Max II Tracks

[mhinton5868]

Can someone tell me the difference between what I read are Rubber vs. Composite Tracks and has anyone bought the Composite Tracks from Richards Relics? Performance? Durability? Seems like the price is right.. Thx Mike

[wedge]

[LW1911]

[john swenson]

5868, i have the adair ''shackle tracks'' on my max 2. the composite treads are connected with flat metal links. they are very easy to remove and install on the machine. they are the best in mud,sand, etc. i added 2'' wide rubber belting in between each tread to give me added flotation . they are good up to about 12'' of snow. so it really depends on what your use is in what type of terrain.i believe the flat rubber and composite tracks are better for deep snow as compared to deep mud. hope this helps. johnboy

[mhinton5868]

Good info, Thx

[Canadian_Zuk]

Here is my 2 cents based on my own experience. I'm only going to discuss Rubber vs Composite here, I'll leave open grouser and elevated belts out of it as I have no real world experience with either and the OP specifically asked about composite vs rubber.


Composit tracks = junk. Now don't get me wrong, if they came with a used machine I wouldn't throw them in the garbage right away...

Problems/issues with composite tracks, well, they are composite. They provide about as much hard surface traction and control as putting cookie sheets under the front tires of your truck in the winter would. They do provide good flotation in snow for their width and can be used in mud sparingly but they will not last long at all if they see any significant amount of mud or even sand for that matter. The grit gets into the pins and the tracks get sloppy and worn out very fast. With each track section basically being a hard flat plastic plate they really do not provde good traction on anything other than snow. It only takes one little stone under the track to provide a pivot point, they just do not conform. The traction can be somewhat addressed with rubber pads or track extensions but your really just polishing a turd at that point. Plus the track etensions will acclerate the pin hole wear. Good luck even getting on the traler lol

Advantages of composite tracks are well, they are composite lol...Chain windup is pretty much a non issue when using composite tracks making them "easy" to live with. A tire will slip on the plastic long before anything breaks, they are the most forgiving track on your drive train. You can also replace individual sections of damaged track very cheaply, this is the only real benefit to using composite IMHO, that and they are super cheap.

Problems/issues with rubber tracks are the extreme grip between the tires and the tracks themselves. If all your tires are not indexed properly and/or tire pressure is not monitored and kept in check you will end up with chain windup. This is a huge parasitic power loss at the minimum that can also lead to broken axles/drive line parts. If you play in a lot of thick mud, the mud can build up inside the closed track causing stress on your axles/bearings but I will be honest, this is a problem I have only read of others experiencing, I have never noticed this...yet.

Advantages of rubber tracks are traction and floatation! If you in snow country rubber tracks are hard to beat for floatation and traction on frozen roots. Being rubber the track is able to conform much better to the terrain, the more track you have in contact the more traction you have to move forward.

[john swenson]

did i see on here that marcel was going to make some chanel tracks for max 2 ? those would be great i bet. would probably need 20-21 '' tires with offset rims or exstensions. also i guess there are no '' perfect '' tracks........ j.b.

[ARGOJIM]

Zuk, just for clarity your opinion is based on the Argo 13" or 18" track/ supertrack and the Max 15" rubber track (waffle track)?

I'm not picking, just clarity for the OP of the specific tracks you discuss.

[Canadian_Zuk]

Zuk, just for clarity your opinion is based on the Argo 13" or 18" track/ supertrack and the Max 15" rubber track (waffle track)?

I'm not picking, just clarity for the OP of the specific tracks you discuss.

The Argo 13" tracks, the Argo super tracks and the Max 15" Camoplast tracks not the waffle tracks, they are a more aggressive skidoo track vs the waffle pattern that is more common.

[mhinton5868]

Really good information... Currently looking at the MuddOx (Ripsaw) Rubber 15" Tracks for the Max II, pretty much given up on Composite after reading. Still looking for a contact number for Marcel and the Channel Tracks.. Mike