By: Mark Lester

What is sizzle and what is steak when it comes to fuel efficiency? If you’re an avid snowmobiler you know and understand the effect EPA emission mandates have had on sleds the past five years. In advance of the 2009 model year, the OEMs have cleaned up exhaust emissions of many models they produce.

There’s been a degree of flexibility allowed by the EPA as a result of complicated and rather obtuse “corporate averaging and credit” systems for emission compliance. The net effect is this: The sled-builders have done an outstanding job of complying and in many cases exceeding EPA emission mandates.

There’s a bizarre twist to this story. The EPA hit the sno-mo-biz hard with emission targets many felt not commensurate with the short use cycle (season length) and number of sleds in service (when compared to outboards, ATVs and other power products). Considering the reality snowmobiles operate for about 12 weeks in a skewed geographical region, the targets seemed overly strict. The pry bar the enviro-lobby used on the EPA was US National Parks.

West Yellowstone Park, extremely popular with snowmobilers but also home to the largest rental fleet of sleds in the world, was the green movement’s grossly misrepresented example of how terrible snowmobile emissions are. Meanwhile, the good old 6 o’clock news media, consumed with ratings and influence above all else, helped fuel the issue.

I know this sounds cynical. Please understand, although I am not in favor of pollution of any kind, I am in favor of applying effort to causes capable of netting tangible results and, especially, keeping the big picture in focus.

To view snowmobile emissions as a significant contributor to the big air pollution picture, one would need a neutron microscope, figuratively speaking, to get even a tiny glimpse of our impact globally. My late associate CJ Ramstad put his inimitable spin on this topic by reporting snowmobile emissions could be calculated as less than .001 percent globally. Know this: Snowmobile emissions are not the big picture.

This is where the story gets interesting. We’ve observed that most snowmobilers are not obsessed with exhaust emissions. Truthfully, the issues the OEMs have wrestled with have little impact on sled sales or are criteria for what you consider a great sled – a sled you would buy.

What we’ve seen is this: You are buying snowmobiles based on their ability to deliver substantial improvements in fuel economy. The models delivering improvements in fuel economy, without exception, are sleds meeting or exceeding EPA requirements.

If the goal is to clean up the exhaust pipe, engineers have to control combustion and make it lean, whether 2 or 4-stroke. When combustion is leaned out, an engine inescapably uses less fuel in proportion to the volume of air being inducted. Less fuel means more mileage.

We’re staring down both barrels at model year 2009 and for the first time when the discussion moves to miles per gallon, I can honestly say it’s all about steak, not sizzle. The leading technology this year is the Ski-Doo E-Tec Direct Injection system.

The mpg numbers we generated last winter with two TNT 600 E-Tecs were unbelievable. We believe this engine can deliver 25 mpg. Here’s the caveat: Sleds don’t operate on a fixed medium like pavement; not even dirt.

Snow surfaces are radically varying and thus mpg is a moving target. However, it’s very clear sleds generating the highest mpg numbers on a given day will continue to be the best on any combination of days. Straight up, this year the E-Tec is easily the most fuel efficient snowmobile engine available. Steak, not sizzle.

4-strokes? Here’s an interesting twist: Currently Yamaha rules the 4-stroke category, both in sales and mpg numbers. We were unable to collect much data on Ski-Doo’s new 4-Tec 1200 engine last spring, however, there were promising indications this mill is good on fuel.

We believe 4-strokes can get even better mpg in the future if they employ the XP and Nytro lightness template. With Yamaha putting pressure the past four model years on the other OEM’s to build more fuel efficient sleds and the market responding with more 4-strokes, we’re more than a little intrigued by the results Ski-Doo has achieved using 2-stroke Direct Injection. In MY 2009, if mpg is paramount, it looks like the answer is a 2-stroke. Is that strange, or what?

