how much is too much

[THRILL_SEEKER]

tried a search but didnt find the answer i was looking for.

what would i see happen if my sled was geared too low? example: 10 D8 163 geared now at 19/42 and was wondering what would happen if i dropped all the way to 19/46. i know clutching and all that stuff would make a diffrence so just for the sake of argument lets just assume everything else on sled is bone stock.

would i have better track speed in the deep stuff?

would it wheelie really bad?

just wondering how it would effect the machine and what would be the down fall in boonedocking, dont care what top speed would be on trail.

 

[sled_guy]

When you gear too low you can see a couple of things:
1 - Clutch tuning (holding RPM) can become really difficult to maintain. The system is RPM and Torque sensing so chaning the torque it senses a lot makes clutching hinky.
2 - You can over shift the clutches, and if center distance isn't right you can shift the belt over the top of the clutch and break the belt.
3 - You can over rev the motor.
4 - You can lose track speed.
5 - You can impact belt life with high belt speeds.

sled_guy

 

[thefullmonte]

Gearing down to 19/46 is still only a 2.42 gear ratio. You don't really want to go much past 2.5. I think that is actually a pretty popular setup around 10,000 ft.

As sled_guy stated the lower the gearing the more your clutches are shifting. So they become very sensitive to every little input. This can actually cause more belt heat. Although I don't think 2.42 would be an issue.

The lower gearing typically is a benefit for boondocking. Especially if you are running slower speeds through trees etc. Typically lower gearing can give better track speed since it can pull more weight more efficiently. I've had more than one sled that has gone faster when it was geared down. There is a limit to this of course. If you gear too low, your track speed can be limited as your clutches will fully shift out right away. Uhg, this is hard to explain.

Let me try this. To achieve the highest possible track speed your clutches must be fully shifted all the way out. In deep snow this just isn't likely as the snow is creating resistance against the track causing the clutches to backshift. So gearing down usually allows your clutches to shift out further.

 

[MARV1]

You'll over rev at low speeds, look at how the Summits are and listen to them, they surge alot.

 

[THRILL_SEEKER]

would ridder weight come into play? heavy ridder need much lower gear, and lighter ridder need higher gearing?

 

[thefullmonte]

would ridder weight come into play? heavy ridder need much lower gear, and lighter rider need higher gearing?

If you really read into it, rider weight, fuel weight, gear you are carrying, snow conditions all play a part.

 

[rednecksledder]

I have been running 19/43 in my 700 & 800 Escapes since new, have to say one of the best mods i have done. Not sure about the new sleds as i am still old school.

 

[winter brew]

There is TOO low of gearing for a given clutch setup, but clutching can be changed to take advantage of the lower gearing....since it will sense less load you can possibly run less sec spring or more helix to compensate.
Ideal gearing depends on how you ride and what you are willing to sacrifice (top speed). A CVT is most efficient at 1:1 ratio....obviously we don't run around at nearly full shift much, but the closer you are the more efficient the system will likely be. So for climbing/deep snow a lower gear can be an advantage by putting the clutches in a higher ratio at a given speed while also reducing belt/clutch temps. Too low and the clutches up/down shift too much and become too sensitive/RPM fluctuation.