Track Porting? Anyone do it anymore?

[Theicor]

Just picked up a new CE track for my ride and I was wondering if I should drill holes in this track too like I have my last two tracks. Quite honestly I don't know if I could tell the difference, but I think it cleaned the snow out better, but who knows. Have there been any new opinions developed on this practice over the past couple of years? Was this just a fad? Any thoughts? Thanks!
Corey

 

[Gmiller]

My mechanic buddy brought up a good point last year when porting his track. When the throttle is wide open and your spinning the track climbing or riding your track is grabbing all this air and pushing it through a quite small area using up some hp, Is it alot... NO but every little bit helps. On top of it i believe it help's clear the skid alot quicker also gaining a few hp. ITS GOING TO BE ONE PERSON'S OPINION AGAINST ANOTHER ALL DAY ON THIS.

 

[Scott]

Did anyone ever actually put in dyno sessions to test this?

In the name of science, it might be hard to test this and still isolate the variables...however, if someone can have a controlled temp/humidity, etc...and do a track swap while keeping everything else the same.

BUT, it could be done.

 

[summersucks]

i ported my 144 a few years ago and could't tell much differenct in the snow, being alittle lighter or more flexable or better clean out is all erevalant, try spring riding on water ...... they seem to sink and pick up more water than when it was not ported ...so for flotation on snow i would never cut holes in my tracks again .....my 2 cents!

 

[Gmiller]

i ported my 144 a few years ago and could't tell much differenct in the snow, being alittle lighter or more flexable or better clean out is all erevalant, try spring riding on water ...... they seem to sink and pick up more water than when it was not ported ...so for flotation on snow i would never cut holes in my tracks again .....my 2 cents!

Not really comparing apples to apples here. The density of water is totally different than snow. Your talking about a completely liquid state compared to a solid state. Yes its relevant, when a solid (snow) is rotating inside a track and it continues to pick up more and more of that solid (snow) it begins to to put stress on the motor which brings down your hp. Yeah a track made for snow with porting will drag down in water, does a boat hull have ports in it? A solid track will totally out do a ported track in water. Like i said earlier, people will fight and fight on the subject. Some like it some don't.... But comparing the flotation of a track based on how it reacted in water is not a good comparison at all.

Not trying to bash you summersucks but thats my thoughts on that part of it.

 

[minet]

i cant se a dyno doing anything for you here at all

take a couple identical ( is there such a thing ? ) sleds and line them up on 2 lines that are identical ( is there such a thing? ) with identical riders ( twins! not the arnorld shwartzingr / danny divito type either )

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

porting da track

I have never ported a track and found oh wow difference.

,
But over time observing differences.

1. less snow in suspension, so you carry less weight. All the time every snow conditons ? I don't think so. But , example, second ride of the years this year customer and I testing his new clutch setup, and he had a new unported track. Riding new fluff on some roads and meadow. He noticed several stops ported track sleds had a lot less snow in the suspension. Next ride, he had ported his new challenger track, same conditions, same sleds, now his ported track sled was same and cleaner. I've noticed that many times.

2. Riding around Island Park for a week in April, new snow every nite, fresh groomed trails every morning headed out to Mt Jefferson, West Fork Madison, Lions head etc. Two unported M sleds had to drop scratchers to rat race at 40 down those smoooooth trails to the back country. 4 ported tracks, no problem, more looose snow coming up through those holes.

3. Heard they don't go accross the lake as well ? Can't prove that one way or the other, at 60 though you can jet accross 100' of fast flowing spring slush in Cooke City.

4. I think the less drag is not as much an issue with the newer single ply tracks.

5. Ski Dooo quite doing track ports, but them ski doo quit making rotary vales engines.

6 Fads come an go, like winter.

 

[born2sled]

i have a ported track on my rev and it is great in the powder for clearing snow and keeping the suspension free of snow but in the spring when the snow is a bit wet it sucks seems to not clear the suspension at all and it just sucks the wet snow in the suspension and plugging and filling up the suspension with snow, compared to the other people i ride with in the spring with there sleds not having the ported tracks there suspension are pretty clear of snow so i would not buy or port a track