18hp working hard in snow

[Mr. Moose]

l have a 01 bigfoot...just bought 18" plastic tracks....in 2- 2/12 feet of hard and soft snow l use low gear but the motor is working hard unless l throttle it way down to nearlY a crawl...going thru a slough with lots of high grass was something else and didn't like drifts at all......any suggestions....thks

[thorn]

What gear ratio tranny do you have? If you don't have the low ("G" stamped) tranny, then it would be worth your while to have it re-geared. It makes a BIG difference. The "G" tranny is "optimized" for the use of tracks.

[Buzz]

sounds like better gearing is needed...lower gears in your transmission or maybe just clutch mods to delay upshifting....maybe both. I think most machines when under any kind of a load seem a bit underpowered "at speed" especially with tracks. Slowing down always helps, but you shouldn't be limited to a crawl except for the worst conditions. I would think you should be able to manage 5-7 mph or better most of the time and faster on the flats... Make sure your getting adequate fuel under load and your engine is in good operating condition.

[deermedo]

Mr Moose,
I bought a 1988 18 hp on supertracks brand new and had the same problems you are encountering now in the snow.
No matter what it was simply underpowered for the amount of resistance or drag those tracks put down. It would go anywhere as long as you weren't in a hurry. I never tried them in the summer but my guess would be that the machine would be really underpowered. I have a 2003 Conquest with the Kawasaki 20 hp on regular Argo tracks 13" and in the swamp they can be horsepower robbers as well so I can't imagine what Supertracks would be like.
Just thought I would let you know of my past experience.
John

[Rock Doctor]

If you put a 3/32" Shim under your Primary Spring, and tighten your secondary Spring to hole 2 or 1 that will help.
This will slow your rate of Upshift, and increase your rate of Downshift. It's like keeping yourself in a lower gear longer. You may loose a little on your top speed.
RD

[deermedo]

From what I have been reading I would try 4 track tuners on the center 4 wheels from Adair.
Any horsepower saving is a good thing.
John

[lunnex]

I was having the same issue with mine, granted its only a 6x6 vanguard with supertracks and a 16hp. I found that I have the high gear tranny aswell, so with the sudgestions of some people on this site I started with the clutchs. Added the shim rd talked about and gave them both a good cleaning. made a wolrd of difference. But just yesterday I replaced the pulse pump with an electric and now what a diff. I can run in high gear as much as I want. where I was stuck having to use low gear before. I didnt realize how much smoother and more powerful the pump was going to make. but for the time and money start with the clutch's, the cheepest way to start and you can always goback to stock if you dont like it during the summer.