carlisle sx 809 belts

[t stone]

Any one having any luck running these belts on their D8? I have an 08 D8, just put about 150 mile on the belt and killed it. I killed one at the end of the season last year also. I guess i am going to go back to the high priced polaris belt at least it lasts a few hundred miles. By the way I did prep it like polaris tell you to and also put 20-30 easy miles for break in. Is ther any other belts out there that will stand up to the abuse? And also the new update is running pretty good but the rpms arent quite there. 8000 is all I can get but it feels alot stronger than the 09 update.

 

[thefullmonte]

Check your clutch alignment! I did kill one the first season around 150 miles, but that was after I had been relentlessly busting over the hood powder for hours on end and then hit the trail. Wound her up to about 80 and she let go. The reason..........loose motor mounts and the engine was cocked a 1/4" in the wrong direction. I would say it took way more abuse than it should have with the clutches being out of alignment all day. Been running them ever since with no issue. This one has about 700 miles on it so far.
Personally, I don't think you can compare the performance. The XS-809 is just a stickier compound and gives much less slippage in the clutches. This obviously translates to less heat.

 

[t stone]

What is the best way to check the alignment?

 

[jsledder]

I've got about 300 miles on a XS 809 on my 900, still looks new.

Here's a good thread about the clutch.

 

[diamonddave]

Agree, sounds like an alignment problem, lack of venting, improper clutching, gearing, etc.

I'm not a big fan of aftermarket belts but I ran one last year on my 900, about 900 hard mountain miles and it still look like brand new. I will measure it and replace it before I ride the sled this year. I only ran the aftermarket belt because it came with the sled and had a jackshaft bearing support that was wore out allowing for excessive play. Didn't want to tear up a $180 poo 1115.

 

[t stone]

Im thinking its got to be the clutch alignment. I installed all the venting possible and the clutching and gearing is stock. Polaris had my motor out at the end of last season doing the 09 update and also rebuilt the bottom end due to the scare of debre falling down when the mag side piston came apart.What are the odds of the motor sitting out of square. I checked for loose or broken motor mounts. every thing appears tight.Im going to talk to polaris tomarrow about this because its killed 2 belts since the rebuild. I know they will tell me to run oem belts.

 

[thefullmonte]

Im thinking its got to be the clutch alignment. I installed all the venting possible and the clutching and gearing is stock. Polaris had my motor out at the end of last season doing the 09 update and also rebuilt the bottom end due to the scare of debre falling down when the mag side piston came apart.What are the odds of the motor sitting out of square. I checked for loose or broken motor mounts. every thing appears tight.Im going to talk to polaris tomarrow about this because its killed 2 belts since the rebuild. I know they will tell me to run oem belts.

The XS belts do have a warranty so you should be able to send that in. Your dealer may be using the Polaris tool that has offset built into it. If he unknowingly adds more offset it will be too far out of spec. I believe there is more about this in Ron's thread in the Increasing your IQ sticky.
I think the best tools to use are the SLP or the one direct from TEAM. I don't run quite as much offset, but I also have a SLP torque stop installed. Seems to be working good for me.

 

[t stone]

Thanks for the imput guys, Im going to polaris this morning to have this checked out. Also carlisle responds quikly on belt warrenties.

 

[t stone]

So I took my sled to the shop today to have the clutch alignment checked. Everything looks good. I think Im going to try another 1115 to see if it will hold up. Polaris told me they think there may be snow getting thru the prefilter material in the vent down by the a arm in front of the primary and that may be why the belts arent lasting. thats not the case because snow cannot get thru prefilter material and if it could I dont think it would be enough to get the belt wet enough to cause problems. Also everyone puts vents down there with no issues. Motor mounts are tight. I guess I will hope for the best with the polaris belt.

 

[thefullmonte]

Keep us posted if you continue to have issues. I'm curious what could be causing that.