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rpms and speed When should you use low and when should you use High??

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14K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  RZR-psycho  
#1 ·
hey guys im wondering when to use high and low gear ive been told to use low only when towing and going threw mud and stuff but i have buddys that use low all the time unless they are going faster then 25mph what are your thoughts ?
 
#2 ·
A lot depends on the ratios polaris put in your rzr. Mine has "trail friendly" gearing an I can go up to 35. Very nice to stay in low on the trails.
A friend has a highlifter and can hardly go over 15 in low.
Rpm is the critical value. The clutch should engage at about 1800 and around 2500 it shouldn't slip any more so that should be the minimum in either gear.


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#3 ·
There is no definitive answer. It depends on what you are doing. If you are blasting from corner to corner , spinning the tires, and keeping the clutch engaged you can run high range even going up hills though your average speed may not be over 15. But if you are just piddling down the trail at 15 mph at a constant RPM then stay in low, otherwise in high you may not be fully engaging the clutch and slipping the belt. Like John said, it's about RPM more than speed.
That's the logic I use and I had my clutch cover off yesterday checking the belt and everything looked good after 700 miles.
 
#4 ·
Another concern is heat. The fins on the back of the secondary are the cooling fan for the belt and clutches. Running in high at low speeds translates to lower airflow and higher belt and clutch temps. And we've seen numerous pictures, across the entire RZR line, of cracked clutch sheaves and delaminated belts due to overheating. I run in low when climbing at low to medium speeds or running below 20 mph.
 
#5 ·
rzr lover, I mainly ride trails and woods, so the majority of my time is spent below 25mph. Since my S 900 can run almost 40mph in low, I spend almost all my time in low.

The main concern regarding gear selection is the load or work your machine is doing. If you are really working it with some technical hills, mud, snow in AWD, etc. then use low. I could easily do about 50 percent of my riding in High gear, but there are many advantages to using low, it will put less stress on your belt, it will create less heat and move more air; as someone already mentioned. I believe Low allows your primary to move through a greater range, which is a good thing.

If I know I'm going to be cruising open areas, then I use High, even if I'm at 25mph. There isn't much load in that situation and High does reduce the engine RPM's.

The only wrong gear is High for all situations, you'll be reducing belt life or worse. Now, you could run Low for everything, even cruising the roads. There is nothing wrong or damaging* about that, but most guys do get bothered by the high motor RPM's when cruising in low and the poor gas mileage. *Extended high engine RPM's could reduce engine life.

You should experiment, that is what I did. My last machine would not allow any cruising in Low gear, it was too low for that. So I've had to do a little experimenting. I actually prefer Low gear for almost all my riding now. At first I did the High, Low, High, Low shuffle and now I am dancing to a new tune LOL. Have fun and I hope this helps. :ride: