Wow the ol' F7 put a hurting on that F8!! The '03 F7....man those machines are going to have snowmobile folk lure surrounding them forever. That F8 is a 2012 BTW. The 2011 F8's were in the older "Twin Spar" chassis.
I never rode a Twin Spar cat, but I have heard that they were the best riding (and possibly still the best riding) machines on the trail of their day. But they strayed a little bit too much from their Firecat heritage I think and went too far in the other direction. I'm a Firecat F6 owner myself and I find it to be a really fun machine because its light, quick, and nimble. But I have been in situations where a more comfortable machine would be nice. I really do enjoy the performance of the Firecat though! I can imagine the Procross machines are pretty good because they went back to lighter, more performance oriented machines, but with a superior rider positioning over the old Firecat and prior machines.
Adam M agreed. I own an F7 and the performance on and off the trail is awesome. The twin spars were wicked comfortable but they lost alot of power and the maneuverability was less than impressive. I would gladly own one if the price was right.
I just threw a set of C&A pro XPT skis on the Firecat and they have immensely improved the handling, that was my biggest gripe with it was the unpredictable handling, sometimes it would carve, sometimes it would push, grab halfway threw the turn, and be generally inconsistent during a ride....the C&A pros made it a completely different machine...well the one ride I got to experience with them on....then the snow melted.
O4 in my mind is the best F7, they had worked the map and oil pump issues. But best of all they went back to a 9 tooth driver instead of the 10 tooth. The top cross country racers riding F6s in 05 and 06 were riding 04s with new skin and seat on them. The diamond drive NEVER performed as well as the chain case design
I had both, The F7 is fast as hell, but this race was obviously done with 1 experienced rider and 1 not so experienced. The F7 would not walk the "2012" F800 ( not 2011) like it did here. Power to weight ratio and traction are the big factors here. The F7 was an under rated 140 HP ( more like 150 HP) @ 435lbs "dry" with a 128" x 13.5" track , 2.9lbs per HP "DRY"-- the F 800 is 163HP @465lbs 'DRY" with a 128" x 15" track, 2.85 lbs per HP. In a real race that 2012 F800 would win and in my case it did. My 2005 F7 EFI couldn't touch my 2003 F7, but we all know this. But My 2014 El Tigre 6000 was just as quick as my 2005 F7 to 90 MPH. Everbody dogs the Pro cross and praises the F chassis, I had many of both, I'll stick with my Pro cross. It rides better and handles better, better off trail too! The only thing the F7 was better at was NOT overheating :-) You old people that are stuck in the past, the pro cross is better, sorry, and that's coming from a 46 year old , "old ass" that can move on :-)
@@Morpheen999 It defiantly can hang with the pro cross (in a straight line). NOT in the twisty's! I raced a 2003 F7 EFI last year with my 2016 ZR 8000 limited 137 and that sled was only 1/2 to 1 sled length behind me at about 700 feet or so! They are fast, not gonna lie.
The F7 was actually only 130ish horsepower on the dyno, the chassis was just that fast. It loved being on hardpack or ice. It struggled a bit in loose snow.
@Mason Wengeler This was my old account I can't get into anymore. Yes, not much to the engine itself though, just a 1.5 timing key, every other mod was in the engine bay. Tuning the clutches is the biggest improvement you'll get.
@@jacobmccue7502 My own set up with a little help from a friend. I would have to look at the primary to see what it has in it. One of the important things I have learned is to make sure the secondary clutch bushings are not wobbly and the rollers have no flat spots. That affects the clutch shift big time, especially with a stiff secondary spring. I have the stock secondary spring in it with a 57/50 cam now.
Didn’t 03’ Arctic Cats have an issue with the bulkheads cracking? I’d love to get an old F7 because they look amazing and everyone says they Legendarily fast, but it seems like there’s countless horror stories about reliability and build quality.
Yes they did. The 06 (last year) got a much thicker bulkhead and extra bracing. However it also had diamond drive, smaller drivers and more weight. Despite its better fuel and apv mapping it was the slowest year.
