Track Porting - Skidoo Reverses Course: Summits Going Back To Non Ported Tracks

[Frostbite]

Remember all the hoopla about track porting?

Some claimed it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and others said it only served to provide another hole into which an errant stick could destroy your track.

I thought, I am going to hold off on even trying this idea until one of the OEMs legitimizes the idea. Then Skidoo came out with their factory ported mountain tracks. I thought to myself, I'm sure Skidoo must have conducted considerable testing to verify if indeed track porting was benneficial before introducing it from the factory.

So, with newly confirmed legitimacy, I delved into track porting. I did notice the sled rolled along much easier with a ported track. I had to set my parking brake if there was any slope when I parked my sled or it would roll away. First I tried 1 hole across each row first, then two, then up to five holes across on different tracks. I'm now back to one hole behind each paddle on my Powerclaw. I have two holes in each row on my Camo Extreme. To date, I have never had a track related issue that could be attributed to porting.

The porting of tracks was supposed to save weight (it does save a couple pounds of rotating mass), it was supposed to limit the amount of snow build up in the rear suspension (maybe, maybe not), it was supposed to make hifax live longer on trails because of the increased places snow could find its way under the hifax (maybe?), it was supposed to provide additional exit points for the air pressure built up above the track in the tunnel as it made the bend around the front drive shaft (who knows), each of the little edges of the porting holes was supposed to be another biting edge in the snow that would provide additional traction (like a snowshoe), etc....etc....

I have read in several of the latest snowmobile magazines that Skidoo's 2011 Summit tracks will no longer be ported from the factory. It's being reported that in Skidoo's testing that the non ported tracks are climbing from 100-150 feet further up the hill than ported tracks.

Politicians flip/flop all the time. I guess Skidoo is allowed to do this as well but, what have been your experiences with ported tracks vs. non ported tracks?

Do you feel that track porting provides a legitmate bennefit in deep snow and mountain applications?

 

[mynewuseddoo]

I rode doo up until this year and I went from the stock track to a non ported track and my traction did increase. Like you said in one comment about the air pressure in the tunnel. Well the paddles create pressure when they are on the snow and if there are ports then the snow pressure is pushed up through them as well. Think about it in a water sense and then take snow into the factor which has less density than liquid water. I though it was BS but then I took the leap and bought the non ported track and I nor anybody I ride with will run a ported track again. Some people will talk about rotating mass and track speed and I might have lost 2-3 km/h, wow thats huge eh!! LOL!! But seriously this is mostly due to the extra traction and I could still climb higher climb after climb to the stock track. If you look at the stock ported doo track the surface area of the ports is greater than the surface area of the center paddle. Track speed means absolutely nothing without traction to hook up with, if we're talking same power to same power of course, ie: stock for stock or turbo for turbo.

Personaly I am no for the porting!

Good thread by the way. Can't wait to hear what some people have to say.

 

[TROUT1]

ported track do not water skip worth a crap they like to sink your ship

 

[offroadmatt]

Great one more reason my sled will be worth even less next year. With the ported track.

 

[Reeb]

Remember hen Polaris had that ad campaign claiming IFS was clearly superior to AWS. Then they come out with AWS the next season. Kinda like that. haha Fact is that marketing runs this game, bean counters run marketing. Lot can be attributed to this alone.(cutting costs by not cutting holes?) Overall average package for the masses. More people buying them, less people *****ing.....makes sense.

However, in another thread regarding the same question I replied with my own explanation. For my ridingstyle, the snow we ride in, the places we go, I much prefer the ported track. Maybe one in every 10 days of riding I see a neutral effect(no gain whatsoever) but the other times we do see differences, it's worth it. And not one track failure since 2002 for my family and our stable of sleds.

 

[Qreiff]

Uh.......whatever man.........uh........I vote your avatar as "The Best".......

Ported what.................

 

[bigcat_ak]

Porting tracks works.

 

[SummitInn]

I just rolled over 4000miles on my 08 XP. I ride the heck out of it and most of my guests and all my friends will agree!! haha with no problems yet!

I am for a ported, they may have just "OVER DONE IT" for the weight savings thing. Long story short, I like the less snow in the suspension when stuck or riding in the heavy POW!

I'm for less, not gone!

By the way,, The new XP rocks! Just make sure your dealer knows about the re flash on the computer. 161hp on the Dyno. and SMOOOOTH!

have pics on website!

 

[Frostbite]

Great comments guys!

Interestingly, on my way to Cooke City a month ago I stopped by Crazy Mountain Extreme. They were selling tracks that were so ported that there was hardly any track left. I think there were 5 or maybe 6 holes across every row. Their sleds rock too! Take a look!

http://www.crazymtn.com/images/product_pics/trackporting.JPG

I guess they never got the memo from Skidoo?

