Axle question for Buzz

[North Country Tough]

A post by Buzz that was about axles and running grouser bar tracks u had mentioned breaking the newest style Argo axles what do u feel was the cause of the axle failure I run Argo rubber winter only go thru the process of tire diameter staggered tire pressures the whole nine yards it's a pain I release my adjusters from tight to medium and lock them out with HD zap straps keep any ice build up out of the track and even with the older thick flange axles never broke one.Now I understand that the use of tracks in heavy mud and bog would put a heavy load on far past any snow use but is that the only reason that u see axle failure just interested in ur take.Cheers

[Buzz]

On the newest forged/slightly longer axles that are used with offset rims, I have yet to see a broken one, at least from any of my customers or friends. In regards to tracks, the factory flat Rubber track is definitely harder on the entire drivetrain (not to mention tires) simply because of the high friction belt-puley effect and sticky, hard-to-turn wide, ground-level contact patch. It just requires a lot more throttle, and we have seen lots of new 950s with the ITC clutching (think snowmachine wide-ratio) and standard 6.2 gears that are struggling big time. I?ve lost count of how many have sold off their rubber tracks upgrade to Bush Tracks. Several friends of mine have even pulled their transmissions to put tge high-torque gears in. Which is exactly what ARGO should have done to begin with. But clearly, there are folks at ARGO whose mindset comes from a different area of the powersports market. And so I feel that they?re going through a ?screwing things up? phase which will work itself out. But they likely will never admit it, otherwise they would have to pay for countless customers? machines to be re-geared.
Off tangent,
But to answer your question, the newer style axle is extremely durable, and the Flat rubber track causes more damage to tires and tub than most would lead you to believe. There is a list of limitations and watch-outs with those tracks where you?ll be okay so long as you don?t drive in those conditions with flat rubber tracks.
We do build all Bush Tracks with a double hinge so that it can be split and run in Half-Track mode for drivetrain redundancy and/or faster routes/trails where you simply need elevated performance vs. naked tires, but you want faster speed, even easier turning, or a more practical ability to take tracks on/off on the fly @60-70 lbs/ea and smaller in size.
That might have been what made you think about broken axles. We don?t see that problem, especially on the newer machines but feel like we can help the customer be the most prepared anyway, just in case.
Damage that I do see comes directly from zip tying tensioners. I am not a fan for most people if they run hard and won?t be checking/lubing chains frequently. An overly tight chain for a period of time is far better than an overly loose chain that will skip, break, or ruin axle sprockets.
It is far better to check chains/lube frequently and knock loose/reset tensioners than it is to zip tie down. And of course ensure that you?re indexed properly to prevent high loads on your tensioners when driving forward with your flat rubber track. This already happens when driving reverse which is bad enough.
Another reason I like the Elevated Belt style and ability to juggle pairs of tires as well as air pressure w/o having to worry about any of this.

[North Country Tough]

Yep got ya Buzz I have always used the low gear tranny as my machine a work horse top speed zero concern and just replaced all axles to the newest style and as far as zap strap to be clear I do not lock them rite down maybe I click from where they are almost just restrict them from a horrendous up tension and been doing this for years with no ill affect flat rubber track in the snow only with all precautions and indexing and regular tire pressure checks I have had no issues again snow only.