Today’s snowmobiles rely on fresh snow to do two very important functions.
1) Cool the engine and
2) Lubricate the Hy-fax.
Under the seat, and all along the tunnel of most modern snowmobiles are where the heat exchangers are located. Heat exchangers work similar to the radiators in your car and keep the engine from overheating. Fresh snow gets sprayed from your track allowing the heat exchangers to work.
The snowmobile’s track rides on a small piece of plastic called a Hy-fax. It’s this Hy-fax that can melt with friction caused by the moving track. Once the Hy-fax is worn out the track would literally ride on the metal rails causing considerable damage to your machine. Fresh snow rotates inside the track and keeps the Hy-fax cool enough not to melt. When you are riding on a lake, or a hard packed trail there is no loose snow to perform the necessary cooling. Ice scratchers are designed to deploy from both of your snowmobile track rails (rail mount) or from your ski’s (ski mount). Once deployed they spray small chunks of ice or compact snow into your track to keep everything lubricated and operating as designed.