# Ariens Automatic Traction Control (ATC) and ArmorSkids



## GreatCanadian (Feb 20, 2013)

Hi all,
Well it's been a busy winter here so far in Newfoundland. Seems we have some flurries every day, and have been belted with a few storms already. Some of you may have read my posts regarding the Ariens ATC. I decided to try a new set of skidshoes to see if it would alleviate the problem somewhat. I purchased a set of armorskids at snowblowerskids.com. They are a longer skid shoe than stock. It has made a world of difference, and the ATC is now a pleasure to use.Well worth the investment. Some of you had the same complaints as me regarding ATC, and these skids may help you out. I am in no way affiliated with snowblowerskids.com, but certainly vouch for the quality of their product.

Happy New Year all,

GC


----------



## pfn (Dec 24, 2010)

Thanks for the info.


----------



## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

the guys that have armor skids love them and i'm one of those guys


----------



## Brucebotti (Feb 10, 2013)

I put them on before I ever used my new Ariens. Maybe that's why I love the ATC....
Bruce


----------



## Blue Hill (Mar 31, 2013)

GreatCanadian said:


> Hi all,
> Well it's been a busy winter here so far in Newfoundland. Seems we have some flurries every day, and have been belted with a few storms already. Some of you may have read my posts regarding the Ariens ATC. I decided to try a new set of skidshoes to see if it would alleviate the problem somewhat. I purchased a set of armorskids at snowblowerskids.com. They are a longer skid shoe than stock. It has made a world of difference, and the ATC is now a pleasure to use.Well worth the investment. Some of you had the same complaints as me regarding ATC, and these skids may help you out. I am in no way affiliated with snowblowerskids.com, but certainly vouch for the quality of their product.
> 
> Happy New Year all,
> ...


I'm glad it worked out for you GC. Thanks for the update and Happy New Year!


----------



## GreatCanadian (Feb 20, 2013)

I think the longer shoe rides up over ridges (sidewalk lip), where as before the first thing to hit would be the bucket. The nose of the new skid is about twice the height of the stock, and I think that makes all the difference (along with the nose is in front of the bucket, unlike stock skids). Whatever the reason, they work!!

Happy New Year everyone. We have another 12 inches scheduled for Friday!!

GC


----------



## celltech (Nov 8, 2013)

How much were they?


----------



## GreatCanadian (Feb 20, 2013)

Can't remember the price, but check

Www.snowblowerskids.com

I think Home Depot in the US now carries them as well.


----------



## TheHolyCannoli (Nov 19, 2013)

$36.74 including shipping directly from the source (SnowBlowerSkids : You don't need a new snowblower, just need skids or shoes) When you factor in tax at Home Depot, it comes out to about the same price. I'd rather give my money directly to the inventor.

Looking forward to testing them out after the storm Friday.


----------



## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

$17.50 in the states at Home Depot.
ARMORskids Home Depot


----------



## TheHolyCannoli (Nov 19, 2013)

dbert said:


> $17.50 in the states at Home Depot.
> ARMORskids Home Depot


that is the price per skid...I like to have 2 matching skids


----------



## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

dbert said:


> $17.50 in the states at Home Depot.
> ARMORskids Home Depot


Not sure if there is a lot of difference but these are different company.


----------



## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

TheHolyCannoli said:


> that is the price per skid...I like to have 2 matching skids


Wow. That is crazy. Who buys one shoe. 
Thought it sounded like a good deal.
Sorry I didn't check it out first.


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

just bought a set of the armorskids online this morning for my new 921030. part# asc0310-b that fit the ariens 3" on center bolt pattern. going to have to shim them out a tad with some 3/8 i.d. galvanized washers.


----------



## mswlogo (Dec 22, 2013)

mkd said:


> just bought a set of the armorskids online this morning for my new 921030. part# asc0310-b that fit the ariens 3" on center bolt pattern. going to have to shim them out a tad with some 3/8 i.d. galvanized washers.


I just ordered a set. Why do you have to shim them out?


