They all have torgue in low range, a 65 hp 4 cylinder Tractor will out pull a 300 HP 4wd pickup with its more torgue and all do to the tire and weight advantage of a tractor not because in has more torgue.

In Street bike terms a 1000cc bike and a 600cc with both sceam out at the same rpm and do the same speed in 1st gear.

Torgue shows it self when the 1000cc does not need a down shift while passing a car or going up a steep hill or rolls on the throttle from a low speed while in a tall gear. But in 1st gear its will just scream itself out untill it hit a certain rpm while doing a very low speed like any other smaller bike would.

 

It's all about putting the most power and torque to the wheels, and then have the traction to handle that traction to continue to move the vehicle.

Take the 500 out of you SP, put in a little 50cc motor, add some weight back to get it back to the same weight... and then see if it will push as much snow... I don't think so... then again, I don't care. LOL

 

Right, what I'm saying is that even with my 270 a$$ on the 500 Honda or the 550 Polaris there is yet to be an instance where I ran out of power before traction. I have weed eaters that have bigger engines than 50 cc's. What good is 1,000 horsepower if you only have the traction to use 25? I guess it would be fun!!

 

That's NOT everything else being equal. Two completely different machines, with a big difference in weight and probably tires.

I've seen what an AC Thundercat can plow in my driveway compared to my 500 side by side... it can out push my SP. But then again, even that isn't a fair comparison, as they are NOT the same.

Now, the 850 has more weight than the 550, and with the right tires, and the added power/torque going to those tires, it should be able to move a mountain of snow.

 

Its gearing,(when in low range) tie a any ATV while in low range to a house and the tires will never stop turing ut just dig a rut, if you where able to hold the tires still then the CV or axle would just snap but the motor will not run out of power while in low range.

I lost a tug of war to a 18hp Briggs $ Straton 2wd garden tractor just because it had chains on it tires and weighed 800lbs.

You could run a 550 and 850 in low range all day long with both sceaming there engines out at 7000 rpm while only doing 20 mph and when the both hit a wall they will both just dig 4 tire rut holes until something breaks or they run out of gas.

 

The 850 weighs less than 60 pound more than the 550. I weigh more than 50 pounds more than the average person. Weight being equal with the same tires on each you will run out of traction before power. I've been moving snow commercially for 28 years, too much torque and power can actually hinder snow removal because you end up loosing traction easier.

 

In that case it is also about draw bar height too. The weight tranfer on a longer tractor style frame has avantages when pulling. Those advantages are negated when pushing though. This is the reason that two wheel drive pulling trucks pull more weight than the four wheel drive pullers with engines being equal.

 

I forgot to mention, when the the 18 hp 800lb garden tractor was dragging me back wards all four of my tires were turning forward.LOL The garden tractor had a low range and a hydraulic drive system. I dont think a thousand more HP or ft/lb of torque would of help me.

 

Not even trying to get into this debate,but I noticed no one mentione one thing. I think the biggest possible benefit to having a more powerful engine in a situation that loads the machine at lower speeds is the engine load itself..while the 550 may churn all 4 tires it will do it at a higher throttle setting that the 850 would..
For example my 800 would pull my 1500# pop up camper but you had to be into the throttle pretty good and you could feel/hear it strain under the load..ie in the exhaust not. Now,even with a higher low range the 850 pulls it MUCH easier in terms of how much throttle you have to give and the engine doesn't strain at all.
I don't know about you but if I feel like the motor is straining doing a task it isn't something I want to put the engine through for hours on in..JMO
I've never plowed snow but if the 550 or the 850 for that matter,will spin all 4 tires without straining the engine I would think you need to look at your traction situation because you can't be getting much efficiency out of the set up.

As for fuel economy...if the load is high enough it is likely posible for the 850 to be more efficient or at least as efficient as the 550 in a given situation..

 

LOL, what the heck does that have to do with what we are discussing. We are talking about two almost identical ATV's pushing a MOVEABLE AMOUNT snow... not pulling houses or running into a wall. If you guys are trying to move an unmovalbe object like a mountain of snow, I can understand your confusion. Of course an object cannot move a mass once it's kinetic energy cannot overcome the mass of another object.

For the heck of it, lets use your tractor pull (LOL) example. (BTW, watch one once in a while, and you will see they have winners and loosers... everybody does not finish in the same spot LOL)

Remember, one more time, they are identical tractors... both have chains (or maximum traction), both weigh the same, both have identical gearing, and both have equally "competent" drivers. Now, one has an 18 HP motor, the other has a 30 HP motor... which one do you think would win the pull? Now, if they were pushing the same amount of weight, which one would do it easier, and push it farther? However, I do agree... if they both push that same amount of weight up against a 10 foot thick reinforced concrete bunker, they both will stop and start spinning the tires, or break something... jeezzz.

I'm done.