was dang near same as you found out in the snowies. And at the time, snow was HORRIBLE. 125 trail while moving. 130-140 while CRAWLING. Scratchers down.

'11 assault with a long custom flap was the same as far as i know.

And although a standard '11 rmk w/ bd turbo, heard no concerns.

My '10 dragon last year in low/hard pack snow was no different. Scratchers down, no probs.

 

[gman086]

Just for kicks... you guys claiming no issues, are you running the ethanol plug? I've noticed much higher temps when running non-ethanol plug even with non-ethanol premium. The ethanol plug gives you 5% more fuel so that alone could keep temps down. The other day I saw 170 deg plus WITH scratchers down and the IQ flap in snirt/ice conditions when crawling thru tightly spaced trees. Scratchers are not the answer tho I will admit that ski scratchers can make a bigger difference and I'll be going to those next.

Also, FWIW, the guys at Van Amburg Enterprises and Fastrax aren't a bunch of trail riders, LOL! They aren't making aftermarket coolers specifically for the Pro version because a problem doesn't exist for mtn riders!!!

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[xc6rider]

Yep, running the ethanol plug and dont plan to run the premium one.

The '11 assault on our last trip was running the premium plug.

If a 5% fuel delivery reduction creates around a 30% increase in running temps, id say we have some serious fuel mapping problems.


Wouldnt you think?