850 Turbo Q&A

I was fortunate enough, thanks to the wonderful folks at Gateway SS, to spend a few days on the new 850 turbo. I know a lot of people have questions and if your like me, you don't always take what the reps and salesmen say as gospel and real world opinions from an average joe mean more. So here's a few to get started, if there's anything I'm missing feel free to ask below.

Q- does it actually have that much more power than a normal 850?
A- Yes, IF you are riding at elevation and you are putting load on the motor the difference is HUGE, feels more like 50hp rather than 30hp, but don't expect it to beat an 850 by much in a drag race across the field at home.

Q- how much more fuel and oil does it use compared to N/A?
A- roughly 5-10%, in dollars it was $3-5 more or 2-4 litres (we brought jerry cans from AB) more in fuel and around $3 more in oil (approx 250ml) more in oil per day

Q- does it trench like a mofo?
A- surprisingly no, but like any turbo sled it takes a lot of throttle control in the trees, WOT will dig you a grave. But when you are in a bad spot and grab a mitful, it jumps out of the snowpack and gets on top real fast so be prepared, trees get real close real quick.

Q- what about heating issues on the trail with the stubby tunnel?
A- on average I saw temps in the 48-56 deg range on trails with fresh and a max of 66deg on a freshly groomed then froze in the morning trail. With scratches down it's just not an issue, especially with the difference that tunnel makes when it comes to carving, getting up on the snow and turning out.

Q- doo clutching, is it still eating belts and fading on the top end?
A- surprisingly no, the new belt temp monitor is a handy tool but I never saw it over 60 deg and not once in 350km of every snow condition imaginable did I smell any belt.

Q- Big A, at the end of the day, is this sled worth the extra money?
A- well friends, let me say this, I have owned a bunch of turbo kits over the years with every skid setup there ever was in several different brands as I've never been happy with stock ride and power, those days are over. If your like me and looking for a sled with more power that gets on the snow better than stock and you'll probably turbo a stocker anyways, just spend the extra coin up front and you won't be disappointed. Plus we even get to keep the warranty. For you high boost crazy a$$holes, don't bother wasting your money, buy the N/A and bolt your massive turbos on, I can't see any more than 8psi ever coming out of this setup.

Hopefully this helps some of you fellas that weren't able to swing a leg over one. Feel free to post more questions or DM me if you like.

Thank you

Thanks Big A! I've also been fortunate enough to try the 850T as my good buddy jumped on getting one a little more than an hour after the release. I've also had experience with owning a couple of turbos in the past and while the arm-stretching power of 300 hp is a blast, my riding has changed to technical tree riding so not really needing big hp anymore. I'm now riding a 2020 Expert and jumping on the 850T initially I found the turbo feeling heavier and quite a bit less nimble than my 2020 Expert. After playing with the suspension set up and tightening up the front rear skid shock it made a big difference in handling and felt very close to the Expert but with more power when needed. We ride typically at 6000-7000 feet and the extra 30-35 hp was really noticeable! Pleased to see the number of different options that Ski Doo released. As an industry and as a consumer we are lucky to see manufacturers continue to step up with major innovations. Fun times!

They are horrible on fuel. My polaris 850 used 38 litres and the 850 turbo used almost 50 litres. I don't know about the oil.

dragonweld28 said:

They are horrible on fuel. My polaris 850 used 38 litres and the 850 turbo used almost 50 litres. I don't know about the oil.

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i wouldn't say horrible. One would have to compare engine hours or KM for the day to really say. The machine never stops, when your not riding it your buddies are riding it LOL. But yes, it certainly does use more fuel, being boosted it has too. 5-10L a day more for the extra fun is totally worth it for most. I have found oil consumption very similar. Oil consumption is a factor of throttle operation so you will see that the 154 uses substantially more oil than the 175. Just all about how much full throttle your dealing with and the snow conditions. i find the 165T uses about the same to a full tank of fuel.

With the turbo models being "the latest and greatest" has anyone considered how it will effect the N/A market as far as the selling price go? Do you think the N/A sleds will come down in price from BRP (and other brands) like how the value of a 800 dropped after the 850 was released? Supply and demand thing.

I am not trying to stir anything up here only hoping that at some point I will be interested in a sled that is not the most expensive offered.

Teth-Air said:

With the turbo models being "the latest and greatest" has anyone considered how it will effect the N/A market as far as the selling price go? Do you think the N/A sleds will come down in price from BRP (and other brands) like how the value of a 800 dropped after the 850 was released? Supply and demand thing.

I am not trying to stir anything up here only hoping that at some point I will be interested in a sled that is not the most expensive offered.

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Chris for the last 7 years you have talked about a Doo and haven't pulled the string. I highly doubt you are thinking about it now. Lol

Great Q&A! I hope to try a turbo doo soon.

