Who has the best top end kit for the Polaris 800's - asking for a friend, not joking around (for a change).  2018 Assault 800

@SayatodaU.P.eh? @Doug  @racerdave or those in the know... 

It doesn't matter. What does matter is maintenance and measuring. Fix kits IMO fix nothing. 2 stroke pistons are a maintenance item. 

Stock 

1 hour ago, HSR said:

Stock 

This. 
 

Just call Fastsledder Jim. He will take care of it. 

Stock and also change the rod bearing as long as its apart.

Just saw this, and agree 10000000% on stock (and reaching out to Jim Krahn ... AKA fastsleddr).  Don't let your buddy fall for these stupid "Durability Kits" promoted by BMP or any other speed shop.

They may or may not be a maintenance item but it seems like the Polaris 800 needs maintenance intervals are much much closer

4 hours ago, mnstang said:

They may or may not be a maintenance item but it seems like the Polaris 800 needs maintenance intervals are much much closer

Yep Polaris fucked up when they designed the 800s. Common knowledge.

stock Polaris was the initial choice, but fortunately his compression checked out perfect and upon examination with a borescope everything looks good.  so, he's going to check some other stuff, change the belt and possibly uninstall a New Hampshire clutch kit.
 

On 2/26/2021 at 12:35 PM, mnstang said:

They may or may not be a maintenance item but it seems like the Polaris 800 needs maintenance intervals are much much closer

You need to pay better attention to the abortion of issues that the ctec 800 Cat is having these days. 

2 hours ago, SayatodaU.P.eh? said:

You need to pay better attention to the abortion of issues that the ctec 800 Cat is having these days. 

"abortion of issues"?  

What exactly does that mean?

23 hours ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

stock Polaris was the initial choice, but fortunately his compression checked out perfect and upon examination with a borescope everything looks good.  so, he's going to check some other stuff, change the belt and possibly uninstall a New Hampshire clutch kit.
 

New Hampshire clutch kit.....i see what you did there, lol

 

no fix kits, just go new Axys or try the Wiseco piston kit (not fix kit).  I have 3300 miles on my wisecos and they are still in almost perfect condition other than some of the Armor Glide coming off on the exhaust side of the sled.  

Edited February 28, 20214 yr by LexusLover

I wouldn't call the ctec 800 having an abortion of issues ... just like I wouldn't say that about the 800 from Polaris (at least not the 800HO version).  The 800 CFI was a freaking debacle ... I'll be the first to admit that & comparing to the old Zuke 800 it was no contest in regards to durability.  But right now, with Cat finally having to play the same EPA game as Doo and Polaris ... none of them are exactly stalwarts.  

2 hours ago, Bontz said:

I wouldn't call the ctec 800 having an abortion of issues ... just like I wouldn't say that about the 800 from Polaris (at least not the 800HO version).  The 800 CFI was a freaking debacle ... I'll be the first to admit that & comparing to the old Zuke 800 it was no contest in regards to durability.  But right now, with Cat finally having to play the same EPA game as Doo and Polaris ... none of them are exactly stalwarts.  

They’re dropping like flies from what I’ve seen. Electrical issue. Engine mechanical issues. I’d never say that the 2009-2015 Polaris 800 was the pinnacle of reliability but knock on wood, I’m on my fourth, with about 15,000 collective miles without issue. I have a lot of riding buddies with the same and only one failure from bad gas out of all of them. Hell, I’ve currently got a very close friend that has a 2016 ZR 8000 that has given him fits since he bought it with 750 Miles on it at the end of 2019. He just called    me and says he’s done. He rode an Axys 800 Polaris and 850 Renegade this past weekend and that’s all it took. Life long Cat guy too. 

On 3/1/2021 at 3:33 PM, SayatodaU.P.eh? said:

They’re dropping like flies from what I’ve seen. Electrical issue. Engine mechanical issues. I’d never say that the 2009-2015 Polaris 800 was the pinnacle of reliability but knock on wood, I’m on my fourth, with about 15,000 collective miles without issue. I have a lot of riding buddies with the same and only one failure from bad gas out of all of them. Hell, I’ve currently got a very close friend that has a 2016 ZR 8000 that has given him fits since he bought it with 750 Miles on it at the end of 2019. He just called    me and says he’s done. He rode an Axys 800 Polaris and 850 Renegade this past weekend and that’s all it took. Life long Cat guy too. 

Surprised a 2016 gave him that much trouble. That's a Zuke motor.

The new 2021 CTecs seem to be a nightmare. I've seen some real horror stories. And not 2500 miles needs a top end horror stories, like 130 miles needs a new motor horror stories.

^^^^^^^^^ @ACE ^^^^^^^^^ 

5 minutes ago, SShooterZ said:

Surprised a 2016 gave him that much trouble. That's a Zuke motor.

The new 2021 CTecs seem to be a nightmare. I've seen some real horror stories. And not 2500 miles needs a top end horror stories, like 130 miles needs a new motor horror stories.

It’s doing better now. It ate a few sensors and was giving him some drive quality fits but that’s all better now. He had to fix the HORRIBLE factory clutching which helped a bunch too but now he’s sick of the super retarded short gearing and 85 mph top speed (ZR 137). He’s at his tipping point right now but he just finally got comfortable with the chassis so I’m trying to talk him into just gearing it and keeping it. 
 

Been seeing a lot of the same around here too, with the ctecs. 

I heard stick with stock before, but a bud of min threw in some zuke 800 pistons years ago and its been awesome.  

my take---I use Stock, or SPI Hyper Drives.

Every fix kit that I've seen has failed!!

Most fix kits come with forged pistons, great for 4 strokes, BAD for 2 strokes. The forged piston expands at twice the rate of cast. Most snowmobilers are too dumb to run forged! See it ALL the time, cold seize!! Every fix kit failure I've seen is a cold seize failure!

If you are smart enough, and have the right clearances you can achieve success with forged pistons. I've ran them over the years with success, BUT you need to warm the sled up, take it easy the first 3 or 4 miles, and get the thermostat open and the coolant moving to not shock the cylinder.