Tracks... Worth it or not?

[chinook]

Good read, I'm trying to decide if I'm going leave the tracks on for moose season or take them off. We do about 25 miles with a mix of everything, mostly the nasty stuff, but also 2 rivers and some rocky dry areas, and there are also some narrow sections of the trail too. My wife & dad don't have tracks, and it's nice to just back up and pull them out with out winching.......Last year it was so dry I took them off this year has been wet.
I went through a set of chain tensionor last year, but learned to zip tie them down. I took off my tires and measured them all, installing them as the book said to, I didn't pay attention to my air pressure last year, it sounds like I should.

So your the question worth it or not, I'm still not sure, I think it all depends on the terrain, they are turly un-real at times, but can be over kill too. It's another learning curve once you get them.

[dale7637]

Just an update. I have had the tracks on for a week now. They swim well as far as I have seen. Not as well as tires, but not terrible. They are unreal in the swamp. Went on a ride yesterday and went a lot of places I had no business being. Needless to say I am very impressed. What are the symptoms of chain wind up? I have a popping noise show up once in a while and it sure sounds driveline related.

[number1cas]

Ha Ha, You better find a more knowledgeable dealer !!! The tracks are UNBEATABLE. Put mine on for muskeg/swamp driving and I will never remove them. 600+ miles this summer so far and NO problems with the tracks and NEVER been stuck! For soft ground, tracks move an argo from capable to unstoppable. I can't imagine what it will take to get me stuck but I WILL take pictures of it !! LOL.

[number1cas]

Be sure to follow the tire measuring and placement proceedure. It takes alot of time but is absolutely essential for longevity. Even new tires can vary in diameter 2-3 inches.

[dale7637]

What is the tire measuring procedure?

[number1cas]

Actually I believe it only applies to the rubber tracks, but you have to inflate all tires (off the unit) to 5psi and measure the circumfrence, then install them in the proper order. Alot of dealers skip this step as it is time consuming and I suspect is why some people have chain windup problems with the rubber tracks.

[Robinhood02]

what this about proper order to prevent chain windup ?? tell us more

[mightymaxIV]

The Adair tracks change every thing that we currently think about tracks. Number one, they swim, not only do they swim but they swim better than tire, check the video

http://www.youtube.com/user/ARGOAVEN.../0/Gm5XcFsESvUhttp://adairargosales.com/index.php?

The second thing they do is turn and turn well without creating chain wind up, check the turning.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ARGOAVENGER#p/a/u/1/uvYfzvF7WSs

Not only do they do all these great things but Adair Argo is in the process of developing a set of these super tracks for snow. I will be testing some on these tracks on my New Argo 650 HD with the Admiral transmission. I will put them through the most awful swamp and mud conditions I can find and will post extensive video. The projected swim speed for my 650 is 4 MPH and I will have 12" of ground clearance.

For more information go to the following link:


Adair Argo Series 8 Tracks

[Roger S]

what this about proper order to prevent chain windup ?? tell us more

Argo instructons place the different size tires in certain positions, someone may have the full instructions for you

[mightymaxIV]

Roger, I can only tell you what I have been told and that this design is made to allow the tire to spin a little preventing the chain wind up that destroys sprockets and chains.

[mightymaxIV]

IMG00026-20101001-1117.jpgIMG00028-20101001-1121.jpgFor those of you who are still doubters about the Adair tracks ability to go through the snow, please look at the following pictures and become a believer! What are your questions?

[WIZDOM]

I went through a set of chain tensionor last year, but learned to zip tie them down.

more details on this please

[number1cas]

Argo states that with rubber tracks (on my Avenger 8x8) you need to measure the size of each tire at 5 psi (circumfrence off the vehicle) I spoke to Argo themselves and was told that most tires (These are the 25" Argo tires) will be between 78" - 80" he told me if any are OVER 82" to call him back and he would fix it. I assume he meant replace it.
You then mark all the sizes and install them in this order
smallest set - front axle
2nd smallest - rear axle (#4)
2nd largest - axle #3 (from the front)
Largest - Axle #2 (which happens to be under the front seat passengers)
you then install tires and tracks and inflate to this
Front axle #1 -5 psi
#2 axle - 7 psi
#3 axle - 7 psi
#4 axle - 6 psi
you are basically adding to the 1" drop on the center axles by using air pressure, the result is that on hard surfaces you can spin around until you get dizzy as you are only on the center 2 wheels.

