Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
What you say all make perfect sense to me.
I was looking at one of the wheels off the cat yesterday and took careful note of the dents in the rim.
They do more or less match the tire guides as far as the spacing on the wheel.
About 4 inches apart....Tires will/can move as far as position (Rotation) goes. but the dents match the shape of the tire guide tops.
Now ???????
My 2100 has the 57" tracks.....Yess the narrow track could tweak more as suppose...
I wonder why this issue was never really addressed ???????
I do remember back in the day that the Snowmobile clubs Spryte used to crack the steel wheels at the center where the wheel hub center is welded/riveted on.
How are the two piece bolt together rims as far as longevity ????
The factory alloy wheels up front on my machine do have some "Scuffs" on the side of the rims near where the bead is on the tire...but the bead area is a nice transition into the tire sidewall.
What could stop the issue you brought up would be a slight modification to the tire guide tops.
A more laid out top inner edge to stop the wheels and sidewalls from getting whacked...
But....this is a lot of work.....the factory alloy wheels would sure be a sweet deal.
One idea that pops into my head is a valve stem guard ....
This certainly might keep the valve stem from getting whacked.....
This entire subject has answered a lot of questions about this subject.....
Sadly, for now I am going to have to proceed with the steel wheel options on the 8 wheels....Unless a bunch of the alloy wheels happen along or I hit the lotto
But the idea of valve stem guards and possibly a weld on addition to the tire guide tops to place the load across more of the tire sidewall rather than poking holes might be a great plan.......
Another thought .....
Much has been written about the type of tire used on the cats ( Trailer tires vs "Snow cat tires") The heavy 10 ply tires and the Fall line and others would have a tougher sidewall that handles getting poked by the tire guides better....plus foaming the tires helps by keeping them from deflating as a pneumatic only tire would......????????
The one piccy with the fancy wheels on the cat....looks nice....I am not too sure how rugged those wheels are and how well they can stand being thrashed by the guides ?????
Solution
Hard rubber tires (Urethane) on herky wheels without a pronounce flange type bead.
All rounded surfaces that will tend not to beat each other up.....
Do I hear PONTOONS WITH CHAIN TYPE TRACKS
Tire valve stem guards.....may go a long way to saving tubes and ultimately the tires, wheels, guides.
Easy to make these and weld them to the new wheels while the welding process is happening....
I have torn the valve stems off our skid steer a time or two over the 20 plus years we have had it.
It does not have guards on the stems
But normally it does not have anything flying by like the tire guides on a cat "Gnashing away like shark teeth"
I was looking at one of the wheels off the cat yesterday and took careful note of the dents in the rim.
They do more or less match the tire guides as far as the spacing on the wheel.
About 4 inches apart....Tires will/can move as far as position (Rotation) goes. but the dents match the shape of the tire guide tops.
Now ???????
My 2100 has the 57" tracks.....Yess the narrow track could tweak more as suppose...
I wonder why this issue was never really addressed ???????
I do remember back in the day that the Snowmobile clubs Spryte used to crack the steel wheels at the center where the wheel hub center is welded/riveted on.
How are the two piece bolt together rims as far as longevity ????
The factory alloy wheels up front on my machine do have some "Scuffs" on the side of the rims near where the bead is on the tire...but the bead area is a nice transition into the tire sidewall.
What could stop the issue you brought up would be a slight modification to the tire guide tops.
A more laid out top inner edge to stop the wheels and sidewalls from getting whacked...
But....this is a lot of work.....the factory alloy wheels would sure be a sweet deal.
One idea that pops into my head is a valve stem guard ....
This certainly might keep the valve stem from getting whacked.....
This entire subject has answered a lot of questions about this subject.....
Sadly, for now I am going to have to proceed with the steel wheel options on the 8 wheels....Unless a bunch of the alloy wheels happen along or I hit the lotto
But the idea of valve stem guards and possibly a weld on addition to the tire guide tops to place the load across more of the tire sidewall rather than poking holes might be a great plan.......
Another thought .....
Much has been written about the type of tire used on the cats ( Trailer tires vs "Snow cat tires") The heavy 10 ply tires and the Fall line and others would have a tougher sidewall that handles getting poked by the tire guides better....plus foaming the tires helps by keeping them from deflating as a pneumatic only tire would......????????
The one piccy with the fancy wheels on the cat....looks nice....I am not too sure how rugged those wheels are and how well they can stand being thrashed by the guides ?????
Solution
Hard rubber tires (Urethane) on herky wheels without a pronounce flange type bead.
All rounded surfaces that will tend not to beat each other up.....
Do I hear PONTOONS WITH CHAIN TYPE TRACKS
Tire valve stem guards.....may go a long way to saving tubes and ultimately the tires, wheels, guides.
Easy to make these and weld them to the new wheels while the welding process is happening....
I have torn the valve stems off our skid steer a time or two over the 20 plus years we have had it.
It does not have guards on the stems
But normally it does not have anything flying by like the tire guides on a cat "Gnashing away like shark teeth"
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