Chain Slap

[crossbowme]

Someone in one of these threads recommended I check my tire pressure carefully to see if it helps. I brought it in a heated garage, left it over night and then checked the tires with a very accurate gauge. I then adjusted the tires as accurately as possible. That made a major difference! Chain slap is almost gone completely. Couldn't get over the difference.

[plott hound]

i took the center wheels off to test the tracks but without the center tire the tracks were hitting the main drive sprocket.( mine is a different design ). but i also was going to make my own tuners but don't have enough axle length to do it my way. so will just leave it for now. when you add the tuners which must extend the wheel out, do you also have to put spacers on the other wheels to bring them out also ? johnboy

yessum boss

[john swenson]

i took the center wheels off to test the tracks but without the center tire the tracks were hitting the main drive sprocket.( mine is a different design ). but i also was going to make my own tuners but don't have enough axle length to do it my way. so will just leave it for now. when you add the tuners which must extend the wheel out, do you also have to put spacers on the other wheels to bring them out also ? johnboy

[plott hound]

Your mail box is full.

try again sir,i think there a glitch with some inboxs.

[plott hound]

yikes! lol

[crossbowme]

they work very well with my HDI on rubber tracks. I'm not going to advertise mine until argo jim sells his.

Your mail box is full.

[crossbowme]

Thanks, that's good info. Tuners are a little pricey but I may go with them.

[Buzz]

you can't really get rid of the chain slap, it's just what happens when the chains load and unload as you maneuver your machine. Using a smooth driving technique helps, but it only just helps, it doesn't eliminate, argo's are noisy machines. The track tuners simply reduce the load that normally has to be overcome to slip the center tires on a machine (even one that has properly indexed tires). They also allow you to move different sized tires in the bunch to the corners to tighten or loosen your track without having to worry about improper tire sizes on the middle axles. The tuners are great in my opinion. Some people think the tires will have more difficulty driving the tracks with the tuners installed (false). There is usually another reason the tires are slipping. Sometimes, the first time someone properly indexes their tires is when they first install track tuners. So from that point, they have their smallest pair of tires on the corner axles (which effectively shortens the required track length) (in other words makes their existing track looser). So long as you have proper track tension, all is well. Some tread styles are much more beneficial to driving tracks (especially certain track styes), but track tension really just needs to be adequate if you want the track to drive reliably. You don't need the center tires driving, in fact they contribute more negatively than anything else, and track tuners resolve this. Other things like cold weather (tires shrink), water or ice, and slippery mud all reduce the ability of the tires to drive the track especially if the machine attempts to move under a very high load from a dead stop. This will be more noticeable if your track additionally gets loose when the corner tires leak, shrink, or go flat (center tires don't affect track tension much at all).

[Stevo944]

Johnboy va, I bought same machine last summer put Argo rubber track on in Nov., top end dropped from 20 +/- to 11-12. I got a set of track tuners in Dec. after I installed top end up to 15-16. They definetly made a difference, machine just feels looser not 'bound up'. Worth the $.

[john swenson]

i think i remember buzz commenting about tracks,tuners , et c. that the center wheels don't really help drive the tracks alot because the amount of tire surface on the track is not alot. whereas the tracks wrap around the end tires and that's where a majority of the ''grip'' on the tracks comes from. i think that's how he explains it. anyway on my max 2 with tracks ( 6 wheels each side ) i'm going to experiment with and remove the center wheels for a test run to see how the machine performs ( turning, power gain, etc. ) tires slip easier in the composite style tracks so i never have much issues with chain windup. just curious to see how it does. wiil report back..........johnboy va.

[crossbowme]

When you say the center wheels don't drive, doesn't that put a lot of strain on the others causing them to fail?

[plott hound]

on an 8 wheeler tuners go on the 4 center wheels so only the corner wheels are driving the track.to me they eliminate a lot of the the drivetrain noise and the machine feels looser and less sluggish.and yes I do notice a bit of power gain.

[john swenson]

also i was wondering if you guys running tuners notice any power gain from the center wheels not driving ? johnboy va.

[crossbowme]

I was looking at them on the Adair site. Does a tuner go on each wheel or just select ones?

[plott hound]

they work very well with my HDI on rubber tracks. I'm not going to advertise mine until argo jim sells his.