Hello, I am wondering if a 94 wildcat 700 and a 700 ZR have anything in common, or are they 2 totally different sleds. I read were one guy said a wildcat handled like a house and a ZR like on rails, can there really be that much difference? Tom

The chassis's are similar, if not he same, AWS III I believe, but probably calibrated differently. The ZR has Fox shocks while the Wildcat has hydraulic shocks, the spring rates are probably different too. The type of shock and how they are calibrated can make a huge difference in how the sled handles. The ZR motor makes 10 more HP as well.

I was compairing the 2 sleds on Alpha's parts list and there is not much the same that I can see. Was the ZR the more high performance sled at the time? I am wondering why there are so many more ZRs around than wildcats. Tom

Yes!

I think the ZR has AWS 4 and the Wildcat has AWS 3. I could be wrong though?
I had a 94 ZR 580 and it had AWS 4. It really handled well for an older sled. I now run a 99 ZRT and it has AWS 5 and the Fastrack rear end, It is a better trail sled but not quite as good on hard corners dut to the weight difference. That is just my 2 cents!!

They are not even close. Rammer is correct. 2 totally different chassis. Engine has a little more porting on a ZR than the WC. The WC is EFI and the ZR is carb.

OK here is the straight goods Tom ...

1994 Wildcat ... Cat's long running flagship was now pushed to # 2 status by the Thundercat intro in 1993. They came with the early efi system in 1994 and had the AWS II not III suspension this was on the 1993 Thundercat and 440/580 ZR only and the only real difference was the spindle angles were laid down a bit more and the spindle themselves were narrower and maid of steel to handle more abuse.

1994 ZR 700 After demand for the 93 ZR 580's and 440's were so high Cat had to respond with adding a 700 under the hood of the ZR. Now some will argue was it the same motor as in the 94 Wildcat ? I believe it was with NO changes to the motor. Think about it would cat want to incur the extra cost of tooling a different set of jugs with different porting ? I can't see it. The chassis itself? AWS IV they again changed the spindle castor angle

The bottom line ... The 1994 ZR 700 is a legend of a sled , I have ridden it and this is the best handling and hardest accelerating sled when combined I have ever ridden PERIOD! Nothing else is even close.

Tom your sled still handles better than almost any other sled built right up until late 90's early 2k Only then did Polaris come close with their tipped in trailing arms.

We all know the rest of the story Ski-doo and Yamaha and now finally polaris have all realized that Cat had it right back in 1994!

Thanks for all the info guys, How many years did they have the 700 ZR? I am not looking for one but if I ran across a 700 ZR some day it would be a good sled to buy? I have to agree with wildcat 700 on the wildcat ride, a close friend of mine has a 97 I think Yamaha 700 with the trailing arms, I think they both handle the bumps about the same but I notice alot more darting around on the Yamaha on hard pack trails. I supose that could be because his toe in is off or something like that too. I have never ridden any real new sled yet so I don't know what I am missing there. Tom

They made the ZR700 in 94-95. They made them again in 99-00. 95 was my favorite year and in 95 had had twin pipes.I really like my ZR, however it is along way from stock.

The 95-96 Wildcat 700 efi is in the same basic ZR chassis as the 94-95 ZR700 but with cheaper shocks and efi

The 96 Wildcat was a nice looking graphic wise IMO

I had both at the same time. They would run dead nuts even on a icey road and both looked ccol. But the big difference was the chassie and shocks. I'm talking 93-94 wildcat and 94-95 zr. The zr like someone said was on rails in the corners and was much better even on trails. Wildcats have the crappie brakes compared to zr's. :div20:

What is different about the brakes? I thought the hydraulic brakes were all pretty much the same then. My 94 wildcat has hydraulic brakes, I can lock the track with 2 fingers on the handle no problem, did the 93 and older have cable brakes? Tom

Yes

They had twins pipes in 94 also. That sled won the 700 stock class at the world series that year. I put almost 6000 miles on mine in 2 seasons. Plus won a few small club sanctoned 660' drags and 1000'/1320' speed runs. The trick to getting those sleds to run was to get the pipes heat soaked,and then cool the motor down as fast as you could.Then they would run extremely fast.Oh yeah, one last thing. Black Magic provided the clutch set-up for the sled that won the world series.

