Let's talk about the 3" on the XM

[Bnorth]

Ok so I have a 163 XM coming and also happen to have an old style 3" extreme from a sled I'm parting out. Who has put a 3" under their XM and what's the verdict? I am playing with the idea of getting a spare driveshaft for 7t drivers so it's easy to switch back to the flex-edge in spring conditions. What say ye?

 

[maxwell]

In all honesty I did a 3" xm last year and even broke the rods so i had a 3" flex edge. First of all it doesn't flex like the 2.5 because the 3" tall lugs are too rigid. So that's a writeoff. The sled wants to stay planted flat compared to the same factory machine. This is on hard pack anyways. Deep snow it works ok. As far as performance gain there is none. The sled did run factory clutching though so if there is a magic clutch combination that can make the 3" shine id love to hear about it. Basically the only advantage I ever noticed with the 3" xm is slow movements through the trees. It really pops up on the snow quicker and is more forgiving to a point. But that's where it ends. The negatives are excessive vibration, excessive ski lift, slower track speed, no significant gain in climbing performance as the track is heavier and takes more power to spin. Overall not worth the 2000$ it costs to do this mod. However I think if you could squeeze another 10+. Hp out of the sled I think it would be a winner to compensate for the increased weight of the track. For me it just sacrificed the handling too much on the xm to reccomend it to anyone.


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[Bnorth]

Thanks for the feedback Sean. How much seat time did you have on the 3" XM?

 

[maxwell]

Thanks for the feedback Sean. How much seat time did you have on the 3" XM?

Not much maybe 3 days. But luckily side by side days with my stock sled. I'm sure with proper clutching it will be better. I had no problems pulling 8000rpm on clicker 4 but it just didn't "feel" right.


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[thegeneral]

1835 k/m on my XM with the 3" yeah it vibrates a little but the stocker wont keep up to it in the trees. I guess that depends a litttle ( lot ) on the rider though. being a 200lb + rider makes me a little biased as well.

 

[Bnorth]

1835 k/m on my XM with the 3" yeah it vibrates a little but the stocker wont keep up to it in the trees. I guess that depends a litttle ( lot ) on the rider though. being a 200lb + rider makes me a little biased as well.

Yeah I tip the scale at over 250lb so I understand.

How did it do head to head with a stocker on climbs?

 

[neilsleder]

Sean did you read the part about it being the old style ? That was the new style that was on the xm you rode want it?


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[maxwell]

Sean did you read the part about it being the old style ? That was the new style that was on the xm you rode want it?


Sent while sitting on the toilet when I should be working!

Nope old style. New style is a whole different story lol


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[thegeneral]

It won't blow a stocker completely away but it will consistently climb higher especially if we're talking same rider on same hill. That being said we don't climb a lot but when we do its usually in the trees
The comment about it being the old style track makes a lot of difference though because you have paddle from edge to edge



Thegeneral

 

[assaultn]

Very good info thanks, I'm on the fence about the 3" also but it would be the new style. I really only wanted it for the braking performance. I'm usually the first one in our group to drop into new areas and am really looking to slow down some of the descents in tight trees to give a little more time to pick lines. Is the 3" that much better for this?

 

[Bnorth]

Nope old style. New style is a whole different story lol


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New style is better or worse?

It won't blow a stocker completely away but it will consistently climb higher especially if we're talking same rider on same hill. That being said we don't climb a lot but when we do its usually in the trees
The comment about it being the old style track makes a lot of difference though because you have paddle from edge to edge



Thegeneral

Is yours cluched/geared for the 3"?

 

[maxwell]

New style is worse. Paddles are less than 15" wide. Braking performance is poor because there are no serrated edges on the new style. The new style was a cost savings maneuver for camoplast so they could use the same moulds for all widths


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[maxwell]

Very good info thanks, I'm on the fence about the 3" also but it would be the new style. I really only wanted it for the braking performance. I'm usually the first one in our group to drop into new areas and am really looking to slow down some of the descents in tight trees to give a little more time to pick lines. Is the 3" that much better for this?

Not that I have noticed. Maybe a bit in harder snow conditions as the lug has something to bite into. But definetly not in fresh snow. Also in very hard packed conditions it is actually worse as the paddles bend over and act like a carpet because they can't dig on fully. I use an old hillclimb trick and throw an old belt over each ski to slow it down.


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[mctrailboss]

I have the old style 156 and have about 3400 kms on it . I would have to arguen that a 156 3" will out climb a stock 163 all day long and they are much better at slower speeds in trees as mentioned. This is not an upgrade you will regret. I have 2 new style 163's waiting to go on some friends sleds and can't wait to see if they are even better than the old style. I don't like the 15" wide lugs but the tracks are lighter and apparently easier to turn around smaller drivers so maybe some track speed gains.

 

[neilsleder]

Nope old style. New style is a whole different story lol


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Oh I thought it would of been the new style. I know I don't like the looks of the new style at all. I think the skidoo track is one of the best designs


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[pistonbroke800]

I have a new style 3'' installed in my '14, we will see how she goes in a month or so. See how it goes with stock power till first week of January then adding boost. Will be nice to see how the track works stock and boosted

 

[Bnorth]

I have a new style 3'' installed in my '14, we will see how she goes in a month or so. See how it goes with stock power till first week of January then adding boost. Will be nice to see how the track works stock and boosted

It's starting to sound like unless you are adding power the 3" isn't that big an upgrade. Gonna talk to Paul at roosterbuilt a bit too, I'll update this thread when I have more info. Until then let's keep this discussion going.

 

[maxwell]

It's starting to sound like unless you are adding power the 3" isn't that big an upgrade. Gonna talk to Paul at roosterbuilt a bit too, I'll update this thread when I have more info. Until then let's keep this discussion going.

I built a 2009 163 3" 2 years ago. That machine was an animal. But it had a performance addition kit and full clutch kit from Cory Micku. So I really wasn't sure if it was the extra claimed 8+Hp or the correct clutching. Either way it climbed 30% better consistently than any factory 163 sled. If I could get the same gains out of the etec as the ptek performance wise I would have a 3" on every sled


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[oler1234]

Be sure to use arctic cat style drivers for the new style 3". It you will be trimming the putter nubs

i think the 3" works great, for our snow around golden. As well I think the 14's will be different as I keep hearing skidoo tweaked the engine again for more snap down low.

as for the handling change I can still spin 6ft dia donuts. I really don't think there is a difference between flex edge and the new style 3". The old style yes there is a difference.

To me a lot of ppl will be a 3" but never really use it to its design maximum potential.

 

[fredw]

Would think that the way the new sleds are running, they are very hard to beat, their skid, track and power is matched very well, but when adding the three inch, then skid and power are affected and if not corrected, then the biggest bennifits of the three inch are not utilized

now if you do a skid and porting the three inch will make a much bigger difference...

for the testing we did with the tmotion last year it so easy to throw around that it was not to my liking, and don't think I would like