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

take a look at your auger housing sides for and aft of the stock skids. if not completely straight the longer skids might not sit tight to the side of the box.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

TheHolyCannoli said:


> $36.74 including shipping directly from the source (SnowBlowerSkids : You don't need a new snowblower, just need skids or shoes) When you factor in tax at Home Depot, it comes out to about the same price. I'd rather give my money directly to the inventor.
> 
> Looking forward to testing them out after the storm Friday.


 I have a new Platinum 24 as well. Which bolt pattern did you get for yours? Have you had a chance to try it out yet?


----------



## TheHolyCannoli (Nov 19, 2013)

fishrman said:


> I have a new Platinum 24 as well. Which bolt pattern did you get for yours? Have you had a chance to try it out yet?


You need the 3inch spacing pattern. I ordered mine direct from snowblowerskids.com, they have a chart to make sure you choose the correct size. I think there were issues with my first P24, but the difference between the first machine using stock skids vs 2nd machine using ArmorSkids is night and day. There is a section of the city sidewalk that is at least 3/4inch raised where it meets the next concrete slab of the sidewalk...in all honesty I did not even feel the bump when clearing the path and actually forgot all about it until writing this just now.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

TheHolyCannoli said:


> You need the 3inch spacing pattern. I ordered mine direct from snowblowerskids.com, they have a chart to make sure you choose the correct size. I think there were issues with my first P24, but the difference between the first machine using stock skids vs 2nd machine using ArmorSkids is night and day. There is a section of the city sidewalk that is at least 3/4inch raised where it meets the next concrete slab of the sidewalk...in all honesty I did not even feel the bump when clearing the path and actually forgot all about it until writing this just now.


Thanks! I just ordered a pair! Hopefully, they will make the difference for me!
Now, if I could just understand the manual good enough to figure out the choke/throttle thing! Seems to be hard to follow for me.


----------



## markp99 (Jan 2, 2014)

fishrman said:


> Now, if I could just understand the manual good enough to figure out the choke/throttle thing! Seems to be hard to follow for me.


Agree, on the Platinum 24 the nested throttle and choke knobs are odd. The throttle (grey knob) illustration is fine - clockwise to increase. 

The choke (red knob) illustration is just a leftward facing diagonal bar and does not give a good clue to the knob direction needed to turn on or off. 










Seems reversed to me! Should have been a rightward facing diagonal line?

Use: 

Clockwise - Choke on
Counterclockwise - Choke off


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

TheHolyCannoli said:


> You need the 3inch spacing pattern. I ordered mine direct from snowblowerskids.com, they have a chart to make sure you choose the correct size. I think there were issues with my first P24, but the difference between the first machine using stock skids vs 2nd machine using ArmorSkids is night and day. There is a section of the city sidewalk that is at least 3/4inch raised where it meets the next concrete slab of the sidewalk...in all honesty I did not even feel the bump when clearing the path and actually forgot all about it until writing this just now.


Forgot to ask, did you have to do anything different relative to the bolts or shimming when you put yours on?


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

markp99 said:


> Agree, on the Platinum 24 the nested throttle and choke knobs are odd. The throttle (grey knob) illustration is fine - clockwise to increase.
> 
> The choke (red knob) illustration is just a leftward facing diagonal bar and does not give a good clue to the knob direction needed to turn on or off.
> 
> ...


But it seems like there is more positions that 2 (off or on) for the choke and I really don't see that much difference between slow throttle and fast. Oh, there is a difference but seems like there should be more.


----------



## GreatCanadian (Feb 20, 2013)

Yeah it's common for the choke to have more than 2 positions. My generator has 2 positions, but my snowblower has 3 or 4. I usually only have to half choke the machine to start it. Depends on your machine and also how cold it is. Mine is stored in my garage which never gets as cold as outside so I don't need to close the choke to the fully closed position. Halfway is good. You'll get used to what works for yours.


----------



## TheHolyCannoli (Nov 19, 2013)

fishrman said:


> Forgot to ask, did you have to do anything different relative to the bolts or shimming when you put yours on?


I used the stock bolts and washers. Things appear to be in good alignment, so I didn't see any need to shim out the skids.