I am sure you all know this but in case someone don't, my wildcat also came with twin pipes. Tom

all Wildcats came with twin pipes BTW

88-90 Wildcat 650s had twin pipes as did the 91-96 700 Wildcats

Hi, Anyone know if the ZR rear shock will fit the wildcat? Would this improve the ride ovr the stock wildcat shock? What about the ski shocks? I know the arms are different but could the ZR shocks be made to fit? Tom

Tom,

Rear skid yes front shocks NO! Shocks are way longer on our sleds in the front as they are in a more upright position.

P.S. I did win those vent screens

Stole them for 2 bucks!

Thanks

Hello, I was just looking around on the Alpha cat online parts and the 94 700 efi wildcat does have different cylinders than the 94 700 ZR. I don't know whats different but the ZR cylinder costs alot more than the wildcat one. ZR=3004-458, $589.95, wildcat=3003-756, $482.95 Tom

I thought the zr 700 came back for only one year? In 99....

Both the wildcat and the zr had twin pipes,accept the the 99's.

I would say because that both have different porting.

Was the ZR rated at alot more power than the Wildcat in 94? Tom

Wildcat was rated at 115 hp, while the ZR was rated at 125 hp.

I didn't say this, but If I could find a deal on some 700 ZR cylinders it would be a way to cheat a little at the radar runs :smilielol: Tom

Hi, I talked about this in a different tread but I am getting a good deal on a set of FOX shocks for the rear suspension of my wildcat. I hope this helps soften the ride for my bad back. I don't mean to say wildcats ride rougher than other sleds but I am not a push it to the limit rider because I am to old and beat up for that. I am looking to make it a little more soft riding on the trails. Another problem I have trouble with is turning if I am pounding on it, I dam near put it into a tree last year around a fast wide turn because it just wanted to push straight ahead. Maybe I have to much preload on the front spring in the rear suspension, I have 96 carbide wedge studs and 4" of carbide. Maybe I need to go to 6" of carbide. I don't have the cash to buy front end shocks this year but does anyone know if there are better ski shocks out there that will fit on a wildcat? What other cats used the same front as the 94 wildcat? Did the prowler have the same setup? Also are there any cat plastic skis that can be made to fit the wide aluminum spindle? I see alot of plastic skis on Ebay but don't know if any can be made to fit my sled. I hear all the time how much quieter plastic skis are on the trails and are good for a couple more mph on topend. Again I don't have the bucks to buy new aftermarket skis. Being on disability sucks LOL. :arctic_cat_rules: Tom

The Fox shocks won't make the ride any softer, in fact they will likey make it firmer. The ZR was set up for harder riding and will have a much firmer calbration. The great thing about the Fox shocks, however, is that they can be re-valved to change their characteristics for compression and rebound damping.

It sounds like you do not have enough carbide for your studded track. You may also be lacking enough ski pressure, which could be the result of too much preload on the front skid spring, as you speculate. Some people say to run that spring as lose as it will go without rattling. You can tighten the front limiter straps to increase ski pressure. Plastic skis will make the front end feel way lighter. I sure like them on my sled.

I was kinda afraid that I would hear the fox would be stiffer, I understand that they are somewhat adjustable with a screw? For the price I got them for I couldn't turn them down, $135 for both to my door. If they are way to stiff I can get them redone I guess. Its only money {that I don't have} LOL. Tom

Tom ...

You are looking for a pair of Cat's universal plastic ski's not the blow molds (they look like shit) I found a pair on here by posting a WTB and they look awesome! Purple with black handles. They fit the wide prowler spindle our Wildcats have AND have spacers that fit the other size spindels. Try to find a set if ya can.

Troy

Hi, How much money are used plastic skis bringing these days? Tom

Tom I paid 100 bucks for my and they are like new ... that seems to be the going price in HCS classifieds as well. Almost as cheap as new steel!

Good Luck

I will have to do some looking. I have a Cat guy near me that might also have some used ones,I will have to ask him. Tom