6 wheeler (Frontier) sizing and pressure is as follows
Front axle - Smallest tires - 5 psi
2nd axle - Middle size tires - 5 psi
Rear axle - Largest tires - 6 psi

One more thing, proper track tension is 2-3" below properly inflated center tire or tires on 8x8's (with unit lifted off the ground) no tighter, also DO NOT add more air to stop tire spin in the tracks, the tires SHOULD spin once in a while under certain circumstances. This is what reduces the chain stress by allowing the tires to slip a bit.

I have over 800 miles on my Avenger this summer already and I have had ZERO problems with chains and sprockets. I personally installed the tracks and ensured they were done the right way.

I was skeptical of my dealer when he told me to remove my rear chains or I will have chain windup with the tracks. I couldn't find ANY reference to remove the chains in the installation manual, so I called ARGO direct and got the facts. Run all your chains but install the tracks properly. It has worked for me, as I am putting on the miles pretty fast and do not have much chain stretch at all, the highest adjuster is only on the 2nd notch.

Please keep in mind that plastic tracks are completely different and I have no manuals or experience with them.

Hope that is clear as mud, Ha, ha.
Let me know if anyone want more info, I will do what I can.

Cas

[number1cas]

A quick update

I now have 960 Miles in 7 months running the tracks, chains are almost ready to go to click 3 on the adjusters, but not quite. A couple more rides yet. Also want to mention that my friends Avenger is running without rear chains and we have found that it does not climb hills in the snow, the tires slip right away and I can drive up and over no problem. He is putting the chains back on.
I expect at LEAST 2000 miles from these chains, they were on click 1 when it was new and all the initial stretch should be gone by now. Regular oiling seems to be working great, I think Argo has these rubber tracks figured out.

Was just reading through this thread again and noticed all the comments about rubber tracks and swimming. They DO indeed swim, in water put your tranny in reverse and crank the throttle, you will swim forward. Put tranny in forward and nail it, you will swim backwards, it is slower than the tires alone, but will allow you to steer and cross small bodies of water and creeks. I would not try to cross large bodies of water (I tried !!) as it is too slow, but it WILL get you across trail obstacles so you can continue on your way. I usually just turn around and back into the water, then swim across, back onto shore spin around and off I go..... I have even towed another Avenger across a river (200 Yards +) with just my tracks. We hit the other side about 300 yards downstream but we crossed it !! Current is about 4-5 MPH in the middle.

Hope this is helpfull.

Cas

[Noel Woods]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5714[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5715[/ATTACH]For those of you who are still doubters about the Adair tracks ability to go through the snow, please look at the following pictures and become a believer! What are your questions?

Dan:
I am with you on this issue. I don't own a set of these, but have observed them on several vehicles in the swamps of East Texas. My observations were that they pull in all kinds of slop, even the kind that will immediately bog a wheeled vehicle. They will even continue to propel the vehcile when the underbody is dragging (conditions that would high center a wheeled vehicle). I have not seen a single vehicle with the Adair tracks get stuck, but its possible with anything.
We dont get much snow here in Texas, but common sense dictates that the same grousers that move you in mud will work in snow, especially since the floatation is still there with the tires. The full circumference rubber tracks may provide a slight advantage in snow.
As far as chain wind up is concerned, that can happen on any machine. It can be avoided by maintaining correct chain deflection, and not over-tightening the chains, over inflating the tires, etc., an earlier remark was made pertaining to tire slippage. That was right on the mark. The tires need to slip a bit in the process, otherwise too much torque will transfer back if adhesion is great enough and cause "torque transfer" back to the chains and cause the wind up issue.