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

here's the armorskids ( part# asc0310-b which were 3" o/c spacing ) mounted on my brand new 921030. i used 1 1/4" hex head grade 8 bolts and mounted the bolts solid to the housing, then mounted the skids to the bolts.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

mkd said:


> here's the armorskids ( part# asc0310-b which were 3" o/c spacing ) mounted on my brand new 921030. i used 1 1/4" hex head grade 8 bolts and mounted the bolts solid to the housing, then mounted the skids to the bolts.


I like how you mounted them.


----------



## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

Certainly allows that area to dry completely out.


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

the picture shows the raised imbossed area to the front of the skid, i either had to use 4 flat washers on each bolt to shim the skid out, buy the available shims from armorskids, or mount the bolt solid to the housing and use the 3/8" mounting nuts as the shims. i opted to mount the skids the way i did for a few reasons. the original hardware carriage bolts were difficult to keep from turning while trying to remove the locking nuts, and as the skids need adjusting or replacing i thought that condition would get worse. by using hex head bolts i am able to use appropriate wrenches on both the nut and bolt head. by mounting the bolt solid to the housing it will be easier to adjust or remove the skids in the future.  all nuts,bolts and washers are grade 8 strenght and the 3/8 nuts securing the bolts were torqued to 44 ft lbs and the outside nuts holding the skids on were torqued to 32 ft. lbs. permatex antiseize was applied to resist corrossion.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

*Skids*








Good pics and explanation. I think I like yours better than mine but I got mine put on. Maybe my washers I used were a little thicker but I only used 2. I think my skids might barely touch the lip on the outside edge but if it does, it is not much. I didn't want to have the skids out to far from the edge.
The other thing I wanted to show here is my right, original, skid. I have only used this machine for 3 snowfalls and you can see this right skid is in need of being turned over already. I sure hope I have solved that problem by loosening the 4 bolts on the chute as I have now been instructed, thanks to this forum, and then letting it down on the pavement and retightening. I have my blade set 1/8 inch up after doing the loosening of the chute from the frame thing and have the 20 pounds of air pressure in each tire. I sure hope this works out better for me as I couldn't hardly believe the wear on that right skid shoe. Glad I replaced it when I did because it would have worn into the machine before much longer!


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

if the housing is alligned and bolted on correctly you should have both skids leave and go back down to the level pavement at the same time when you raise and lower the auger housing off the surface. with the housing ,scraper blade, and skids all adjusted correctly the snowblower should have very close to equal weight on each skid and each skid should wear the same amount. the skid also has to be positioned so neither end touches the ground before the center portion of the skid.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

mkd said:


> if the housing is alligned and bolted on correctly you should have both skids leave and go back down to the level pavement at the same time when you raise and lower the auger housing off the surface. with the housing ,scraper blade, and skids all adjusted correctly the snowblower should have very close to equal weight on each skid and each skid should wear the same amount. the skid also has to be positioned so neither end touches the ground before the center portion of the skid.


I did adjust the factory skids prior to first use per the recommended 1/8 inch but had no idea the housing might be off. Actually, as I think about it, if you have your skids adjusted so they hit the ground at the same time, I don't understand how one side could wear so much more than the other so fast.


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

fisherman! adjusting your skids to 1/8" clearance is by the book correct but it is possable to have more weight on one skid if the housing is bolted uneven to the ground. the skid with the most weight will wear faster and make the machine want to track to the side with the most drag, the heavy side. my new machine skids physically left the ground and rested to the ground one before the other. the correct procedure i'm not sure of but i would think the scraper should be even across the bottom of the housing, the housing even to the flat surface, the gap set to your preference, and held to tolerance by the skid dlustment. if you have the above and the skids both leave and contact the ground at the same time should be good to go. only other issue is the skids wear evenly between the mounting bolts and not toward one end or the other.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

mkd said:


> fisherman! adjusting your skids to 1/8" clearance is by the book correct but it is possable to have more weight on one skid if the housing is bolted uneven to the ground. the skid with the most weight will wear faster and make the machine want to track to the side with the most drag, the heavy side. my new machine skids physically left the ground and rested to the ground one before the other. the correct procedure i'm not sure of but i would think the scraper should be even across the bottom of the housing, the housing even to the flat surface, the gap set to your preference, and held to tolerance by the skid dlustment. if you have the above and the skids both leave and contact the ground at the same time should be good to go. only other issue is the skids wear evenly between the mounting bolts and not toward one end or the other.


