So this weekend I got my Primary Clutch Spring on. I ended up buying an EPI Red Spring which was supposed to be a (145/300). Sled now engages at 4500 rpms, exactly what I was looking for. Seems to be stronger right off the bat now. We just got a our first real snow fall. Managed to get the speedo to read 95 mph. Sound about right? On the hard packed I should be getting it to read atleast 100. I also found the sled picked up speed a lot better, but I guess the first time I tested it, it was with 2 inches of snow got it to read 100 quite easily then, but now it was hard to hit 90. I'm gonna guess it was the snow fall, plus the snow was a little sticky. It's only about -1/0* Celcuis here. So boarder line melting. BTW, I also added 4" angled bar risers and changed my clear dash bulbs to Red.

I have a few more questions. First off, where would be the best place to steal power from? I'm interested in some LED hood underglow and possibly thinking of a 12 volt outlit. Probably will scrap the underglow idea, but for the outlit?

My lights don't always want to work. Sometimes the dash lights, headlights, and warmers don't work. Like the dash and headlight will be very dim. Then all of a sudden they'll come back on after a few minutes of running. Other times they'll always work. I'm worried about a reliability issue since I sometimes do night riding and would be screwed without lights. Would this be a loose wiring harness or the stator or something. It always starts fine and always has spark.

When my motor is good and warm, I'll shut it off and then try and re-start it. It will start, but the rope pulls very easy as if I have low compression. Is this normal for a hot motor? I don't remember my old 440 being like that. It only has 2640 miles and starts with a maximum of two pulls in the cold morning. Runs very well, is this normal.

One last thing, how many miles should I expect to get before I hit the low oil light? Or better, how many fuel tankfuls will I get before hitting the oil light? That way that'll rule out how it was ridden. Thanks.

-Matt

Could be the voltage regulator crapping out, just had the same happen on my xc800. Unplugged the yellow lead on the regulator and lights came back (warning - do at your own risk , a good chance of frying bulbs etc. ) Swapped the regulator and all was fine. The regulator is located in front of the right foot well.

diode lights would require a rectifier (and maybe a battery..?) There should be a plug near the regulator to plug the rectifier into.

As for oil, my 99 use roughly 1 qt of oil pr tank, ~ 1:40 ratio.

I think I know what your talking about as for the rectifier. Its the green glowing thing where your right foot will sit in the well. I can't just steal power from there? Lets say something like to power LEDs? They take little to no power. BTW, I Responded with my phone internet so I hope I put this in the right box. lol -Matt

Sorry, I meant regulator. So anyways, I spent this afternoon adjusting my suspension. I drilled out the pre-drilled hole for my skid, so I dropped that down and put the shock in the upper position. I also moved all the blocks into the low settings. I didn't move the RRSS to the foward hole, but I moct likely will later on. I like it much better, it carves and turns so much easier. Love it, thanks for all the advice for that.

-Matt

As for the LED's , the sled has AC voltage, and the LED's will need DC to work, hence the rectifier.

Nice to hear that the clutching and suspension mods works as expected, now you should try some mods to the secondary clutch to really wake the sled up.
A "R11" 45-36 or "R12" 50-36 will make it launch even harder out of the hole. The stock 36 degree helix don't load the motor hard enough on the low end - which result in less power transfered to the track. Swap the secondary spring to a silver/blue to go with the steeper helix.

Maybe you could tell me more about the secondary clutch and how it works? I really have no clue what a Helix is, I think its the spiral looking thing if I'm correct. Like when you say ""R11" 45-36 or "R12" 50-36". That means nothing to me, I'm just learning now how a sled actaully works. I know more about summer toys like dirtbikes and what not. Basically when it comes to sleds I'm clueless. But I'm learning and thats a good thing. Just a few weeks ago I had no idea that it was something as simple as the spring in the primary which can change the engagement RPM. You guys are helping me a lot, especially "ivar". Thanks for taking the time to explain stuff to me.

-Matt

You're right on the helix.
The R11/R12 is Polaris' designations on the helixes. the other numbers is starting and final angle. These angles , togeter with the weights/spring in the primary, determines how fast the clutches shift up. More angle will load the engine harder.
(And the xc700 is strong in the midrange, so the stock 36 degree helix is not loading it hard enough.)

Then there's backshift. when you let off the gas, or hit a steep hill, the load from the track makes the secondary clutch try to shift down, so that the engine is kept in the powerband.
So, its a balancing act. A sled setup for drags only would be sluggish to drive on the trails , and stuck all the time when playing in the powder, as a drag setup is all about upshift.

BTW, the spring in the primary not only controls engagement rpm, but also top rpm. On my 99 xc, I got around 8300rpm on top with the stock spring. Putting in a EPI black with a lower end rate, top rpm went down to around 8000. And the sled pulled much stronger, as it now was in the power band. Revving to 8300, I probably lost 15-20hp!

