P500 Interesting pull off - P500 vs RZR900

p500fan

p500fan

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A rock has traction? I am not sure what your talking about, but the results in the video have nothing to do with torque. The 500 does not have the hp or the torque of the 900. Check out Utube, you will see tug of war pull offs that show smaller, less powerful vehicles pulling back more powerful vehicles in similar tug of war contests. The vehicle with more traction will win.
Yes, the 900 has more rated torque and more rated horsepower, but they are rated at a much higher RPM. The Honda's torque reaches it's peak at a lower RPM, or more quickly than the 900. By the time the 900 is turning the RPMs to reach it's "powerband", it is playing catch up. Since the 900 is also stationary, and in gear, something has to give to relieve stress on the drivetrain. In this case, the wheels spin, and the 900 loses traction. You can move a huge load, with a very small power source, IF you can utilize said power. As a child, I can remember people bringing in cotton wagons to my uncle's gin. More than once, I've seen people with full-sized (half-ton) pick-up trucks go out to move one around the lot, and not be able to budge it. They would sit on top of the gravel and spin their wheels. My uncle would send me out with an old Cub Cadet lawn tractor, with a hydrostatic transmission. It was rated at 15hp, and weighed less than half of their pick-ups. However, it had full torque across it's ENTIRE powerband. I could incrementally ease the power forward, until I had enough momentum to start the wagon moving. Smaller tires, less weight, and less than 20% of the rated horsepower and torque of any pick-up, but it would move a larger load. That's not traction, it's applied torque. The same mechanical principle is being demonstrated in the video.
 
Plumber32

Plumber32

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my old king quad 300 with stock tires out pulled in a tug, an arctic cat 700, Polaris 850 and 550, and a sportman 500, super low range and dif lock with lesser tires than all my buddies at the time plus the Suzuki weighed less, but that thing would drag them all backwards while they were spraying dirt, rocks and smoking belts. funny as hell. obviously one at atime.
 
ksss

ksss

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Jul 14, 2013
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Yes, the 900 has more rated torque and more rated horsepower, but they are rated at a much higher RPM. The Honda's torque reaches it's peak at a lower RPM, or more quickly than the 900. By the time the 900 is turning the RPMs to reach it's "powerband", it is playing catch up. Since the 900 is also stationary, and in gear, something has to give to relieve stress on the drivetrain. In this case, the wheels spin, and the 900 loses traction. You can move a huge load, with a very small power source, IF you can utilize said power. As a child, I can remember people bringing in cotton wagons to my uncle's gin. More than once, I've seen people with full-sized (half-ton) pick-up trucks go out to move one around the lot, and not be able to budge it. They would sit on top of the gravel and spin their wheels. My uncle would send me out with an old Cub Cadet lawn tractor, with a hydrostatic transmission. It was rated at 15hp, and weighed less than half of their pick-ups. However, it had full torque across it's ENTIRE powerband. I could incrementally ease the power forward, until I had enough momentum to start the wagon moving. Smaller tires, less weight, and less than 20% of the rated horsepower and torque of any pick-up, but it would move a larger load. That's not traction, it's applied torque. The same mechanical principle is being demonstrated in the video.


The vehicle that can put the power to the ground most effectively wins.
 
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ksss

ksss

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I am not saying that torque doesn't apply in some situations, however in this one, but have sufficient torque to pull the other, the winner will be the machine that can most effectively put the power to the ground. No different than adding weight to Ag tractors for the same purpose, to make them pull more efficiently with less wheel slippage.
 
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classichonda

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Jul 12, 2015
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One thing is clear... anyone looking to buy a sxs because they want to go on the pulling circuit should opt for a p500 over a Rzr900. For anyone who won't be spending all their time doing pull-offs, not sure this helps you.
 
mrjeff42

mrjeff42

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One thing is clear... anyone looking to buy a sxs because they want to go on the pulling circuit should opt for a p500 over a Rzr900. For anyone who won't be spending all their time doing pull-offs, not sure this helps you.
@classichonda do you like your rzr?
 
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sthomp54

sthomp54

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Jun 11, 2015
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One thing is clear... anyone looking to buy a sxs because they want to go on the pulling circuit should opt for a p500 over a Rzr900. For anyone who won't be spending all their time doing pull-offs, not sure this helps you.

lol, ok.
 
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Hondasxs

Hondasxs

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Welcome @JonWard,
is this u in the video?
Ya. We've been having some fun with the video. Thanks for being a sport and do'ing a pull off with that rzr.
 
spifyd

spifyd

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I beleave.... that that Polaris has to spin the rear tires to get the front wheel drive to work. that means the rear has already lost traction when the front starts pulling. any one that has spent any time in the snow knows once your spinning that tire has lost 80% of its traction.
that like the people who have 4 wheel drive and don't use it until there stuck. dumb ass you wouldn't be stuck if you had started in 4 wheel drive.
 
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rkwerner

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As mentioned the Polaris 4 Wheel Drive system is detrimental here. The rear wheels have to slip to for the front wheels to engage. The force required to overcome static friction is much greater than the force to overcome kinetic friction. That is why it is difficult to start sliding something but once it is moving it is easy to keep going.

A pull of any sort comes down to traction far more than torque because once you start spinning the tires you can have all the torque in the world but it won't help you. That's why if you have two identical vehicles pulling the driver who gases it harder will usually lose, his tires will spin and the other rig can pull because he has the advantage in traction.

A link discussing static vs kinetic friction:
Static & Kinetic Friction
 

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