Fellow snowmobilers I have a decision to make. This site might not be the right one to post this on but I will give it a shot. I am coming off an 03 F7 efi that if you are a fan or not this sled rocked. I sold it with 5700 miles and had no problems. I also have owned 99 xc 700 and xcr 600 and many other polarises. I have had great luck with polaris also but now I am deciding between a leftover 07 IQ 600 cleanfire or an 07 F8 standard that has 800 miles. The F8 is perfect and comes with a 1 year warranty just like the IQ does. I mostly ride in Southern Wisconsin with a few trips to Northern WI every winter. I ride somewhat aggressive and do enjoy speed but I also enjoy a comfortable ride now. I have heard good things about the IQ with speed and comfort and heard the F8 might not perform as well as expected but rides awesome. I can get the F8 for $6399 and the leftover IQ for $6499. I am just looking for honest feedback from fellow snowmobilers. Thanks

I would still take my Poo over that F8. Even though I've never ridden a new f-series, it's used and no fuel injection would be a deal-breaker for me. There is just something about the new f-series I don't care for (looks, size, incredible amounts of cheap-looking plastic in back). Also, I am not real big on the displacement difference. As long as it's a 600cc+ performance model it'll have all the power I will ever need. My last sled was an 04 F6 EFI and it was bulletproof in the 2 years I owned it but it was not nearly as much fun to ride as my IQ. So maybe I'm biased, (I realize though the old/new f-series are unrelated) but I am not some bleeding heart poo fan/cat hater at all.

Remember the f-series is used, you can screw up a sled bad in 800 miles.

EDIT: I just remembered they're all EFI now so screw what I said about that part.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree a sled can really get messed up in the first 800 miles. I believe it is the dealer demo sled. I would never again go with out fuel injection, but I am bias that way. I would love to find a slightly used 700 dragon in my price range and distance and than there would be no decision to make. Thanks again for the feedback.

I would have to say go with the 6oo iq not just because I`m partial to Polaris but those
600cfi sleds work awesome.My brother bought one and the boys on their stock XC800
and my other buddy on his 2005 XC700 cannot catch it!!!The ride on the iq is second to
none and they absolutely carve the trail.I have the 07 dragon and LOVE the damn thing!!

my IQ is a great sled to ride... i am 16 and i will admit to abusing the sled a little to far last year (some tips on the side, really big jumps, steep hills, a lot of bad things) but the damn thing heald up perfectly... doesnt have any frame damage, no nothin. for the big jumps and hard riding i would just simply twist the springs to hard. for general riding i would change them for medium, if i was light trail riding (un groomed) i would have them on soft. the seat absorbes moste of the impact and vibrations, the engine pulls like a MOFO, and i can say that it is the best sled that i have ever rode on.

does the AC that you are thinking of getting have EFI? if it doesnt than dont look at it twice. go with the IQ CFI, i will never have the same experience with a sled without EFI or CFI.

edit: i changed "was a great sled" to "is a great sled".. i have yet to find a better sled than the IQ 600 CFI

I think both sleds would be a great machine, you need to more compare your riding type and make your decision from that. I have a 07 Dragon 700 and my dad has the 600 IQ, both sleds have F7 like power feel (note I said feel) allthough the 600 pulls away from the Dragon on top end, suspension wise they are excellent and have great range for trail cruising to big bump riding in a package as a whole, they do have excellent oil use and less then perfect gas mileage 10ish on the 700 and 14ish with the 600. The downfalls I have seen from them is rather heavy steering effort, and crappy wind protection from the tiny windscreen. I also got to ride a F-5 LXR thats my uncles I liked that sled to it was a excellent trail cruising sled smooth trail riding was great it got a little bobbley feeling in the big bumps, great wind protection the 500 motor felt more like a 500 fan in the big chassis. The steering was like power steering easy. Just for comparision I did buy a 08 F-6 sno-pro for the wife this season and will be trying it myself to.

I came off an 03 F7 snopro to my IQ 600.

I have no complaints about my 6 other than it's a 600, it's a great sled but ..... coming off an f7 it's slow. Don't get me wrong it's quick for a 6 but coming off an f7 it's tame. I comment quite often that running the s@#% out of an engine like I do that 600 can't be good.

Now for the F8 I didn't buy one because it's a first year sled engine and all. My F7 was fine once the bugs were worked out but that was 04 by then, mind you last I heard it had over 8000 miles on the rebuilt engine that toasted at 400 miles.

I talked to 1 guy that was very very disappointed with his F8's barely breaks 100 cooked one engine and one guy told me his wife on a firecat 600 wasn't any slower. Now those are just 2 guys I met, I was actually suprised at thier candidness about it ! I won't buy a first year Cat ever again

SO did I make the right choice looking back I don't know. I will say the the IQ 6 is much much much better sled than my F7 better ride better handling better fit and finish I think, but It's still a 600.

I would look for a 700 IQ or Dragon (which I just might do in spring) if I was going to buy a Polaris and not for any reason other than power.

I'd suspect Polaris will handle twisty stuff a bit better and be more comfy. The Cat will be a bit faster on top, and probably a little quicker too. The Polaris will get much better fuel and oil economy.

It all depends on what you want. Your call.

Get the Poo. Buy handguards and the best suit they sell so the cold won't matter so much. I know of an '06 with like 15+ thousand miles on it...bulletproof.

Firecat, I might make you a deal on my Dragon. Pm me if your interested, I'm in so. Wi. too

My buddy had a 600 IQ cleanfire last season and it would just walk away fron my 600HO IQ RMK like he was on an 800. It did the same thing to my buds rev SDI's. Handling and bump capability is second to none.

and carvng in deep deep snow is like running a hot butcher kinfe through butter. and the track on it stock is good too. i might put a bigger one on this year but since i do alot of lake riding and i like to go fast i think that the track on it right now is perfect!

Thank you all very much for your feedback. I will consider everything, If my old firecat wasn't so good to me there would not be a decision at all, IQ all the way. I will check more dealers and get more prices and get ready for the snow. Thanks again

I came off a 04 rev x renagade to a 07 600cfi and love it.The only complaint I have with the poo is how hard it pulls over after sitting in the cold overnight.You would swear the rope was going to break.As for performance it runs as well as many 800s. 15 mpg and handles like a dream.

I agree 100%,get the handguards and go with the IQ they are not much if any slower than the F8.I think cat also
had a few issues with some of the F series sleds,like melting side panels,having to add bullseyes ect.Also I doubt
cat will stick to this chasis for long.

I would think the cat would handle the twisty stuff easily as good, and be more comfortable. THe cat should be better top end but i wouldn't think it would be much and i would think the Polaris would be quicker on the low end due to the lighter weight, maybe not midrange tho, but that would be pretty debatable too. As far as the "much better fuel and oil economy" i would leave the "much" in there for the oil but maybe not the fuel.

well you don't HAVE to add the bullseyes, but it is a pretty easy and cheap mod to put a little more oomph in the getup. Other than that the ECU calibration and the melting pannel are the only real things and the ECU should be figured out.

Well thanks for the feedback fellow snowmobilers. I ended up going with an (07) F8 brand new leftover. I ended up getting it for $6899 and it was only $400 more than I could get the IQ for. I do really like the IQ also but I stayed with cat. Thanks again and hope for snow.