Which Helix would you reccomend to work best with my Red EPI Primary Spring and stock weights? A little more pull off the bottom-end and mid-range would be nice. Although, I didn't want to lose much top-end power or top speed. Will changing the Helix effect top speed? I'd be looking for more jump out of the hole, but I still want the sled to pull hard on top too. Maybe I don't quite understand that you can't have the best of both worlds, or can you...? Is it kind of a thing like suspension, wanna show off with your ski's up but then when you are acctaully riding you can't turn worth crap. Or any bump and your front end is slapping up and down. Kinda like that? Lets say I got a steeper Helix, I'd have more mid-range pull but it wouldn't pull as hard to top speed? Again I'm new, so excuse me if what I just said makes no sense!! LOL.

-Matt

As long as they maintain the stock final angle, top speed should not be affected by a helix change. However, a steeper helix also needs a stiffer secondary spring, and this can cause a slight top end loss. At least mine seemed to do it, but it was more than offset by the very notable increase in acceleration all the way.

For your application, either of those 2 helixes mentioned should work well, or aftermarket helixes in the 46-36 to 50-36 range.

Would there be a noticable difference in a "R11 45-36" vs a "R12 50-36"? I imagine the only times you would actaully lose top speed would be on the hard packed when your sled is capable of top speed. Most places I ride, the sled won't hit 90 wide open. Maybe 85. So I'm thinking for most of my riding I wouldn't notice a difference at all. I didn't realize it, but these speedos have a huge error. I was racing doing 90 along a highway and I had a hell of a time passing traffic and when I did it was not by much. My speedo said 90, but in reality I bet I was doing about 75.

-Matt

hell yeah, they get a crapload of trackspin and are almost always off. So I bought a radar gun this year for the ice. =]

The POLARIS helixes are a 1/4 progressive which means the first 1/4 is a progressive 45 to the 36 then is a straight 36 until the end. The 50-36 is the same. By contrast the HOTSEAT "S" helixes are a 1/3 progressive and the "X" helixes are a 1/2 progressive then the next step is a full progressive.

You won't lose any top speed with the 50-36 but you should pull harder in the first 100 ft. You do NOT need a stiffer spring with a steeper helix. I run a HOTSEAT 36S which is a 48-36 for trail riding with the stock silver/blue in #3 and for any racing I run an Erlandson full progressive 50-36. This helix change alone gets me about 2 sled lengths in 1K with no spring change.

Hope this helps.

Remember the xc700 has the weaker silver secondary spring as stock.

I'm looking for the most pull so I think a 50-36 is what I'd be looking for.

This morning I moved the RRSS into the foward position for even more weight transfer. I ended up taking out the foward block out, not the rear ones. Is this gonna hurt anything? I can't see how it will, but I just wanted to make sure. I tightened up my front track shock, which really did nothing other than decrease weight transfer...lol. When I watch sledding videos I see guys pull the front end up in powder with short tracks with only standard 1.25 inch lugs and they ride with the front up. Will removing the rear blocks allow me to do this? I can't really see it changing much, but I don't know what else to do to capture that. Like I wanna know how they do this, cause there even doing it in powder yet. A guy with a 02' Edge X 800 could ride with the front up in powder, how do you figure he set his sled up? My shock is in the upper position, I drilled the front holes out in the tunnel and dropped my skid down, and moved the RRSS into the foward position. My blocks are set in the low setting. I've done everything I know but removed the back blocks. Is this what I need to do?

BTW, my friend has a 2000 XC600SP with Variable Exhaust. He weighs about 40 lbs less than me. Am I gonna have problems beating him in a drag? I know he only has a 1" track, but on the hard packed you think he can pull off me? Hopefully after I mod the secondary I shouldn't have a problem beating him.

-Matt

As for why some sleds can keep their skis in the air, the older Cat and Doo rear suspensions did not have rear to front coupling, giving them much more weight transfer and ski lift. While the xtra-10 is developed from cross-country racing and setup for flat cornering on the trails.

The edge skid seems to give better weight transfer than the x-10, I tried on my 02 xc to take out the blocks completely but didn't like it so I put them back. When playing in the powder,I put my feet on the rear of the running boards to shift the weight further aft and steer with my body weight.

Taking out the front blocks may cause the suspension to bottom easier when hitting bumps at high speed, you'll need to take out the rear blocks to accomplish what you want.

Here's a link to a snowtech articleon suspension coupling:
http://www.snowmobileworld.com/tech_center...s/suscoupl1.php

Haven't raced a 00 xc600sp with my 99, but they are fast sleds, just a couple HP shy of the 700. I'd not be surprised if he shows you his taillights...

Polaris helixes have no progressive angles they are straight 50 or 45 then transition quickly to straight 36 final angle.No50/49/48 etc.
Steve

I don't understand when you say the first bit is progressive? Like the transition is less steep for the first bit? I know what progressive springs are, kinda follow the same concept?

-Matt