# Poly Shoes for Ariens with Autoturn?



## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

I recently bought an Ariens ST28LE, and love it, but am not completely happy with my Autoturn feature. Although it's not horrible, I find myself wrestling with the big machine, to keep it from wandering. Right now, I am 54, strong, and in good health.But, fast forward 15 years, and it might beat me up. So, I was considering different shoes....Armour Skids which look incredible, or the Poly Shoes. Well I walked into my Home Depot store this morning to find them clearing out 3 pairs of Poly Shoes at $36 per pair. So, they are on the machine now, but will probably have to wait until next year to try them. I am looking for success stories from people who have tried the Poly shoes, to some degree of improvement?:smile_big:


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

I am 73 and use my blower to clear 8 driveways with my 4 year old 2015 Ariens Platinum 30 SHO. It had the poly shoes from new because some neighbours have paver driveways or part pavers that I feared could be marked by steel shoes since the Ariens is heavier on the bucket than my previous machines. The AutoTurn is excellent, tracks straight and turns very easily yet drives both wheels strongly. It works on smooth or rough surfaces or uneven surfaces; three driveways have recently been asphalt paved and the one paver driveway are all smooth, but the remaining 4 are rough with heaves and broken pavement and generally rough surfaces. Then there are the 270 ft of EOD that are no problem at all no matter the snow or slush conditions. 

I have tried all the drive systems, open differential, locked axle, axle clutch levers, and AutoTurn is by far the best since it is quite seamless in its operation and flawless. It works in forward or reverse or in neutral (drive clutch disengaged) so it is perfect. Your polyskids are a very good investment, and you will be able to use your machine for much longer than you currently think.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

Thank you Town! Your comment makes me feel better, for sure.
Stepping back and having a close look at both sets of shoes, seeing the wear on the steel shoes ( only about 40% of both shoes showed wear) says that the steel was really biting against the concrete. Some of what I have learned is that resistance is the factor that will affect Autoturn the most. So, if the shoes are really biting into the surface, once it contacts a ridge/bump/hole etc....the Autoturn kicks in, and does what it is supposed to do. But, with a larger, smoother surface area on the ground using Poly Shoes, meaning less resistance, hopefully it will be a smoother ride.I know one fact, pushing my blower around on my concrete garage floor was much easier with the Poly Shoes, than the steel ones. One point I read on this forum ( sorry,can't remember who said it), which is a very good point, is that we will have to be more vigilant in checking the scraper bar clearance as the shoes wear down,therefore bringing the scraper bar closer to the surface.
Now....if I could just get one more good storm here in Saskatchewan, to try it out!


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## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

I use the poly skids on my machine and they work well, I have a good condition asphalt driveway. If I had a rough condition driveway or gravel I would go with the ArmorSkids. Best of luck with the poly skid shoes and let us know how they work once you have a chance to use them.


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## cuz (Mar 19, 2018)

The Poly Shoes I found at Home Depot say they are for a Toro blower. Will they also fit Ariens?

How do they compare to Armour skids? I will be getting a Platinum 30 or Pro 28 blower for next season and want to know which non-steel skids I should get. 

Thanks.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

cuz said:


> The Poly Shoes I found at Home Depot say they are for a Toro blower. Will they also fit Ariens?
> 
> How do they compare to Armour skids? I will be getting a Platinum 30 or Pro 28 blower for next season and want to know which non-steel skids I should get.
> 
> Thanks.


Ariens dealers sell the poly skid shoes for the Platinum and the Pro models. The mounting bolts are on 3" centers, but the bucket sides have strengthening ribs forward and back of the poly skid shoes. So there is an overall length issue too, unless you have spacers to move the skid shoes out ward to clear the ribs. 

Home Depot in Canada carry the Ariens poly skid shoes and the steel skid shoes here: https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.non-abrasive-skid-shoes-2-pack.1000664590.html that includes the hardware.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

Cardo111 said:


> I use the poly skids on my machine and they work well, I have a good condition asphalt driveway. If I had a rough condition driveway or gravel I would go with the ArmorSkids. Best of luck with the poly skid shoes and let us know how they work once you have a chance to use them.


Well, today I had a "minor " experience with the new Poly shoes, but it re-enforced my trust in what Town had said earlier. Came home to about 3/4 " of light snow, just enough to try out my new shoes.My neighbors thought I was nuts, but I had a real reason to play. As a test, I did not start my blower, and simply let it slide down my medium sloped driveway. It slid easily by itself, and went in a straight line to the street. Very little resistance, with the new shoes on.I tried this before with the stock steel shoes on, and the blower simply sat there. So, I am sure the new shoes will be easier on the blower itself. To make sure my neighbors knew I was nuts, I started it, and cleaned my driveway off, and it worked great. Easy to control....no fighting with the machine. And, spins on a dime.
Now, I will need a decent snowfall to really experience it, but I think I can put it away, knowing my blower and I will be longtime friends.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

There was no mistake when I bought mine from Home Depot....they came in an Ariens Orange Box. They also sell ones for Toro, which I would expect to be in red , or red and white packaging. However,they were out of the Toro ones that day anyway.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

Neighbor lady stopped and asked if I really needed to use my snowblower with only 3/4 " of snow? Really she said?
"Yep", I replied, in John Wayne fashion...."no need to make my new snow shovel dirty."
Hmmhffffff!
Oh well.


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## Blackstar (Dec 27, 2010)

Town said:


> Home Depot in Canada carry the Ariens poly skid shoes and the steel skid shoes here: https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.non-abrasive-skid-shoes-2-pack.1000664590.html that includes the hardware.


They don't list my model there. 921040. When I searched for my model it couldn't find it. Do you know if there is a difference that would make these not fit my blower? 

Thanks


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

You mean the Platinum 30 SHO.??


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

Blackstar said:


> They don't list my model there. 921040. When I searched for my model it couldn't find it. Do you know if there is a difference that would make these not fit my blower?
> 
> Thanks


Mine is 921037, and from what I heard from my Ariens Dealer, there are 2 different sets you can buy. Sno thro, or Non0snow thro...not quite sure what the difference is. The box I bought which had 1 set of 2 shoes and hardware, had no models numbers or specifics on it at all. I just checked my bolt spacing, which was 3 inches, and they fit perfectly. I can't see anything other than bolt spacing being an issue, but I could be wrong.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Blackstar said:


> They don't list my model there. 921040. When I searched for my model it couldn't find it. Do you know if there is a difference that would make these not fit my blower?
> 
> Thanks


We have the same model Ariens so the Ariens poly shoes will fit. The Ariens model # 72600300 shown in that link to Home Depot is the same as on the Ariens package containing my poly skid shoes from Ariens dealer. The package now holds my unused steel skid shoes, that's how I know they will fit correctly.


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