skegpro
Active VIP Member
Worth it?
TKI Belt Drive Pro/Cons?
- Thread starter skegpro
- Start date
AGGRESIVEZEBRA
Active VIP Member
why not support more local and get c3? pros are lighter not as much to go wrong and not as catastrophic if it does go wrong. only con i can think of is carrying a spare belt.
tmo1620
Active VIP Member
Been thinking of doing a c3 belt drive on mine as well, just not sure if it’s worth the scratch
It’s worth it
I had 1700 miles on my 15 with the same drive belt to
way more belt contact and 2secs to change belt if U ever needed to
u can also (the best part of it all )
gear it down Abit lower than the newer 17s to
I had 1700 miles on my 15 with the same drive belt to
way more belt contact and 2secs to change belt if U ever needed to
u can also (the best part of it all )
gear it down Abit lower than the newer 17s to
deaner
Active VIP Member
I wouldnt. I bought a sled with a C3 setup on it that was set up by a pro and tensioned correctly. First ride out I snapped the belt in half. Threw the chain setup back on and didnt notice any difference. When I blew the belt I was on the way back down the trail hammering through the moguls really hard. Depends how you ride I guess.
kanedog
Active VIP Member
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2015
- Messages
- 3,142
- Reaction score
- 8,636
- Thread starter
- #8
skegpro
Active VIP Member
Gear down a 18?
Caper11
Active VIP Member
Skegpro what are you looking to get out of a belt drive over a chaincase?
Belt drive pros- way more potential in gearing options. Quick gear changes (TKI) Quicker rpm and trackspeed recovery. No chaincase damage if a belt breaks.
Cons- cost, pain in the butt to change a belt, belt tension is critical. Increased rolling resistance when the belt is cold (gates belt).
My vote is for a TKI, I’ve had one on my old xm, and my buddy has one on his 850.
Fyi there is very little difference in rotating mass and overall weight, when using a belt drive over the lightweight t3 and 53 bottom gear. Not that it matters, I just realized that I replied to a cat thread.
Belt drive pros- way more potential in gearing options. Quick gear changes (TKI) Quicker rpm and trackspeed recovery. No chaincase damage if a belt breaks.
Cons- cost, pain in the butt to change a belt, belt tension is critical. Increased rolling resistance when the belt is cold (gates belt).
My vote is for a TKI, I’ve had one on my old xm, and my buddy has one on his 850.
Fyi there is very little difference in rotating mass and overall weight, when using a belt drive over the lightweight t3 and 53 bottom gear. Not that it matters, I just realized that I replied to a cat thread.
Last edited:
deaner
Active VIP Member
Daryl Baker. Don’t think anyone is going to dispute his ability.
Thought you you would be above the allure of shiny things like belt drives and removable snow flaps!
- Thread starter
- #12
skegpro
Active VIP Member
I was just gonna change my chain case oil.
Debating what to do with the alluminum gear.
Replace with belt drive.
Replace with metal gear-- heavy.
Replace with Aluminum -- lasted 1600km ........
Teth-Air
Active VIP Member
HAHA, Ask them where their product is being machined. You think your money is staying in Canada?
- Thread starter
- #14
skegpro
Active VIP Member
How common would it be to take out a belt drive belt?
Probably about the same as a chain?
Probably about the same as a chain?
Teth-Air
Active VIP Member
It is worth it more on some sleds than other.
Ski-doo G4: Yes its worth it because you lose a lot of weight and the G4 has a long chain and the longer the chain the more likely the failure, you avoid dealing with oil and failed seals (already saw one this year) You do not gain gear-down advantages though but some guys do want to go higher in gearing than stock. Rolling resistance is greatly reduced, belt changes are simple compared to a chain change. I can notice the belt drive on our shop XP, it accelerates quicker than when we had it stock.
Arctic Cat: Cats lose huge amounts of weight as they use a heavy cumbersome aluminum oil tank with the chain. Aftermarket kits come with a lighter plastic tank. Other advantages are similar to the ski-doo. Older models with short chain-case can get a drop and roll if the customer wants to order the longer housing. Tom at TKI offers a template to do this and bring the older models up to date like the newer models.
