Types of Snowmobile Tracks

Snowmobiles are available in five main categories: trail, mountain, racing, utility and youth. Skis on the front give the driver directional control while the engine at the rear runs caterpillar-like rotating platforms called tracks. Older snowmobiles ran on rubber tracks, but those tracks have mostly been replaced by a Kevlar (a high strength, thermally stable nylon) composite. Snowmobile tracks come in six basic types.

  1. Racing

    • Many types of high-performance snowmobile tracks are used in snowmobile racing.

      Asphalt drag snowmobile tracks are used for snowmobile drag racing competitions on asphalt race tracks. Here the plastic strip called the hyfax or sliders must be removed and replaced with wheels.

      Grass/ice drags are tracks that have only a stock hyfax, and some require the insertion of wheels.

      Watercross or snowmobile skipping reaches up to 60 miles per hour on water. Stock .85 track works well with smaller 500 MXZ sleds, while a paddled track works better on larger 700 engines. The SnowRider Snowmobile Encyclopedia recommends reversing or removing the track and reinstalling it backwards.

      Snocross/Hillcross/Hybrid tracks enable the snowmobile to run up to 60 miles per hour on snow and ice surfaces and withstand 30 foot jumps.

    Back Country/Cross Country

    • Back country/cross country tracks are designed for off-the-beaten path snowmobiling. This type of snowmobiling involves deep snow, sharp turns and the need for increased traction force for hill climbing. Staggered lugs or paddles on the exterior lateral part of the track, up to 16 inches wide and from 1.25 to 2 inches tall, provide grip and flotation for off-trail travel.

    Trail

    • Trail snowmobile tracks, called hacksaw, ripsaw lite and cobra, have lug heights around 1 to 1.25 inches. These tracks are used for basic trail riding and have edges for hard packed snow. Cobras are built for speed especially in loose snow and have lug heights of up to 1.352 inches.

    Mountain

    • Mountain snowmobile tracks, called fingers, are aggressive mountain tracks built for hard surfaces such as climbing hills, traveling through packed and windblown snow, and sloshing through wet spring conditions. These tough tracks feature full windows with lugs from 2 to 2.25 inches high.

      For powder performance, the challenger track has a 2 inch lug. Some models feature thin paddles while others have a thicker paddle for deep snow and powder.

    Utility Ripsaw

    • Utility tracks enable the workhorse utility snowmobile to tow equipment.

      Utility ripsaw tracks have intermittent teeth across the platform with lugs up to 1.56 inches high.

      Although ripsaw track is considered a utility track for powder and trail riding, Snowmanpro on Snowmobile Forum claims he can still reach 100 to 110 miles per hour over a snow covered lake using it on his snowmobile. (He does suggest studding the tracks though.)

    Explore/Touring

    • Touring and exploring tracks are those tracks that are used for leisure rides on general trails and off-trail trips, not for speed. These tracks have parallel lines of tire-tread-like grips instead of the more pronounced lugs. Energy tracks have a traction-predrill feature that is under warranty against stud pull out.