max4 worth tracks

[new2memax4]

lots of snow here in southern pa.Would love to have tracks for the max4 however am scared of investing in/making tracks for it, if truck and tractor can both outperform it in deep(12") plus of powder soft snow.Have read about one fella thatloves his and the next guy hates them. i Got the ease up on throttle part from those posts.Have run the max in about 8 maybe 10" of the fluffy stuff and sure do not want to try and climb any hill of any grade with it on tires.Floats on its belly and just paddles the tires in snow going nowhere fast.Have had several friends ask me to bring out the max this snow cuz its 20 plus inches of fluffy.they think this thing is unstoppable now as it is,I would love to take it out but know full well it won't move in this stuff.Are the tracks that capable of running in deep snow.Not interested in theory but real experiance from anyone that has it. Would love to be able to drive this puppy cross country in deep snow,any feed back either way would be appreciated.

[Eldon]

I have tracks on my Max II so have no experience with Max IV but I can tell you I believe the tracks make the machine.There are tricks to driving in the snow,the key is stay on top of it and to do this spinning is undesirable.I have read that the higher horsepower Max II is the best of the two in snow due to the weight per square inch rule but I cannot state this as fact from my experience.I find the tracks work best after a major snowfall if you give the snow a day or so to settle.The new factory tracks for Max IV are 3/4" cleats vs. 3/8" cleats on the Max II so they are more aggressive for sure.
What you want in snow is flotation,traction and to know that spinning is the last thing you want.

[wfo]

i have a set of tracks for my max 4 and ill tell you that thing will go anywhere..i live in tucson and have taken it to alpine az. when snow mobiles had to stay on the packed road area i could go through deep deep snow where they could not..tracks are worth the price..

[patrick518]

I have a MAX IV with tracks and have had just the opposite opinion of WFO. in deep snow all I do is get struck.the belly pan plows snow and gets hung up. it's unstopable when the snow is hard but if it's deep and soft I leave it home. I've taken off the front and center drive chains which I was told it would make a difference but we haven't had very much snow this year to see.

[new2memax4]

wow that is exactly what i am afraid of.WFO loves it and says his will do what I and anyone would want it to and then Patrick has the same result as tires only.I have to wonder whats the difference? Are wfo tracks wider,machine lighter or arizona snow more dense or what?I see patrick is ny guy i am down her in pa. we got alll your snow this year. would love to be able to move over and thru this stuff at will with this max4.we have had3 1/2 feet of light fluffy snow in the past week.WFO what kind of tracks do you have on there?I have not had max out due to excessive amount of snow.Want to go run the creek,can see it from kitchen window but cannot get to it without snowshoes,bummer Wfo do you have to stay on fairly level ground in the deep snow ?

[countrycummins99]

my guess is that patrick might be to throttle happy staying on top of the snow is key to do that you must keep a keen eye on your tracks the idea is to not spin the tracks but to let them pull you through you should have no issus staying on top of the snow as long as your not spinning them

[patrick518]

I don't have to be throttle happy to get struck. Once the belly plows the deep snow in front of it, I'm hung up. I would love to see videos of a MAX IV in deep snow. I won't be a believer until I see it. As far as 3 1/2 feetof snow good luck ! make sure you have a winch and a shovel.

[Eldon]

The ability to go in deep snow could vary by region.I find the Max II works good in snow but when we get a rare extra deep snowfall I usually let it settle for a day or so before trying anything too fancy.A hill will of course with loose snow be a challenge depending on the grade and the type and depth of snow but it can be to a snowmobile too,in fact I don't think a snowmobile could ever follow me at low speed.The different regions can get different types of snow and Patrick could well be trying it on different snow than some others.

[wfo]

it is possable the snow out here might be alittle on the heavy side..
i try to stay out of the throttle and torque through it..my max tracks were bought from r.i in 1996
and i think they are the widest they make at that time..22 inches..i do drag bottom but it still
pulls through it very well..its never been stuck with the tracks..ill try and find those old pictures and post them..

[TerryA]

Just a thought that I didn't read about in this thread. Wouldn't the width of the tracks have something to do with staying on top of the snow?
Terry

[Eldon]

It would for sure Terry but if the posters here are using Max factory tracks they will be 15 inch wide on the Max IV and Max II models.I have heard that the Max II was better in snow than Max IV based on the Max II's lighter weight. Who knows?If anyone is using plastic aftermarket tracks they will not have the traction of the factory rubber tracks either.

[ktcole]

The factory tracks I have on my Buffalo are very aggressive. I think the factory tracks on the Max II look like they provide a lot less traction in deep snow than mine do. That said, if one gets into a situation where one is plowing the snow with the hull, at some point the snowbank created will stop the machine, with or wtihout tracks. I've only had that happen once. I was on a lake after a serious sleet storm. The slush was over two feet deep. There was no problem backing off the lake in my own tracks, though, and nothing else was moving at all. One couldn't even walk in the stuff.

[thejunkman]

if you want tracks buy a 500.00 sled to get around tracks create problems ,hard on bearings,chain windup, hard on chain adjusters just not a good thing after investing thousands of dollars if you need tracks make them yourself you will save a ton of money.

[bucketobolts]

Maybe should be in the video section but seems like it fits here. Looks like it does pretty good.

[Eldon]

The 3/4" cleats on the Buffalo and Max IV tracks are indeed very agressive but part of the "snow" formula is weight per square inch.The Max II is the lightest per square inch.The 3/8" cleats on mine, traction has never been an issue. The issue is flotation.My opinion only.