drilling track

[Danzick]

i have always drilled my tracks, but i noticed that with the new xp's, they stopped drilling the tracks because they say it floats better but im wondering what your guys oppinons are

 

[mastertech]

It does take away from floatation a little.. But I would have the little less rotating mass and less snow build up in my track.. Its all a personal preference I quess..

 

[Danzick]

yeah good point, but it might not be as good as a not drilled one for in the trees type of stuff where your not always on the throttle

 

[mastertech]

You should always be on the throttle..

 

[snowguthrie]

im still a fan of mild porting think some were getting carried away and drilling to big or to many holes.

 

[i'llDooit]

the porting skidoo had factory was tested vs a non ported track. non ported consistently went 100 ft further up the hill. I want a non ported track, but dont want to spend the money to do so. however the 06 windows were a lot smaller

 

[sledsrock]

I still port all my tracks, #1 reason is to reduce rolling resistance. Doo got carried away and made the holes stupid big. Too much of a good thing is not always good. I had no problem putin' holes in my new CE.

 

[mastertech]

I used the tool made by black dymond. I put 2 holes in every section..

 

[bikerjustin]

I punched a hole through my ported XP track last season- I know I was one of many. My new CE ain't getting ported. I don't buy into the "it clears more snow from the skid" theory either. It definitely was more pliable than a non ported 2 ply track- so much so that I could not get it to stop ratcheting no matter how much tension it had.

 

[Danzick]

oh man. yeah i have the 06 style and the holes are pretty small, so it should be a decent way of compairing when this season comes. i went from a 151x15 wide that was ported with 2 1/8'' holes. 4 per section. now i have the 06 style 151x16. and well see if she floats a lot better. im sure the inch wide will make a big difference also.

 

[winter brew]

im still a fan of mild porting think some were getting carried away and drilling to big or to many holes.

Exactly. 2 smaller holes on every other row behind the center paddle so the paddle can still pack snow. Get the benefits of holes without losing flotation and less risk of finding a stick. DO just went too far with their track mutilation.

 

[byeatts]

Exactly. 2 smaller holes on every other row behind the center paddle so the paddle can still pack snow. Get the benefits of holes without losing flotation and less risk of finding a stick. DO just went too far with their track mutilation.

I have done alot of testing on this.Row of two.SMALL holes7/8 inch. This will just let the track roll much easier and will not pull powder into the skid. After holes the track will collapse about an additional 10 inches if it were laying on the shop floor.The very cleanest method is to grind off all the teeth and then put a 7/8 inch hole saw into your drill press and with a dremel while spinning in the press put a sharp a cutting edge on the hole saw.Sharpen from the center/out so the OD is straight all the way down. Take minutes to make this tool and will do several tracks before it requires sharpened.As you drill the track it melts edge and No threads will show ,sealing the edges. This is much cleaner than Doo or Camoplast does.It wont look like a Redneck Mod.There are other methods if you like the redneck look.