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Spring Riding - What Does or Can that Mean?


Gadgetman

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27 March 

Trailered to Mont Laurier for a day trip. 13North to 322, plan was East on 322 up to Mekoos and back down thru the mountains.

I'd say this applies to all Spring riding locations, although my experience Sunday was in QC, north of Mont Laurier. First total obstruction was this washout (trail marked as Green), only 40KM from our staging place. More than a sled wide and 3ft deep, with steep sides. For those that think it was worth taking a shot at it, this guy did, I’d say the day or night before (ON plate), and coming from the other direction (Yes, that sled is frozen in the ice). Looks like they tried to get him out, no luck. (322 between Ferme Neuve and St Philip - called the St Philip Pres when I got home - they have now closed the trail and they said they would go Monday and recover the sled for the owner.)

2nd Obstacle: Tried to take the lake trail parallel to the 13 North out of Ferme Leuve. Saw two sleds earlier in the day and it looks like they took this route. However, they broke the top layer of ice for about 10ft from shore, and we couldn't tell how deep the water was, or if there was a bottom layer of ice. So, aborted that. Drove back to the gas station. (note pretty well no snow on roads in town.)

3rd Obstacle: Saw that the 13 North runs along the lake, so back thru town to take it. But that part is road shoulder, so no snow. Look back, no Mach Z anymore. Turned around, and found the Mach Z shutdown at 115c over-temp. Waited about 25 mins for it to cool enough to head back thru town and abort the day, and ride back to Mont Laurier.

total was 78KM. I'm afraid to look at my carbides, especially with the TX ski.

Summary:

Spring riding conditions mean –“You’re on your own, watch out for obstacles”;

Ice on trail  – “The trail bed is all ice, scratchers needed and good luck in town”;

Green Trail (QC) – “Doesn’t mean trail conditions are great or even good – just mostly safe”

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I guess not a post to "like"....maybe sad, but at least you tried!

Did you have scratchers on your sled and the Mach guy did not?

 

I am guessing this is the last ride for you on the year - if so, on hopefully a brighter note, how did the new Doo treat you?

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1 hour ago, stoney said:

I guess not a post to "like"....maybe sad, but at least you tried!

Did you have scratchers on your sled and the Mach guy did not?

 

I am guessing this is the last ride for you on the year - if so, on hopefully a brighter note, how did the new Doo treat you?

We both had a single scratcher. He runs Prem fuel this time of year, which burns hotter. His Mach is almost always 5-8c warmer running temp than my X. (I have the IR 1.5, he runs a studded track with the big plastic mounts) I run 73-75c temp. On that road I reached 95C. There was no snow to scratch on the road or shoulders.

Love the new Ski-Doo. I can't stop raving about the rear suspension comfort compared to my Vector LTX. Front suspension is also way better than the Vector; that said I think I will get Accelerated Tech to put Dual rate springs on the front when I take the sleds to storage later this Spring. Two days of pounding moguls on the week trip convinced me that front suspension has room for improvement, compared to the rear.

Last ride. Already planning next years trip, in QC.

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1 hour ago, Gadgetman said:

We both had a single scratcher. He runs Prem fuel this time of year, which burns hotter. His Mach is almost always 5-8c warmer running temp than my X. (I have the IR 1.5, he runs a studded track with the big plastic mounts) I run 73-75c temp. On that road I reached 95C. There was no snow to scratch on the road or shoulders.

Love the new Ski-Doo. I can't stop raving about the rear suspension comfort compared to my Vector LTX. Front suspension is also way better than the Vector; that said I think I will get Accelerated Tech to put Dual rate springs on the front when I take the sleds to storage later this Spring. Two days of pounding moguls on the week trip convinced me that front suspension has room for improvement, compared to the rear.

Last ride. Already planning next years trip, in QC.

 

Just so you know, premium fuel does not burn hotter.  Everyone thinks as the octane increased so does the volatility. Its actually the opposite (anti knock index).  Prevents high compression engines from experiencing pre-detonation and therefore improves performance by allowing the fuel to combust at the most opportune time.

 

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13 minutes ago, Puggz said:

 

Just so you know, premium fuel does not burn hotter.  Everyone thinks as the octane increased so does the volatility. Its actually the opposite (anti knock index).  Prevents high compression engines from experiencing pre-detonation and therefore improves performance by allowing the fuel to combust at the most opportune time.

 

 

What he said.   

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Yep, more precise & reliable combustion window on the gas so engine can make the max power based on the duration of the piston in its revolution........does it cause more heat though as a result of an engine making more or max power, argument could likely go both ways I would think.

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It is funny that you guys mention that (Prem not burning higher), as that was my position on the matter for the last 40 years, and often debated with the Mach owner over the last 40 years. I could have sworn we came across some info during one of the beer on a porch debates last fall that said Prem burned hotter, much to my surprise. A quick check confirmed what you guys ae saying, not hotter. I now need to find the source of my miss-information.

If I do, I'll start a thread in the Tech section to continue, should "we" be interested.

Thanks

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Premium fuel helps against pre ignition and detonation. It does not burn hotter but it burns longer to get the most available power out of the length of the piston travel. Especially useful for engines with knock sensors. Computer will advance to ignition timing until it hears the knock sensor then backs up the timing or adds fuel depending on the input of other sensors. 
Think of it this way. A hot fire ( regular fuel ) will fire like a fire cracker. One loud band and it is consumed. Premium fuel is like burning paper. You can watch it be consumed in real time and not in a rush. 
Preignition results in the melting of the top of the piston. Could be anywhere on the piston that it melts. Can also be caused by lean burn or hot carbon deposits or incorrect spark plug heat range. 
Detonation is where the centre of the piston is literally imploded on itself and you see stress cracks around the hole. The hole in the piston is literally dynamited into it. That is where premium fuel would help prevent that situation. 
Ask me how I know all this. It was expensive! 

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I'm creating a thread over in the Tech forum to continue the Premium Fuel Temp discussion.

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16 hours ago, Gadgetman said:

It is funny that you guys mention that (Prem not burning higher), as that was my position on the matter for the last 40 years, and often debated with the Mach owner over the last 40 years. I could have sworn we came across some info during one of the beer on a porch debates last fall that said Prem burned hotter, much to my surprise. A quick check confirmed what you guys ae saying, not hotter. I now need to find the source of my miss-information.

If I do, I'll start a thread in the Tech section to continue, should "we" be interested.

Thanks

 

No worries, I thought what you did until i was "corrected"..  Higher compression will give you more HP but it will also cause pre detonation issues which defeats the purpose of having higher compression. 

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