Polaris: The Proride with Quickdrive is geared too high, 2.09:1 The result is a sled that leaves huge amounts of performance on the table while at the same time an aggressive rider will go through clutch belts at a much higher rate than with a gear down. For the price of a couple of clutch belts and a spare Quickdrive belt, you will pay for the aftermarket drive system.
For the AXYS with Quickdrive, the resulting gearing (with 7 tooth drivers) is a bit better, closer to 2.2:1 but still they are much better with 2.42:1. They HO motors are much more aggressive than the older 800's and accelerate very hard. With high gearing this can result in spinning the track when you are trying to creep out of a stuck. When geared down and with a soft start spring the clutch can engage at a lower rpm and with the low gearing the motor will still have the jam to pull it. Also varying loads at higher speeds will not cause rpm losses as much.
Also Polaris has made the Quickdrive belt to be banjo tight so it won't slip/skip. This robs power and is nowhere near as smooth as the TKI system. The aftermarket kits use tensioners, not to tighten the belt so much but to wrap it around the top gear to provide double the contact area. This is how skipping is avoided. The belts actually run fairly loose and the sled will roll away without the parking brake set (on a slight incline) Aftermarket belts are much easier to change than the Quickdrive too, and half the price.
Polaris with chaincase: The heaviest model Polaris is getting pressure from Cat and Doo when it comes to Cat and Doo's lightest models in weight comparisons. If you want to keep that edge there are belt drive kits to convert to belt drive. You don't lower the gearing but there are performance gains as if you jump from a machine that has a belt drive to a chain-drive you will notice the lighter feel due to lower rotating mass and lighter weight. The Polaris models use shorter chains than the New Cats and Doos so failures are pretty rare but still can happen.
Last edited:
Teth-Air
Active VIP Member
I have been running them for several years and only destroyed them when a gear fell of due to broken axle bolt or when the belt was set too loose because I geared down and my adjuster bolt on the tensioner was too short to tighten properly. (My fault)
Caper11
Active VIP Member
From what I have seen from others, belt drive belts fail more than chains.
I sold my sled with the original beltdrive belt on it.
Teth-Air
Active VIP Member
My opinion is that a chain is installed by the factory and should be installed properly but in most cases the belt drives are installed by the owner and I have seen them installed wrong, where spacers are in the wrong position or the tension is set wrong. Secondly stock belt drives are reliable these days but the early quickdrives had crap belts and failing axle bolts which made the concept look bad. Your observations could be of one of these failures.
Caper11
Active VIP Member
Absolutely,
They were aftermarket belt drives on doos, as I mentioned before the belt tension setting cold, is critical to proper belt life.
Wether it has a chain or belt, the rider should be paying attention to the amount of shock loading the drive line is receiving. Also how much exhaust heat the belt sees.
Imo proper warmup of a cold belt after a trip on the deck will help with the belt life. That gates carbon belt is pretty stiff at room temp let alone trying to bend over small cogs at below zero temps.
bgraff1
Active VIP Member
Con: cost
Pro: Less weight, less rotating mass, easier gear changes. If youblow a belt in the hills you put a new one on, easy peasy. If you blow a chainBEST case you go back to the trailer and get a new one, ride up and change it. Makingsure you have new oil and tools to do so. Worse case you take out the gears,inner/outer halves of the case. Now your paying for a belt at a minimum forbuddy to tow you out or a chopper ride. Your however many day trip and hours ofdriving you did is done. You now have to rebuild the whole case or suck it upand do the belt drive now. This is exactly why my 12 had a C3 kit on it and nowmy 18 has a TKI kit on it
Pro: Less weight, less rotating mass, easier gear changes. If youblow a belt in the hills you put a new one on, easy peasy. If you blow a chainBEST case you go back to the trailer and get a new one, ride up and change it. Makingsure you have new oil and tools to do so. Worse case you take out the gears,inner/outer halves of the case. Now your paying for a belt at a minimum forbuddy to tow you out or a chopper ride. Your however many day trip and hours ofdriving you did is done. You now have to rebuild the whole case or suck it upand do the belt drive now. This is exactly why my 12 had a C3 kit on it and nowmy 18 has a TKI kit on it
