Is the Turbo worth it so far?

[REV2XHEART]

Thinking about snowchecking next year.

Im not a massive mountain climber but the turbo doesnt add more hp it just keeps you at it at elevation which is always good.

Maybe reliability isnt as good as the normal 850 though? Doesnt seem like the warranty lasts as long but whatever.

Surely some guys must have compared them to the stock ones. Are you seeing really big differences for just an average good rider. I aint no Kuster or Rasmussen.

is it worth the 3300 dollar add?

 

[rknight111]

Totally worth it, puts a smile on your face every time you ride, and the sound is sweet as well. I also find when there's a creek bed ahead that a simple hit of the throttle you enter it and shoot out the other side with ease, and when you just need that little extra you have it. Spent all weekend in Valemount and don't regret my purchase one bit.

 

[oler1234]

Thinking about snowchecking next year.

Im not a massive mountain climber but the turbo doesnt add more hp it just keeps you at it at elevation which is always good.

Maybe reliability isnt as good as the normal 850 though? Doesnt seem like the warranty lasts as long but whatever.

Surely some guys must have compared them to the stock ones. Are you seeing really big differences for just an average good rider. I aint no Kuster or Rasmussen.

is it worth the 3300 dollar add?

do you mountain ride.... if so then the next question is simple. Would you ever buy a truck without AC?

 

[REV2XHEART]

haha yes i only ride in BC. well i would ride near Edmonton if we ever got enough snow for a quick trip during the week but I dont think that will ever happen.

I dont need to be the best on the hill. Just getting some first hand accounts of the difference in them. Im probably going to have to rent this year to see for myself I guess. I have yet to see one in the hills and I dont know anyone that has one that would let me have a go at er.

besides power at elevation, and the cut tunnel do you notice anything different from the stock 850 gen 4?

 

[oler1234]

haha yes i only ride in BC. well i would ride near Edmonton if we ever got enough snow for a quick trip during the week but I dont think that will ever happen.

I dont need to be the best on the hill. Just getting some first hand accounts of the difference in them. Im probably going to have to rent this year to see for myself I guess. I have yet to see one in the hills and I dont know anyone that has one that would let me have a go at er.

besides power at elevation, and the cut tunnel do you notice anything different from the stock 850 gen 4?

absolutely there is one more thing to notice... all your buddies stuck while your eating a calzone on the hill!

 

[Teth-Air]

Maybe wait on that snowcheck as BRP is expected to offer a new chassis soon. If that happens there will be a bunch of used at fire-sale prices. There simply are too many guys who will buy the latest and greatest no matter what. (guilty myself somewhat).

As for the turbo, it is cool and it runs nice but it really depends what is important to you. Economy?, weight?, power? warranty? fanciest sled in the parking lot? Not everyone is looking for the same thing and the N/A sleds still checks a lot of boxes. You will have to ride it because wont be able to listen to anyone here as everyone is biased and we justify our decisions.

 

[cattechsummitrider]

Is it worth is no and yes
No sled should be worth 20+ g in that way its not worth it
But when you ride it the extra 3 g is worth it
Switched back and forth from my 18 to my 21 and ya there is alot of difference
Teth-air is right about when a new Latest and greatest comes out from any manufacture it reduces the prices of the older stock but if you always waited you would never buy anything because they are always coming out with something new
And usually the last year on any chassis or motor is its best year

 

[NoBrakes!]

Rent one for a day.... I’m still laughing about our rental weekend in the 20.5

im also interested in looking at next year.... But the chassis rumour is every year until it happens....then if you’re a first year guy....

 

[skegpro]

Thinking about snowchecking next year.

Im not a massive mountain climber but the turbo doesnt add more hp it just keeps you at it at elevation which is always good.

Maybe reliability isnt as good as the normal 850 though? Doesnt seem like the warranty lasts as long but whatever.

Surely some guys must have compared them to the stock ones. Are you seeing really big differences for just an average good rider. I aint no Kuster or Rasmussen.

is it worth the 3300 dollar add?

More than $3300 when you factor in 2 years less warranty over the n/a motor.

 

[mikeydoo]

Its worth it. I ride a 2018 175". rode all weekend with my group in blue river sweet goodness. My cousin has a 20.5 and it down right just works. Poached his track on most climbs and as soon as we broke off and tried to climb on our own were all stuck. I'm thinking i'm signing the line.

 

[NeilV]

My short answer to your question is no. It is not worth the the extra 3300. The gains are very marginal at most of the elevations we ride(5500ft ish). However I am still 50/50 if I will snow check one this spring or get another n/a. I am riding a 2020 165 expert now. Here is my long answer.

We rode a demo 20.5 for three days last year in good snow(waist deep) and came back underwhelmed. On a big climb it had a little more than my current sled, and it was cool to have the turbo sounds, but the throttle response was not as good as my n/a 850, it would stutter/bog at least a dozen times a day and the extra weight was noticeable. Add that to the extra cost and we came back thinking a guy was better off without the turbo. Not to mention my 2020 expert is just a phenomenal machine in every way. Best sled I have ever owned and it’s not even close.

Got another 3 days this year on a demo 154 turbo freeride and my opinion was mostly the same. Still doesn’t have the same throttle response. Still had the bog/stutter throughout the day. But it was a lot of fun to ride. As far as actual performance it was tough to tell how much better it was doing when the n/a sleds could go anywhere already( knee deep snow).