 Thanks, I am hoping the chute wasn't mounted square and I am hoping I have corrected that situation but if the chute had not been mounted square and the blade appeared to be the same height above the cement and level after I adjusted the skids the first time and now, again with the new skids and after I loosened and retightened the bolts for the housing and adjusted the skids the blade appears to be in the same position, I am wondering if anything is really any different than it was when I had the OEM skids on it. I am thinking in order to do this setting up properly, one should also loosen the blade prior to trying to make sure the housing is square on the cement. What say you? Hope all that makes sense. I would also note that besides my one skid being worn badly that it had started to wear on the blade as well but I swear, I had them squarely adjusted when I got the machine. I did have to put some pressure in my tires so maybe there was enough lower pressure to make a difference. I don't know. When I checked the pressures they other day they were something like 14 and 15 instead of 20.


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

i would not max the air pressure out but use maybe 14 lbs and make sure both are the same. the leveling of the auger housing, skids, and scraper blade for me changes every time i use a different spot on the driveway pavement. find one spot that seems to work ok at use it! i have not adjusted my scraper bar yet because the unit has less than 2 hrs on it. but you can look at how it's mounted and see if it's parallel to the front edge of the housing. when i mounted my armorskids i adjusted the scraper to 3/16" gap by using flat stock on the outside edges of the scraper bar. once i rested the scraper on the flat stock i held each armorskid down by pressing it in the center of the bolts while tightening the two bolts to hold them in place. once both sides were mounted and tightened i checked the unit to see if the skids left the pavement at the same time. that's when i found they were uneven. i loosened the housing bolts and raised the unit to settle them in and tightened the bolts . you'll have it right when the skids leave and hit the ground at the same time, and the scraper blade gap is the same on both ends. it's a trial and error till everything is tweaked just right. here's the longacre 0-60 psi gauge i use for all my tires . it is accurate and real easy to use. i have several stick gauges and they are fairely accurate but this is the gauge that works the best for me. it has an air release once it's in place and you simply bleed off the pressure without taking it from the stem each time. my truck has the d.i.c. center and reads tire pressures for each tire onboard, they consistantly read 3 lbs low. i bought this gauge to know what my actual tire pressures are. http://www.amazon.com/Longacre-50417-0-60-Pressure-Gauge/dp/B00DL6T2YK [ame=http://s29.photobucket.com/user/mkd55/media/longacretiregauge_zpsb82ec15e.jpg.html]







[/ame]


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

mkd said:


> i would not max the air pressure out but use maybe 14 lbs and make sure both are the same. the leveling of the auger housing, skids, and scraper blade for me changes every time i use a different spot on the driveway pavement. find one spot that seems to work ok at use it! i have not adjusted my scraper bar yet because the unit has less than 2 hrs on it. but you can look at how it's mounted and see if it's parallel to the front edge of the housing. when i mounted my armorskids i adjusted the scraper to 3/16" gap by using flat stock on the outside edges of the scraper bar. once i rested the scraper on the flat stock i held each armorskid down by pressing it in the center of the bolts while tightening the two bolts to hold them in place. once both sides were mounted and tightened i checked the unit to see if the skids left the pavement at the same time. that's when i found they were uneven. i loosened the housing bolts and raised the unit to settle them in and tightened the bolts . you'll have it right when the skids leave and hit the ground at the same time, and the scraper blade gap is the same on both ends. it's a trial and error till everything is tweaked just right. here's the longacre 0-60 psi gauge i use for all my tires . it is accurate and real easy to use. i have several stick gauges and they are fairely accurate but this is the gauge that works the best for me. it has an air release once it's in place and you simply bleed off the pressure without taking it from the stem each time. my truck has the d.i.c. center and reads tire pressures for each tire onboard, they consistantly read 3 lbs low. i bought this gauge to know what my actual tire pressures are. Longacre 50417 (0-60 PSI) Tire Pressure Gauge : Amazon.com : Automotive