So, who is wiser?

 

[Freeride1]

CMX Swiss Cheese!

 

[Frostbite]

Talk about the potential for track stretching!

They are running these tracks on their 280 hp turbo sleds too without issues. I'm shocked the tracks stay together.

But back to the original question.

Would their sleds climb even better with no porting holes in the track?

 

[Reeb]

Ski-Doo has jumped on the snowshoe effect and claiming that is the reason, bigger holes, more of them, less floatation. Less flotation, harder to get up a mountain. Unfortunately nobody informed the Quebec Techs that snowshoes are still human powered which in turn nullifies any "testing" that was done with the snowshoes as we all know.........our throttle levers make us go way faster than we could run ourselves.....floatation is totally relevant to the speed your carrying and although it seems like a logical idea to tie the two together.....physics tells another story.

 

[sledtahoe]

seen it

Have done it and seen it done lots ,still think it's over rated... JMO..

 

[snowmanx]

I think the benefits outweigh any negatives. That being said, I don't think I would take the time to port my track again. The sleds today are so good I think most riders don't even ride to the sleds potential, so it's a wash in my opinion.

I would like to see a head to head comparison in a deep powder climb, 2 sleds that are the identical, with the exception of the tracks, and see if one truely climbs better than the other.....

that's the only time I would believe.

Probably costs Doo more $$$$ for the ported tracks????

 

[Frostbite]

The main benefits I can vouch for with track porting are:

1. Loss of rotating weight. There's no doubt that you drop some minuscule amount of rotating mass from your track (depending on number of holes of rubber removed for your porting job). On my 162" camo extreme where I drilled two holes across each row, I believe the rubber plugs weighed 1.25 lbs.

2. The sled rolls easier with the track ported. Like I stated above, my sled rolls much easier with a ported track. It must loosen up the stiffness of the track and allow it to bend around the curves of the drivers and skid easier? That being said, if the sled rolls easier, you have freed up some horsepower that would have been used to turn the track if you hadn't ported the track.

3. There really is no three. I can't swear to the sled climbing better, floating better in powder, increasing my top speed by giving the air pressure in the tunnel an escape route or making my sled look faster.

 

[av8er]

run 2 identical sleds throught the snow , after a few minutes park next to each other

ported track has a lot less snow inside of skid, non-ported track has a bunch of snow being carried inside of skid, this concludes that you are carring around more snow, more weight, which has a direct proportion to power to weight ratio, also i have ridden with lots of crazy mtn. extremes and these guys are the masters of light weight sleds.

 

[Reeb]

ported track has a lot less snow inside of skid, non-ported track has a bunch of snow being carried inside of skid, this concludes that you are carring around more snow, more weight, which has a direct proportion to power to weight ratio, also i have ridden with lots of crazy mtn. extremes and these guys are the masters of light weight sleds.

We did exactly that in '07 with our XRS's.

 

[mynewuseddoo]

Non ported tracks don't carry anymore snow than a ported track. We've stopped and my buddies skid had more snow in the skid than mine did and then we stoped again and my skid had more snow than his. In theory if the ports let snow out then snow can get in too, last I checked there weren't any check valves on the ports.

Frankly its all a toss up. For 99% of riders during 99% of riding conditions you won't notice a difference. No one is going to pull away like a bat out of hell with some track porting. If we were racing and we were worried about tenths of a second then maybe but each track has its advantage. But like I said, their advantages are a wash 99% of the time.

As far as Ski Doo going with a ported track it is very obvious. Their philosiphy for the XP was make the lightest sled possible and to shave weight everywhere, not just one or two spots. The rubber they cut from the track was all apart of what everyone was horny for....a super light mountain machine. I bought one and like is said after I put on the non ported track, I did notice a difference and would out climb the stock doo track. However don't take that as I would absolutely destroy it and that I could climb the superchute with my stock machine LOL.

With that being said I got cocky and decided to go up against my buddies M8 HCR with the powerclaw of course....So I ride an M8 now and I love it!! I stabbed my Powerclaw, put on a Camo Extreme and I am going back to the powerclaw after riding the extreme for about 50 KM. LOL!! It may be a little squirly going down hill but the control from the powerclaw is second to none in my opinion.......no porting of course LOL!!

 

[Sneddonrider]

Sometime we have to cross water to get in/out of riding areas and climb up icy river banks with lots of momentum. I had an 08 xp and it was definitly at a disadvantage on water, I was scared every time I crossed water because there no room for error on water at 20 mph I was used to the old poltergiest that would cross water like it was made for it. I know that not everybody does this but for me it is reason enough to not port my new camo extreme(that I had to buy after the POS powerclaw stabbed the rails with 200km on it).

If there is no clear advantage in climbing and powder but a huge disadvantage on water thats good enough reason for me to leave it un ported.