Question-Big A, how does the 2021 Skidoo turbo affect your angry personality?
Answer-Kanedog, the new turbo is a great substitute for my meds. I am a mellow, reasonable person now. I enjoy sharing information with fellow snow and mudders. Best thing to happen to me yet. Cheers Kd. I always liked you.

maxwell said:

i wouldn't say horrible. One would have to compare engine hours or KM for the day to really say. The machine never stops, when your not riding it your buddies are riding it LOL. But yes, it certainly does use more fuel, being boosted it has too. 5-10L a day more for the extra fun is totally worth it for most. I have found oil consumption very similar. Oil consumption is a factor of throttle operation so you will see that the 154 uses substantially more oil than the 175. Just all about how much full throttle your dealing with and the snow conditions. i find the 165T uses about the same to a full tank of fuel.

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For most people it isn't the cost, it is the range....

dgiles said:

For most people it isn't the cost, it is the range....

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Thats why they have the oil caddy. In case you want to put on 200km in a day

dgiles said:

For most people it isn't the cost, it is the range....

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where are you going? after a 100km Hard mountain ride if your not out of fuel and energy i dont understand?

dragonweld28 said:

They are horrible on fuel. My polaris 850 used 38 litres and the 850 turbo used almost 50 litres. I don't know about the oil.

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That's a very different result than what I saw, we had a deep pow sunny day in north blue, I had to break trail all day to get in and the 850 Polaris with us had to dump his Jerry can in shortly after I did, maybe yours is just really good on fuel, I am just letting people know what I experienced.

dgiles said:

For most people it isn't the cost, it is the range....

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We did 130km on Saturday, blue bird day, lots of WOT and when we got back to the truck the T850 oil tank was just below half, about a 1/4" lower than the stock 850doos, everyone in the group had dumped there Jerry cans in and fuel lights were all on again, not sure how hard core you are but everyone I ride with was fkn bagged. 850 Polaris used nearly the same amount of fuel and he was a greener riser, it didn't use 1/2 tank of oil but that's a little scary if you ask me.

maxwell said:

where are you going? after a 100km Hard mountain ride if your not out of fuel and energy i dont understand?

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Spring rides are an easy 150 to 175km.
Powder days you are done before that.
Even packing two fuel cans for an extra 26 liters you should be fine with one tank of oil.
Just pack a 1 litre bottle the first couple times out to guage the consumption.

snochuk said:

Spring rides are an easy 150 to 175km.
Powder days you are done before that.
Even packing two fuel cans for an extra 26 liters you should be fine with one tank of oil.
Just pack a 1 litre bottle the first couple times out to guage the consumption.

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ya and 60 of that is the renshaw trail, the rest is touring. Youll be fine on the factory turbo with the 14L skidoo jerry

maxwell said:

where are you going? after a 100km Hard mountain ride if your not out of fuel and energy i dont understand?

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Every doo turbo guy I spoke with said they burn wayyy more fuel. So, I guess that really needs to be sorted out exactly what that means, but 10L more is a lot. Most tunnel cans are 10L. Therefore, if you are riding with NA sleds, you basically do not have extra fuel. Yep, most days probably doesnt matter, but there are days I need to dump. Lot's of guys do. No way do I want to haul 2 jerry cans. So, only point is, for guys that ride hard all day with a bunch of guys without turbos, they will be going home early or sitting a bunch at the end of the day.

dgiles said:

Every doo turbo guy I spoke with said they burn wayyy more fuel. So, I guess that really needs to be sorted out exactly what that means, but 10L more is a lot. Most tunnel cans are 10L. Therefore, if you are riding with NA sleds, you basically do not have extra fuel. Yep, most days probably doesnt matter, but there are days I need to dump. Lot's of guys do. No way do I want to haul 2 jerry cans. So, only point is, for guys that ride hard all day with a bunch of guys without turbos, they will be going home early or sitting a bunch at the end of the day.

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yes they certainly do use more fuel. But after 8 LONG days on it, 14L skidoo jerry will be fine.

dgiles said:

Every doo turbo guy I spoke with said they burn wayyy more fuel. So, I guess that really needs to be sorted out exactly what that means, but 10L more is a lot. Most tunnel cans are 10L. Therefore, if you are riding with NA sleds, you basically do not have extra fuel. Yep, most days probably doesnt matter, but there are days I need to dump. Lot's of guys do. No way do I want to haul 2 jerry cans. So, only point is, for guys that ride hard all day with a bunch of guys without turbos, they will be going home early or sitting a bunch at the end of the day.

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Or get your friends without turbos to carry your extra gas... that’s what I used to do when I had my SnowHawk...got the friends with the sleds to carry extra fuel with the promise of a turn on the Hawk.