I'm a fan of soft spring shallow helix with the Team but I'm kinda starting from scratch again because of a big mistake in alignment ASSumption 3yrs ago. Can't get rid of the heat if you out of alignment eh. Rule #1 as Tdbaught pointed out.
Anytime TRS comes up on SW, I try to learn. I don't have a turbo so maybe y'all don't want this distraction so I'll delete in a couple of days and move to "Clutching" with the hope some will follow to learn with me, if we're smart enough.
Aaen says,,, the least side pressure required to clamp the belt is the most efficient. Only reason to vary from that is for backshift needs (really important in the mountains). Most efficient is most HP/Torque transferred to the track which we all want when we stray from out of the box I think. Once you have the secondary set (easy to say eh, lol) you tune the front to get the r's.
Some on this and every other thread on clutching wonder why this is such a "black art" and why math doesn't solve all. Me too but I think it would be a lot easier to figure out with math if I could find out ONE answer. What IS the actual minimum side pressure I need?
I've asked many, many people including Mr. Aaen himself. What is that number. How many lbs of side force at 1 to 1 is the minimum you can start at (on a Team). Is it 350lbs or is it 500 lbs. Usually no reply lol because there are variables there. Weight, traction, gearing, HP/Torque (won't use HP again because torque is what the secondary reacts to).
If anyone has a formula using those variables to come up with a side pressure minimum at 1 to 1 on a Team clutch I sure would like to know it.
I bought Tony's helix a couple of years ago. Made a mistake and ordered 48-32F. No biggy eh lol. It didn't work perfectly with TP's HHer's the way I had them set up duh again. Did I play with the front? No Duh. Instead I ordered a Tied helix (64/56F, 62/54F) and again it didn't really work because I didn't really play with the front DUH.
Balance is key when you get close to efficient.
Moral here. Tony's set-up (the whole darn thing ONLY) is perfection and the cost of schooling is the boxes of weights, springs, helix's and gallons of fuel.
Perfection is finicky to be perfect. Proof is tdbaugha having a noticeable improvement with .010" change in belt to sheave. Wow. Tony's NA recommendations show 4 gr change in primary weight for 90lb change in rider weight. Wow. 1.5gr change in weight for 20 lb change in spring pressure. Wow.
How many times have you changed a couple of grams on the front and never really saw much different? Sure sign the secondary is not close to being efficient.
I'd like to add to this thread with some things I've learned along the way (had a couple of helix's before Tony's). First I know nothing but may help some "wrap their head around" the concept, maybe pose some questions on the concept, maybe even get some of my questions answered on the concept.
First, ever wondered why,,, manufacturers and aftermarket spec a stiffer secondary as you climb in elevation (sometimes spring, sometimes helix, sometime both). I mean you have less weight in the primary to get the r's up so why do you need more squeeze to control less force form the primary?
It's not for added backshift (cause it was fine before with even more primary weight) It's because you make less TORQUE at elevation and torque is the force that makes the squeeze in the secondary.
Less torque in, equals less squeeze out of the secondary so you need to add it back mechanically as you gain elevation because the load is constant.
The reason you turbo guys can run big angles is because you add 50% more torque and the helix becomes happy to multiply that into squeeze for you. A NA set-up exactly the same in gearing, track and weight would slip and fail with that set-up because the squeeze would not be there because it makes less torque. Maybe Briand could add a couple of screen shots to illustrate this. 150 ftlb compared to 100 ftlbs same set-up but different side force.
Theoretically, you turbo guys able to adjust boost, would be able to run the same clutching from sea level to 12,000ft if you kept it at the same torque output level. I'm envious and wondering why all the differences expressed here saying sea level and altitude make a difference.
What is the difference between stiff spring steep helix and soft spring and shallow helix. When you look at Briand's screen shots of side force at full throttle they are pretty close, so what is the advantage?
First thing you have to admit is nobody rides at full throttle all the time. I mean if you turbo guys ran at full throttle all the time you would be jumping from mountain top to mountain top and missing the best in the valleys in between lol.
To better illustrate the difference between the two set-ups you would need to see some screen shots of the side pressure differences at 3/4 torque and 1/2 torque (could be loosely compared to throttle position) between these same set-ups. Briand??
Here you would see the advantage of losing the big spring, big helix. Easier opening secondary (but still enough squeeze to hold) at less torque equals more load through gear up of the secondary and quicker spool up from that load. Again envious of the advantages of too much torque.
My head problem (which is why knowing minimum side force at one point like 1 to 1 would be nice lol) is that Aaen guy again. He's telling me I need about a 2 to 1 ratio in side force from closed to open on the secondary. If you look at the screen shot's from Briand again, it's not even close. It'll probably work (bin dere dun dat) but is it the best yet.
You godda remember the more torque you got the more squeeze you get anyway.
Gearing. Tdbaugha covered that. You godda be honest and compromise towards efficiency to where you ride. I'm a tree geeker too. So does lower gearing need less squeeze for the secondary?
Went back and forth here alot lol. If geared lower the engine has to work less to get you moving at light throttle because it has a mechanical advantage now but at the same time you shift lower into the secondary for same mph, so that means higher into the primary which means less torque (because of bigger diameter off the engine)is applied to the secondary, which means more mechanical help for the squeeze is needed from the secondary (like loosing torque to elevation scenario) which means,,, yes and no lol.
My old Ski Doo racing book told me, spring has the most effect at part throttle and helix the most effect at full throttle so,,, dang it Tony is right again!
Backshift is our compromise in the mountains. Having too much torque has a big advantage. Jealous so just some thoughts.
Less weight will backshift quicker but you still need to load your motor. Less is better IMO.
More spring will backshift quicker but can you backshift too fast. IMO absolutely. If you backshift too fast, besides the resistance to upshift with light throttle, when your secondary is backing up way faster than your front, it is applying constant pressure (now both up and down) on the belt. The belt never gets a chance to lose some heat from losing the work it needs to do and you use more thumb to get it to get the upshift restarted which again squeezes more than it needs for that instant.
Mr Aaen would not be impressed but we have limitations with the Team because we lose our backshift part of the ramp at about 1/2 way back. Darn E-reverse.
Thanks for listening and hope a couple of gearheads can help me find the minimum side pressure needed to make this art more mathematical.
I also really wish Tony had the cash to work with the Tied. There is room in the Tied to get down to 13, 14 degrees (equivalent to the TSS 04) finish angles. Maybe we can get back to 40/90 lb springs of old and find someone to build them in 5 lb increments.