Coming off cat and yami I like a loose track. I was able to back the track off big time on my xm. It worked way better in the deep pow. In the spring it did ratchet on the hard snow on slow steep climbs. I tightened it slightly and and was good to go. So yes you can run a loose track
Ive tested the chit outta this track on all kinds of surfaces. Even riding on a icy groomed trail on one ski for over 2km with the track set loose as a goose. Very impressed at the durability.
The one thing you'll want to watch is don't let the track ratchet too much when you do get too loose. Mine got loose on my Turbo this year and I ended up having to change the drivers to keep it from ratcheting.
Ditto here... that is NON stop on my sled, even with it a decent ways tighter than I'm used to. I'm surprised to hear people saying they run them loose, do you just get used to that noise then? it bugs the piss out of me!
i like how not one person looked in there owners manual to give him the correct specification LMAO. including myself with 4 xms sitting in my shop. ill try this evening mark LOL
I like how the sled-god Maxwell points out the obvious and we all (myself included) just doo it the old way...............Isn't that the way?
In the owner's manual they talk about tension, deflection, and now "load reading" with the fancy-dancy TENSIOMETER (Part # 414 348 200). The tension needs to be set to achieve a deflection of 1 3/16 - 1 3/8" or 30 -35 mm.
The "load reading" has to be 16 lb. or 7.3 kg. So, from the Bible of the 2013's, there you go......
Too tight or too loose can lose a little speed on climbs, the slapping and balooning forward of the rail tips doesnt help. Factory spec or just slightly looser seems to work the best from what I have tried. And if you change your limiter strap length you may need to re adjust tension.