My 03 f7 has 7000 trouble free miles on it. Just know what you are looking for. It's all about the owner with snowmobiles. Especially now they are 21 years old. No sled survives a bad owner. It's to easy to beat on snowmobiles between the endless jumps called snow hills and you can literally floor it all you want on most trailes.
new iron just aren't as fast as they should be for there weight/hp numbers.i guess the better ride has its sacrifices.like to see that f8 motor in a f7 body and see how it stacks up then.
I really want to get one of these slides but I don't know if I want a diamond driver or a chain case which one should I get... Like I honestly which one's faster quicker better than the trails and reliable
Them 03 f7 one of the best sleds out there!
Nothing like an 03 f7,never was,never will be!
1000 cfr is a wicked sled lol!!
One of the fastest production sleds built if not the fastest. Running and riding mint it’s over 125 with the right trail
Not even close lol
@@ultrazls1Who
Cares knuckle head. Who ask you
For your opinion.
What are you on?
@@Cultofpersonality09129 none of your fuckin business
Yep I used to have an 03 F7, sadly it was a bit of a lemon but the few times it ran well it would almost tear your arms out
I still have an 03 440 SnoPro with an F7 engine in it.
@@waynetessier3058 now thats a weapon !
@@Tyler-xe1es ; No the weapon is my 2010 CFR 800 with a 190 hp. Priceless 901 all set up for cross country.
***2002 ZR THUNDERCAT CC pass me the fuel and oil ;} 👍🍁🏍***
What do you expect it's a cat
That ditch pickle whooped him good. Lol.
Those f7s will take on just about any stock 800 from their era. Love them but man they use too much gas and oil for trail riding
Wow you can tell she pulls hard tho
Wow the ol' F7 put a hurting on that F8!! The '03 F7....man those machines are going to have snowmobile folk lure surrounding them forever. That F8 is a 2012 BTW. The 2011 F8's were in the older "Twin Spar" chassis.
Adam M the twin spars were great if you never left a trail. They put comfort over performance.
I never rode a Twin Spar cat, but I have heard that they were the best riding (and possibly still the best riding) machines on the trail of their day. But they strayed a little bit too much from their Firecat heritage I think and went too far in the other direction. I'm a Firecat F6 owner myself and I find it to be a really fun machine because its light, quick, and nimble. But I have been in situations where a more comfortable machine would be nice.
I really do enjoy the performance of the Firecat though! I can imagine the Procross machines are pretty good because they went back to lighter, more performance oriented machines, but with a superior rider positioning over the old Firecat and prior machines.
Adam M agreed. I own an F7 and the performance on and off the trail is awesome. The twin spars were wicked comfortable but they lost alot of power and the maneuverability was less than impressive. I would gladly own one if the price was right.
I just threw a set of C&A pro XPT skis on the Firecat and they have immensely improved the handling, that was my biggest gripe with it was the unpredictable handling, sometimes it would carve, sometimes it would push, grab halfway threw the turn, and be generally inconsistent during a ride....the C&A pros made it a completely different machine...well the one ride I got to experience with them on....then the snow melted.
Adam M I was thinking about getting new skis. I was looking at the skydog hellhounds
Right on F7 👍👍😎
Ya baby love sleds guys i have f6 and 2015 800 sno pro
👍👍👍
How are the 04 f7s i just picked one up. Thanks
Very awesome machine! 👌🏻👌🏻
Just got one myself today going to ride it this weekend can’t wait
I think In o4 they switched to a diamond drive. 03 will always be tops
@@richardtwardy Wrong! 05 got the diamonddrive!