Looking pragmatically at what has happened to the modern snowmobile as a result of the EPA’s fiddling with our sport, we have to wonder if buyers haven’t benefitted in a way we never thought possible at the turn of the century.

There’s little doubt Ski-Doo is setting the bar for a number of important buyer criteria these days. Light appears to be right and the XP is undeniable verification of this reality.

By: Kent Lester

For us snowmobile junkies, last winter was just awesome! The snow came early, stayed late and fell in copious amounts nearly everywhere in the North American snowbelt. For the first time in recent memory, hordes of snowmobile dealers were sold out of sleds.

As the moldy one, two and even three-year-old crates were being evacuated from the rear yards at the dealerships, parts departments were being suctioned of all the dusty items that had been taking up space on the shelves. Traction supplies, lubricants and non-current mechanical and body parts were replaced, consumed and hunted down by rabid enthusiasts determined to enjoy the climate.

After several seasons of declining enrolment, club and snowmobile association memberships were topped up again and, best of all… snowmobilers were out there on the trails accumulating miles! Groomers worked overtime to keep the trails in shape and diesel was being pumped through the fuel injectors on the big machines at an alarming rate. Because of the increased costs related to oil prices and the extra grooming miles, some clubs tripled their fuel and maintenance budgets last year.

It was encouraging to see enthusiasts back in the sport, participating again. The past few years, at the industry level, there had been escalating discussion about declining enthusiasm for snowmobiling, about snowmobilers en masse becoming ATV users and about the future of the sport in general. Those fears were silenced by one extremely good winter.

Even the global warming advocates were quiet. It’s tough to sell that particular dogma when average temperatures are dropping all winter and the white stuff keeps accumulating across an entire continent.

One personal observation was the increased number of older sleds I saw on the trails last winter. It’s like they’d been sitting in dark corners of garages all across the country waiting for snow. Keep in mind the term ‘old’ is really pretty relative. Is a five-year-old sled ‘old’? Ten years ago it was. If the average sled accumulates about 1200 miles every winter, a five year-old sled will have between 6000 and 7000 miles on it. Be honest; if you’re checking odometers when making a used sled purchase, chances are you’ll walk past a sled with that mileage and opt for one with thousands less. Fact is: the 1200 mile-per-year sled is likely just a reflection of normal use.

Technology advances quickly in snowmobiling and that five-year-old sled, even in today’s terms, was and still is, a very advanced product. EFI systems had long been fully developed by 2004 – and even some EPA-clean 2-strokes were appearing in the marketplace. A number of OEMs had already moved into rider-forward design and suspensions had adopted long travel technology. Exceptional ride quality had already become a given in this sport for a number of years.

The performance 4-stroke revolution was deeply entrenched and had seen Yamaha and Arctic Cat building truly viable, high horsepower mills that had plenty of sizzle. Five years ago, the modern snowmobile had become an advanced product, producing reliable, overachieving power and suspension results – even by today’s standards. Furthermore, every individual component and system on the snowmobile was evolving quickly. Shock technology, track design and electronics had all become more reliable and offered much longer life than in the five years before MY2004.

If you bought a used sled last year, you likely got a pretty good bargain. Even late in the season, new sleds were emptying out of dealerships and the old saying always holds true: “For every new one sold, someone has to buy a used one”. The savings on a five-year-old are incredible. One friend I know bought a mint used REV with less than 40 miles on the odometer and paid half the price of a new one! Although that one was rare, there are great deals are out there if you look hard enough. Even purchasing a normal mileage, used sled built in the 2000’s is a good deal as long as it’s been well maintained.

Here’s the point: If you think you can’t afford to get back into snowmobiling, think again. You can buy some of the best snowbound equipment ever made for very reasonable bucks. I predict the used sled market will be even stronger this year simply because more sleds will become available as hardcore enthusiasts feel the urge to buy new ones. Jump onto Kijiji, Sleds2Buy or Craig’s List and check out the selection. Your showroom awaits.