Studing does not shorten the life of a snowmobile track, It may have in the past on vintage sleds with crap tracks but not on today modern tracks.
I agree that modern tracks are better but putting a stud in does put a lot more force/stress on that small area compared to the track just sitting on the ground.
We stud all our tracks with little degradation to track life.
So taking a piece of track drilling holes into it then placing a stud doesn't cause more stress then if the track were to just be used undrilled and unstuded? Again I agree newer tracks are much better quality. I grew up ridding the older machines 12-3 and the 335 skidoos, rupp, scorpion, snow jet etc.. I have also owned and put many miles on modern machines.
Anyone that knows snowmobiling, knows that you don't stud your track to be able to go, you stud your track to be able to stop ! . Yes, they help bite out of the hole and provide traction going forward but mostly used to stop the sled from high speeds in a controlled mAnner.
Kind of a contradiction in your own wording. I doubt highly back when the studs came out they were worried about stopping. Studding is for better control/handling and originally better hole shot and traction especially when it came to ice racing. Is there a benefit to stopping, of course, but the real reason for studding is traction, a little bit of an edge over your competitor, better contact means higher speed .
If anyone doubts what in saying, get going about 65 down an icy highway and slam on the brakes of your car or truck and tell what happens...out of control in a big hurry
Why are you doing 65 on an icy highway in your vehicle, and then slamming on your brakes?
Modern sleds are extremely fast , In order to go fast, you first need to be able slow down just as quickly or you will only go fast one or two times before you kill yourself...,besides what does a guy from Tennesee know about snow and ice..,,ha ha ha...just kiddin on that part.
Lived in the Adirondack mountains most of my life, just recently moved here(less then 2 years) I remember back in the day when we would ride sled almost every week from thanksgiving until easter. Weekends were the time to go to the lake races, trust me, know one that studed was worrying about stopping, in fact complete opposite, they were trying to get that extra edge on speed. You can have 300hp but if you can't make that 300hp contact the ground you might as well have a kittykat(not sure if they make them anymore). I remember when the cleated tracks came out, if you weren't careful and stopped on the lake they'd freeze solid, course that is when they came out with this new style undercarriage, sliders instead of boogie wheels.
Pafarmer; I agree to a point with what you're saying, but lets not kid anyone, studs are for speed and control. They were designed to get the machine moving as quick as possible, an added benefit is control and yes better stopping.
Be safe out there on the trails, had many friends over the years loose their lives or become crippled because of speeding on sleds, one reason I quit riding. I was never worried about my driving but met many of idiots drunk, racing through the woods to get from one bar to another. Last ride I took we had a small group left at 800hrs in the morn, by 1000hrs we met our 1st drunk. He had driven into a tree. His group thought it was funny, they got him loose, then he drove straight into my wife's sled, got him loose again and he nailed another tree. Never understood the need to do 80-100MPH while going through the woods, oh well maybe I'm just getting old
