Adair classic tracks

[Old Tucker]

This is a elevated track design. It is where your belt rides about midway up the tire . And the belt travels the same distance as that part of the tire. slowing the track down. Or you could say its very neat form of a gear reduction system.[IMG][/IMG]

[jjort]

This is a elevated track design. It is where your belt rides about midway up the tire . And the belt travels the same distance as that part of the tire. slowing the track down. Or you could say its very neat form of a gear reduction system.[IMG][/IMG]

ok..boy this is taking me a lot of reading and still havent figured it all out..... so the elevated tracks are Chanel, Escargo and they require tuners because of the gear reduction. The adair classic are not elevated and do not require spacers or tuners (as long as the tires are all the same size)

[Buzz]

the "classic" is also an elevated belt style track. It is a narrower bodied version in All-UHMW. The belts look to be 3" wide...and the fasteners are lag-style screws. They should absolutely use tuners for best performance.

Any of these designs "can" get by w/o tuners.
They all "should" use tuners for the absolute best driveability. I've run escargos w/o tuners for quite some time w/o difficulty. However, the center tires if connected directly to the machine's driven hubs will spin faster than the track crossers that they are riding on. It's wasted power to friction, and it's a constant load that your engine feels anytime you're moving. You still get the gear reduction, but you give back some of extra power. Your CVT clutch drive system (if that's what your machine has) will adjust for the load, but you're top speed will be limited. If you index your tires properly, the machine will keep all of the chains loaded properly, and the open-crosser design allows for this "slipping" to happen. But, it is far better, to simply disconnect the center hubs, which reduces the overall load the drive system sees....mostly on flat ground. You will save the higher-load requirements of the drive system for the "expected" times you want your CVT to adjust (towing heavy, climbing, etc). You will see the most improvement with track tuners on flat ground, and especially in high range....when the load is low.

[jjort]

is there an example of a Non elevated style track? (I am now guessing the plastic argo tracks)

[Old Tucker]

If you are going the classic You are back to a narrow track. What are you using then for? If it is snow this. I would most definitely go a wider track. You will not be disappointed. No matter what track you run (except the plastic track) It is wise to run a tuner. More so on the elevated belt. It only takes a small difference in circumference of the tires to have chain issues..They just help things run a little smother. The tires may all be 22x11x8 but will very seldom be all the same circumference. You could have a much as 2inchs difference in the tire circumference. As the tire rotates one will want to go a greater distance then the other. Again it all comes down to plain physics. Not much we can do about it but work with it.

[jjort]

I am using 13 inch plastic tracks right now. 17 inch would be wide to me. I would use them more in the summer in the swamps than in deep snow. I do plow the driveway with it in the winter tho

[Buzz]

is there an example of a Non elevated style track? (I am now guessing the plastic argo tracks)

Can I ask why the additional width would be a no-go.
Hopefully this helps. It would be easy to go off on a tangent as there are other factors.....but

yes, there are many tracks that are non-elevated belt (or other connecting material). In fact, most other tracks out there are. It's always seemed like the simplest thing to do. Some use individual grousers providing open area between the tires, some are solid belt. Different grouser materials on open crosser tracks are frequently used. Different connecting-materials on open crosser tracks are used too. On closed, solid belting tracks, different lug styles and heights are used. Some solid belting has embedded rods (snowmachine style) to help give some lateral rigidity, while other rubber belting utilizes flat-plate steel between the tire guides to prevent this part especially from flexing.
argo
buldoc
mudd-ox
adair (several styles)
homemades
max?
I'm sure there are others

The easy way to distinguish is by just looking at the track from the side to see at what height exactly the track's connecting material rides.
It will be under the tread (non elevated belt) or up on the sidewall a certain amount (elevated belt).

The elevated-belt style....makes for a wider track w/o the typical down sides of trying to drive a wide track. The belts are mounted alongside the sidewals, allowing for the most "open" area between the tires-allowing the tracks to clean-out the best. It does allow for the addition of even wider belts for additional floatation or even winter-kits to be added w/o increasing the turning effort. It will increase your wheelbase. This style requires the distance between crossers (at the level of the tire tread) to "increase" when wrapping the end tires...while the crosser "guide" portion..where it is affixed to the elevated-belt (at the sidewall) is stable and remains unchanged.

The other style (non-elevated belt/chain/shackle/any other material....open crosser or solid belt w/bolt-on guides).....requires the guides...or the guide-portion of an individual crosser (near the tip) to tilt or compress when wrapping the end tires.

