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1995 ZR 580 Modifications

9K views 22 replies 6 participants last post by  jordandakota 
#1 ·
My uncle asked me to see what is out there for his sled as far as performance upgrades. He was wondering about putting in a different rear skid...any chances of fitting the ETT rear skid in there? For now he has EXT 580 cylinders on there and used pistons, but they are only to get him through the rest of this season. This summer he is planning on getting ZR cylinders with the power ports and then porting them and possibly boring them over. Also, any thoughts on the Black Magic single pipe for these sleds?

This question I would like an answer to more than the rest. Is there any way the clutch from our Cougar (9-tower) will fit on his 580? He has the stock clutch that engages right around 3500 and the Cougar engages at around 5k, and it would save my uncle money and benefit us for pulling the ice shack.
 
#2 ·
The clutch will swap, same clutch, just different innards (spring and weights).

Finding Black Magic parts anymore is problematic as the company is out of business.

He can use the ETT/TSL skid under there for a better ride.
 
#4 ·
Thanks RJ. Will the pullers be the same for both sleds? You may have seen that I've gotten to be pretty comfortable under the hood...I should be able to do this myself, correct? Which companies are still in business that deal more with Cat stuff? SLP seems to me to be more geared toward Polaris, and I haven't seen anything SLP for Cats on CL.

How complicated was your skid swap with the 01 skid? I've looked into this a little bit before but not too much. Will we need to drill different holes for the front as well as the rear to accommodate for the extra travel to get the approach angle correct or do you get it bolted up in front and then use the rear to get your geometry correct? I will look into getting all the specifics when I can find a skid for the sled, just kind of trying to gather the general info for my uncle so I have something to report.
 
#5 ·
when i swapped clutches i had to have 2 diff pullers. and idk how far your are from sioux falls jordan but i have been looking in omaha sioux falls, south dakota, and minnesota on craigslist trying to find a skid and cant. and RJ does every skid from 97-02 have either the tsl or ett and how do you tell which is which?
 
#7 ·
For my Wildcat, it was as simple as measuring/drilling new holes 2" forward from the original holes (front and rear).
ETT skids will have longer front and rear swing arms, TSL skids have an aluminum block at the top of the rear arm and do not have a shaft that goes all the way across the body, but ride on brass bushings and short bolts.
Also, the newer skid will be lighter than the original 95 skid.

This is an 01 TSL skid.
 
#11 ·
This is an 01 TSL skid.

:eek: I forgot what NE skids look like... :eek:

If you ever need to replace another skid, try getting one from out West. It's perfectly "normal" here to see a 20 year-old sled with not a speck of rust on it... anywhere... including the skid! Surprised me at first, but now I'm used to it. We just don't ride in salty snow here. I've put on somewhere around 600 miles, and only crossed a road twice (same road, once over, and once coming back)!

Gotta love that NY salt, eh RJ?
 
#9 ·
Nope, it's not EFI. This thing has the biggest carbs I've ever seen on a sled though! They're huge! I'll be sure to look for the how-to on the swap and send it to my uncle.

Thanks RJ. Would we need measurements from the donor sled or can we just measure the skid and then drill?
 
#12 ·
That simple? That'd be great. If we do a skid swap, my uncle will for sure want to put a different track on it since the one on the sled isn't that great (and he's debating putting a better one on regardless). Any chance of fitting a 1.5'' under there or should we stick with 1.25''? I'm not sure if he would want studs or not. Once again, thanks for all the info guys. I appreciate it very much. Google never seems to turn up the answers I am looking for but SF usually pulls through!
 
#16 ·
This summer he is planning on getting ZR cylinders with the power ports and then porting them and possibly boring them over. Also, any thoughts on the Black Magic single pipe for these sleds?
two issues there.. if you go to the powervalved cylinders you also need the ecu, servo, and exhaust system. unless you have a donor sled its going to get $$$ really quickly.

as far as boring over, that also tends to get REALLY expensive in a nikasal engine. Honestly if you really want an upgrade find a totaled 600 or 700 efi chassis but still has a good engine. Do a complete top down swap, using the ecu and full engine with your tunnel/suspension. That by far would be the most cost effective option.
 
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