One of our visitors to supertraxmag.com asked if he should go to a 1.5 track or even a 1.75-inch on his 137-inch Viper (up from the stock 1.25-incher).
Seems he’s been riding powder with friends on 16-wide Renegades and isn’t sure the stock 1.25 will get the job done.
It’s a tough one to answer unless you know for sure how much on-trail versus off-trail riding you’ll be doing. He claimed to be riding about 70-percent on-trail so ideally we’d suggest the max lug depth should be 1.5-inches.
A 1.5 will make a significant difference in powder but the best deep snow results will come from a 1.75. The problem with the 1.75 is it will burn off the sliders unless you’re riding trails in ideal, snowy conditions.
We’ve had a 1.75 on one of our Polaris Switchback 136 press units this year and it has fared pretty well even with the majority of its use being trails. We’ve had to be selective about where and when we trail ride it, though, making sure there’s plenty of loose snow on the trails the days we take it out.
Since he’s riding a lot of off-trail with guys who have 16-wide tracks and a lot more traction than him, plus with the high cost of a track upgrade, we think he should go all the way to the 1.75. Competing with the Renegade’s wider track and lighter weight, it will better enable him to keep his friends in sight.
It might be worth a set of sliders or two per season to get the best off-trail result.