Any open track that uses individual crossers or "grousers", uses the crosser itself as both the "guide" and the "cleat". It requires connecting material of some sort to connect the individual crossers.

A solid or closed track uses rubber belting as both the connecting material and the terrain "cleat". It requires bolt-on guides.

To allow the track to wrap a tire, these styles require the "guides" to change distance or the "cleats" to change distance. A solid closed track only has one option: the guides have to move. An open crosser track has 2 options: elevated-belt (cleats adjust) or non-elevated belt (guides can move).

[jjort]

Thanks for the info Buzz...that explains a lot... When I said that 17 was wide to me, I was referencing Old Tucker saying that the adair classic tracks were a narrow track... I am running 13 inch tracks so 17 is wide compared to what I have now... I didnt mean that it was too wide.

[andymaga]

is the clearance that is lost with an elevated track vs a ground level track never an issue in soft ground or snow?

[Buzz]

Thanks for the info Buzz...that explains a lot... When I said that 17 was wide to me, I was referencing Old Tucker saying that the adair classic tracks were a narrow track... I am running 13 inch tracks so 17 is wide compared to what I have now... I didnt mean that it was too wide.

jjort-I see where you're coming from, that makes perfect sense.

Any time you're in conditions that are really soft and deep, extra width on your track is going to help tremendously. Lots of times you don't need this width, but when you do, you really do....especially if you have any amount of weight in your machine. It depends on what you're using your machine for and where you are riding as to whether or not you can get by with a narrower track. Sometimes you can.

[Buzz]

is the clearance that is lost with an elevated track vs a ground level track never an issue in soft ground or snow?

In general, your clearance is no different than any other track, however, in soft conditions (mud/snow)... your tires (and therefore your belly) will sink a few inches further prior to the belts picking up floatation. Usually this style track runs wide (or even extra wide) belts to give a lot of floatation when the belts do hit the snow or mud. From that point forward floatation is not an issue at all. The key is to run wide belts. Width equals increased performance w/o any penalty in regards to "driving" or "turning" the track. What's cool is that it allows several inches of crosser "paddle" to engage in the mud or snow at the same time the belts pick up floatation. And, you have gear-reduction to help turn the paddle track in the mud/snow. In many other conditions, it allows the ground-pressure of just your tires to support the vehicle and allows the track to skid-turn easier than on tires alone. You don't have to plow 7' of belt as the tires can often times provide adequate floatation for the machine. When you need lots of floatation and/or paddles or "anchors" in the mud, they are there for you.
A narrow "elevated-belt design" gives up some good qualities of the track. Any elevated-belt style (regardless of width) will still provide gear-reduction and be the easiest to turn. This can be really important if your machine is low on HP.

The gear-reduction works when you're operating on tracks, but essentially goes away when you remove the track. So you get more usable range of speeds with your machine depending on whether you are in condtions that are appropriate for tracks, or just tires. It's an easy option as opposed to engine or clutching mods, tranny gear swaps, sprocket changes, tire diameter changes etc.

[Old Tucker]

In my own experience, going from the 18 inch super track to the 20 inch elevated chanel track. I found the flotation is about the same. The soft snow I was in recently when I hoped out of the argo I was up to my waist and the argo only sank about 4 inchs. Now It will sink a lot more when I have it loaded down but so do the super track. So far it has not been a issue. The biggest difference I found is with the super track in the soft snow on the simplest hills it would get stuck. Now with the chanel I just power right on through. One thing, try not to spin the track. They dig down very fast.
One thing I did and I think also helps is going to a wider and more flatter (or square) tread style tire helps in the floatation over the runamuks.
Now when I say soft snow I am not thinking 6 inches or a foot I am talking about 3 feet or more.

[Buzz]

I agree with Old Tucker. Typically the elevated-belt style is wider in comparison to other tracks. Running a narrow elevated-belt track is slightly counter-productive in terms of the benefits you "could" be seeing.

[jjort]

I still must be missing something... I look at the picture of the adair track and I dont see how it is considered a raised belt.. everything is above the wheel

[Buzz]

It's kinda hard to tell as this picture is small, but when I zoom in, I think that is a set of "chained" adair tracks. The chain acts as the connecting material and appears to be at the level of the tire tread itself.

Here's a few pics of some elevated-belt tracks