The bogging on both sleds bothers me. And every other person I have talked to that has one, has had the same issue. I had a 17 850 with a silber turbo, and it ran way better than the ski-doo turbo. After I got it set up at 7psi I had 3000km on it and it didn’t bog or stutter once, so I was expecting more from ski-doo. The throttle response is better than my silber was but it is also pulling a lot less clutch weight. I would imagine if a guy turned up the power on the ski-doo turbo and added weight they would be similar in that respect too.

Not sure if this helps you or not, still not sure what I’m going to do myself. Can’t really go wrong either way.

 

[Teth-Air]

My short answer to your question is no. It is not worth the the extra 3300. The gains are very marginal at most of the elevations we ride(5500ft ish). However I am still 50/50 if I will snow check one this spring or get another n/a. I am riding a 2020 165 expert now. Here is my long answer.

We rode a demo 20.5 for three days last year in good snow(waist deep) and came back underwhelmed. On a big climb it had a little more than my current sled, and it was cool to have the turbo sounds, but the throttle response was not as good as my n/a 850, it would stutter/bog at least a dozen times a day and the extra weight was noticeable. Add that to the extra cost and we came back thinking a guy was better off without the turbo. Not to mention my 2020 expert is just a phenomenal machine in every way. Best sled I have ever owned and it’s not even close.

Got another 3 days this year on a demo 154 turbo freeride and my opinion was mostly the same. Still doesn’t have the same throttle response. Still had the bog/stutter throughout the day. But it was a lot of fun to ride. As far as actual performance it was tough to tell how much better it was doing when the n/a sleds could go anywhere already( knee deep snow).

The bogging on both sleds bothers me. And every other person I have talked to that has one, has had the same issue. I had a 17 850 with a silber turbo, and it ran way better than the ski-doo turbo. After I got it set up at 7psi I had 3000km on it and it didn’t bog or stutter once, so I was expecting more from ski-doo. The throttle response is better than my silber was but it is also pulling a lot less clutch weight. I would imagine if a guy turned up the power on the ski-doo turbo and added weight they would be similar in that respect too.

Not sure if this helps you or not, still not sure what I’m going to do myself. Can’t really go wrong either way.

Thank you NeilV.

You sound like you have a great prospective and enough seat time to tell it how it really is. One thing I will say though is my buddies 2021 850T doesn't appear to stumble like you have experienced.

 

[snopro]

I saw zero stumbling on the 2020.5 we rode last winter. All my guys felt the sled was way more responsive than our stock 850's??

 

[tex78]

I saw zero stumbling on the 2020.5 we rode last winter. All my guys felt the sled was way more responsive than our stock 850's??

I also thought it was cleaner and as crisp as a n. A 850, on the one I road

 

[Teth-Air]

I saw zero stumbling on the 2020.5 we rode last winter. All my guys felt the sled was way more responsive than our stock 850's??

I wouldn't go that far Ken. We lined them up at 6000ft on a lake and raced the following: 2020.5 T850 G4-165, 2019 850G4 N/A 175 and 2019 AXYS 850 174.

The turbo came in dead last. The Polaris was the fastest. Now if it was more responsive it should have shone here?

I know some will jump up and down and say "it is a mountain sled and should not be raced" Only I say that should have been an easy win by the turbo.

I expect the 2021's might be completely different??

 

[Summitric]

i wouldn't go that far ken. We lined them up at 6000ft on a lake and raced the following: 2020.5 t850 g4-165, 2019 850g4 n/a 175 and 2019 axys 850 174.

The turbo came in dead last. The polaris was the fastest. It was now if it was more responsive it should have shone here?

I know some will jump up and down and say "it is a mountain sled and should not be raced" only i say that should have been an easy win by the turbo.

I expect the 2021's might be completely different??

aren't you supposed to race up a slope with mountain sleds? That is the true story.... Line 'em up again and retry

 

[pfi572]

Racing on the flat with a G4 is a joke to begin with . They don’t even use the last 25 mm ish of the primary .
The Doo TRA mountain sleds were easy pickings as well if clutching and gearing wasn’t corrected .

 

[Teth-Air]

Racing on the flat with a G4 is a joke to begin with . They don’t even use the last 25 mm ish of the primary .
The Doo TRA mountain sleds were easy pickings as well if clutching and gearing wasn’t corrected .

I don't disagree. I think the turbo should be fast in all conditions. I do think clutching is a huge factor. My point is guys who feel they are stellar out of the box may not be comparing properly.

 

[maxwell]

If you ride in deep snow. This is the machine to have. Works flawless all day long over 1000km on my 21 now. If you ride steep and deep the difference between the turbo version and standard is extremely
Noticeable. Especially when comparing to a Polaris or cat with less flotation. Sure if you ride crap snow at low elevation maybe not a good buy. PS. Anyone lake racing these things are wasting their time. Try uphill in 2 feet of snow

 

[snopro]

I wouldn't go that far Ken. We lined them up at 6000ft on a lake and raced the following: 2020.5 T850 G4-165, 2019 850G4 N/A 175 and 2019 AXYS 850 174.

The turbo came in dead last. The Polaris was the fastest. Now if it was more responsive it should have shone here?

I know some will jump up and down and say "it is a mountain sled and should not be raced" Only I say that should have been an easy win by the turbo.

I expect the 2021's might be completely different??

Be interesting to see if the Doo was pulling its skis 3ft in the air off the throttle. There is a huge difference in suspension set up between drag racing on hard pack and climbing in deep snow. The doo's do like to wheelie