O4 in my mind is the best F7, they had worked the map and oil pump issues. But best of all they went back to a 9 tooth driver instead of the 10 tooth. The top cross country racers riding F6s in 05 and 06 were riding 04s with new skin and seat on them. The diamond drive NEVER performed as well as the chain case design
I had both, The F7 is fast as hell, but this race was obviously done with 1 experienced rider and 1 not so experienced. The F7 would not walk the "2012" F800 ( not 2011) like it did here. Power to weight ratio and traction are the big factors here. The F7 was an under rated 140 HP ( more like 150 HP) @ 435lbs "dry" with a 128" x 13.5" track , 2.9lbs per HP "DRY"-- the F 800 is 163HP @465lbs 'DRY" with a 128" x 15" track, 2.85 lbs per HP. In a real race that 2012 F800 would win and in my case it did. My 2005 F7 EFI couldn't touch my 2003 F7, but we all know this. But My 2014 El Tigre 6000 was just as quick as my 2005 F7 to 90 MPH. Everbody dogs the Pro cross and praises the F chassis, I had many of both, I'll stick with my Pro cross. It rides better and handles better, better off trail too! The only thing the F7 was better at was NOT overheating :-) You old people that are stuck in the past, the pro cross is better, sorry, and that's coming from a 46 year old , "old ass" that can move on :-)
the moral of the story is how far ahead of its time it was.. a decade late and it can still hang with the pro cross
That says it all right there
@@Morpheen999 It defiantly can hang with the pro cross (in a straight line). NOT in the twisty's!
I raced a 2003 F7 EFI last year with my 2016 ZR 8000 limited 137 and that sled was only 1/2 to 1 sled length behind me at about 700 feet or so! They are fast, not gonna lie.
The F7 was actually only 130ish horsepower on the dyno, the chassis was just that fast. It loved being on hardpack or ice. It struggled a bit in loose snow.
El Tigre 600 there in black. Better cat in almost every way
Did you modify that 03?
Resin I ask is looking for a fast and reliable kik ass olderish sled for I'm just a kid
@Mason Wengeler This was my old account I can't get into anymore. Yes, not much to the engine itself though, just a 1.5 timing key, every other mod was in the engine bay. Tuning the clutches is the biggest improvement you'll get.
@@410mercury6 what clutch and tuning did you go with? I have a D&D clutch kit with a d&d y-pipe/pipe and vforce reeds. Just don’t want to meltdown.
@@jacobmccue7502 My own set up with a little help from a friend. I would have to look at the primary to see what it has in it. One of the important things I have learned is to make sure the secondary clutch bushings are not wobbly and the rollers have no flat spots. That affects the clutch shift big time, especially with a stiff secondary spring. I have the stock secondary spring in it with a 57/50 cam now.
Didn’t 03’ Arctic Cats have an issue with the bulkheads cracking?
I’d love to get an old F7 because they look amazing and everyone says they Legendarily fast, but it seems like there’s countless horror stories about reliability and build quality.
no the 08-10 models had a bad rep for bulkhead the older ones were way better the older ones were built like tanks and still be light.
buddy has an 03 f7 and the bulk head is cracked
@@bb4jdmlude there pretty stiff they take a lot of hard abuse to Crack
Yes they did. The 06 (last year) got a much thicker bulkhead and extra bracing. However it also had diamond drive, smaller drivers and more weight. Despite its better fuel and apv mapping it was the slowest year.
My 03 f7 has 7000 trouble free miles on it. Just know what you are looking for. It's all about the owner with snowmobiles. Especially now they are 21 years old. No sled survives a bad owner. It's to easy to beat on snowmobiles between the endless jumps called snow hills and you can literally floor it all you want on most trailes.
F7 is fast
new iron just aren't as fast as they should be for there weight/hp numbers.i guess the better ride has its sacrifices.like to see that f8 motor in a f7 body and see how it stacks up then.
chain case is MUCH faster the diamond drive
Tactical T
I had luck with my diamond drive being faster than my chain.
I really want to get one of these slides but I don't know if I want a diamond driver or a chain case which one should I get... Like I honestly which one's faster quicker better than the trails and reliable
@@tonyderks9172 chain case takes the cake on reliability those DDs were problematic an as a rule the chain case was faster
@@coledube3095 thx man
People said that right away but here stands these F7s and they are pretty untouchable
Of course lol
03's were the fastest.
I had a 06 and could touch the 03
Those grasshopper looking f8 style of sleds were garbage. The F7 was the last good arcticcat made. I switched to skidoo!
Proof that after the F7 arctic cat learned nothing! I switched to Ski doo!
I approve 😊