Eco

To be honest, snowmobiling was not always this wonderful.

Old-fashioned 2-stroke machines generated an annoying racket and spewed out blue clouds of unburned hydrocarbons.

But the same Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that are forcing outboard motors, dirt bikes and ATVs to clean up their act by 2006 are forcing snowmobile manufacturers to switch to quieter, more economical, clean-burning 2 and 4-stroke engines.

This revolution is revitalizing the whole snowmobile industry.

The move to four-stroke from two-stroke engines improves fuel economy and reduces sled emissions.

Many engines now feature fuel injection systems or atomizing carburetors in place of traditional carburetors, reducing hydrocarbons by roughly 70% and carbon monoxide by nearly 80%.

Atomizing carburetors use a platinum, palladium and rhodium metal blend as a catalyst mixing with exhaust gases to turn pollutants into oxygen, nitrogen, water and carbon dioxide.

Another innovative technology is the US patented Smart Plug, which uses a catalytic converter as a spark plug.

The International Snowmobile Manufacturer Association claims sound levels for snowmobiles have been reduced 94% since 1969. And, the increased popularity of four-stroke engines combined with stricter regulations will continue to drive the noise down.

Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality estimates the emission lowering changes made to Yellowstone area rental snowmobiles in 1997-98 reduced emission of hydrocarbons by as much as 84 tons (16 percent) and carbon monoxide by about 120 tons (9 percent).

Particulate matter was also reduced by as much as 70 percent, approximately one ton per year. And, the reduction continues with advances in clean engine technology.

Further use-restrictions and 2012 emission and noise reduction goals in the largest snowmobile markets, European Union, Canada and the United States will force manufacturers to create environmentally friendly sleds worldwide.