Do you suggest the less tire pressure for better traction?
I am guessing I only have about 3 hours on my machine as well. That right skid looked more like I had 100 hours on it!
I thought it was interesting that you adjusted the skids and then found the housing off. I am not sure I understand the housing thing and the settling in thing. There is a possibility that the cement I tried leveling it on wasn't level to start with. This time, when I put the new skids on, I used my new cement sidewalk instead of my garage floor.. I like your pressure gauge. May have to invest in one of those.
You say "i have not adjusted my scraper bar yet because the unit has less than 2 hrs on it. but you can look at how it's mounted and see if it's parallel to the front edge of the housing"
Parallel to the front edge of the housing? Are you talking the top part of the front of the housing? Sorry, trying to picture this.


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

the edge that the top of the scraper blade meets with! the part of the bottom edge of the housing you would see if you completely took the blade off. the less air pressure would be for traction. on my riding lawnmower it allows for a softer ride too! they have several models of this gauge and the even better ones are filled with oil. this particular one is not. came with two styles of heads . the tips also swivel for easy allignment onto stem. very easy and if you can see very accurate to match pressures. you can see the pressure relief valve in the pic just under were the two sections of hose cross.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

mkd said:


> the edge that the top of the scraper blade meets with! the part of the bottom edge of the housing you would see if you completely took the blade off. the less air pressure would be for traction. on my riding lawnmower it allows for a softer ride too! they have several models of this gauge and the even better ones are filled with oil. this particular one is not. came with two styles of heads . the tips also swivel for easy allignment onto stem. very easy and if you can see very accurate to match pressures. you can see the pressure relief valve in the pic just under were the two sections of hose cross.


Gotcha! Thanks!


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

fishrman ! ariens has a video that is on you tube they just put out 6 days ago for alligning the blower housings. you basically loosen the skids real loose to let the scraper rest on the floor,loosen the housing to frame bolts and tip the bars down and release, then retighten the blower housing bolts and adjust the scraper blade for the gap.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

mkd said:


> fishrman ! ariens has a video that is on you tube they just put out 6 days ago for alligning the blower housings. you basically loosen the skids real loose to let the scraper rest on the floor,loosen the housing to frame bolts and tip the bars down and release, then retighten the blower housing bolts and adjust the scraper blade for the gap.


Yep,watched it and that is what I did, I think. The actual "knowing" the housing is aligned right, I am not confident about.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

Just found these wheeled skids. Wonder if this could be an answer?


----------



## uberT (Dec 29, 2013)

fishrman said:


> Just found these wheeled skids. Wonder if this could be an answer?


 
I had a set of those caster style skids on my MTD. I threw them away last weekend. My feeling is kind of mixed about them. You effectively lose about 1" on each side of the machine due to their width. This could be an issue if you have a border or edge (curb, for example) that you want to clear right up to. That's my second complaint.

Last snow storm caused them to freeze up and the caster on one side of the machine locked in place. By the end of my session, the plastic caster was completely flat sided and would never rotate again. Maybe I could have contacted the seller and asked for a new caster??

The one place that I found "skids" to be unique was clearing our wooden deck...they just roll along and don't do any damage to the wood surface. You could never do this with standard steel skids without doing a ton of damage.

The steel skids tend to slice thru snow/ice. These caster skids tend to ride up and over. That can be a bit of a nuisance at times.


----------



## fishrman (Oct 19, 2013)

uberT said:


> I had a set of those caster style skids on my MTD. I threw them away last weekend. My feeling is kind of mixed about them. You effectively lose about 1" on each side of the machine due to their width. This could be an issue if you have a border or edge (curb, for example) that you want to clear right up to. That's my second complaint.
> 
> Last snow storm caused them to freeze up and the caster on one side of the machine locked in place. By the end of my session, the plastic caster was completely flat sided and would never rotate again. Maybe I could have contacted the seller and asked for a new caster??
> 
> ...


Understood! Doesn't sound like the best option! Appreciate your insight!


----------



## uberT (Dec 29, 2013)

My pleasure. If you have a wooden deck to clear, they're perfect for that.

There are a lot of people out there who think they're wonderful. I was somewhat disappointed with them in practical use. Theoretically, they should be wonderful


----------

