M8 belts blowing.Any better belts?

[loffelbein88]

I have an 09 M8 and blow belts here and there. Its not the blowing belts part i hate its the fuzz all over and the cords that wrap tight around the secondary and spend 10 minutes taking it off. Is any one else using a dif belt on there M8. arctic cat belts or after market ones. Im currently using the 46 and dont find it lasts good either. I ride aggressive

 

[RMK Junky]

Is your alignment out? Might want to find the cause here first if you are eating belts. But this is just an opinion from a Polaris guy..

 

[0neoldfart]

Clutch alignment may be off, spider may need to be shimmed ( Both M's in the household needed to be done...) The M8 isn't really a belt blower unless you are lake racing with it...if you are, try taller gears.

 

[Longhairfreak]

Blown belts are caused by poor clutch set up.

 

[femme.fatale.]

OldFart was right when he said that M8s aren't belt blowers... It's rare that one eats belts, of course everyone has to replace one every once in a while but to go through quite a few is strange. Best thing to do if it's getting out of hand is bring it into a dealership and have them check your clutch alignment, offset and belt deflection and add or remove shims as needed. Most Cat sleds that are assembled from the crate need them, and all Cat shops should stock them

Hope this helps =)

 

[loffelbein88]

Prob have blown 4-5 belts in 1400 miles.Ill check the alignment. Has any one tried an after market belt or a dif on other then the 46.Its just a pain wit the fuzz every were and the cords.

 

[Sledderglen]

Fix the alignment problem then worry about belts

 

[femme.fatale.]

Prob have blown 4-5 belts in 1400 miles.Ill check the alignment. Has any one tried an after market belt or a dif on other then the 46.Its just a pain wit the fuzz every were and the cords.

In my experience, the OEM (Arctic Cat) belts are better... The aftermarkets are often made to fit more than one unit, and therefore, have slightly different measurements which makes a difference in your RPM and where the belt rides. As for the fuzz and the cords, all belts are pretty much made the same way... the thing that differs is the compounds. Another, more expensive alternative is to run the 060 belt from Cat, these belts come stock on the 1000s and are made of a harder compound and might stand up better.... but, double the price.....

I'm confident that once you get your alignment figured out, your belt issues will clear up!

 

[0neoldfart]

In my experience, the OEM (Arctic Cat) belts are better... The aftermarkets are often made to fit more than one unit, and therefore, have slightly different measurements which makes a difference in your RPM and where the belt rides. As for the fuzz and the cords, all belts are pretty much made the same way... the thing that differs is the compounds. Another, more expensive alternative is to run the 060 belt from Cat, these belts come stock on the 1000s and are made of a harder compound and might stand up better.... but, double the price.....

I'm confident that once you get your alignment figured out, your belt issues will clear up!

The cat belts are better then the Carlisle belt - no question. I prefer the 046 belt and run it on my modded M1000, and the wife's modded M8 - over 800km on both belts currently with NO issues. The XS817 I tried exploded within 60km on the M1K, the 060 Cat belt is inconsistant in terms of RPM and heat in my humble opinion. As femme fatale pointed out, once your alignment issues are sorted out, you'll be a happy camper. All it takes is a few specialty tools or a quick visit to the local dealer to resolve your issues.

 

[frock]

Getting your clutches checked out is important loffelbein88. Not just for the obvious reasons of increased belt life and clutch efficiency, but also to prevent something that you mentioned in you first post. All those threads that get wrapped tightly around things could take out your top end. I've seen it happen on 2 separate occasions where blown belts took out the crank seal on that side which led to a lean burndown in both instances. The belt threads wrapped around the crank behind the primary and tore out the seal.