carb vs cam and piston??

[EXDUNER127]

Where will you get more power from stock 400ex with pipe and filter, from an aftermarket carb, or by adding a cam and piston. by buddy is debating cus he wnts to do either one of these but he can only do one or the other. which setup will he benifit more from? Or will a port job help more? help quick, want to get his bike done by the weekend.:confused:

[EXDUNER127]

c'mon someone has to have a recomendation!

[Cole Trane]

I don't have an answer for ya, but give it a little time. There aren't a lot of people online right now. Give it a couple of hours at least.

It's a Toss up between the cam/piston combo and just the carb.:confused:

[sickmojave]

I would think that the stock cam would limit any gains from the carb.:confused:

[EXDUNER127]

I heard that you need your head ported for the carb to help on a stock motor, is this true?

[Doibugu2]

I'm not sure of just the benifits of the carb on a stock motor but it's supposibly good.

I would do the carb first simiply because of the down time with the cam and piston. Carb you should be able to be back riding an in hour or two.

Cam and piston, you have several hours of tear down and putting it back together. Plus you will probably have to get the head honed/bored. Then you have to break it all in.

This late in the game, I would just do the carb. Save for the rest for the winter rebuild.

[cals400ex]

i did a 10.8:1 406 piston with a stage 2 cam and i recently put on a fcr carb. the carb didn't give me near as much as the cam/piston. maybe i can try to tinker with it though. if i was to do it, i would definately do the cam/piston combo.

[EXDUNER127]

so you guys think that he should go the cam and piston way?
we were thinking 11:1 stock bore and hotcam stg 2 .
or should we get the carb, sorry i meant we need to get this done by the 22nd. we want more power and we can only go one route.:confused:

[cals400ex]

like i mentioned, i would do the cam/piston. 11:1 with a stage 1 or stage 2 cam should work great. once you get a pipe and carb later on, the mods will only benefit you.

[EXDUNER127]

Do you need new gaskets when you replace the piston and cam, if so what kind should i use?

[LazeR]

I've never done it but i am pretty sure you will need new gaskets! You can go to www.servicehonda.com to find em!

[cals400ex]

call C&D and they will hook you up with everything. i like the cosmetic flexsteel gasket. however, some people prefer stock oem gaskts.

[EXDUNER127]

I am confused:confused:
I just got off the phone with sparks and he said if he were to build a 400 in stages after pipe and filter, he said he would go with the fcr39 before the cam and piston because with the full exhaust i could get 3-4 hp with proper jetting. he said that carb really wakes up the 400, so much that he said the 04's come with a 38mm stock of the floor. so i dunno!

[hondarider2006]

I would say cam/pistion. You sig. says you already have a carb:confused:

[cals400ex]

Originally posted by EXDUNER127
I am confused:confused:
I just got off the phone with sparks and he said if he were to build a 400 in stages after pipe and filter, he said he would go with the fcr39 before the cam and piston because with the full exhaust i could get 3-4 hp with proper jetting. he said that carb really wakes up the 400, so much that he said the 04's come with a 38mm stock of the floor. so i dunno!


well if that is the case mine is jetted like crap. it just didn't wake it up that much.

[EXDUNER127]

I know, this is for my friends bike i got my carb first cause i got it at dealer price at 300bucks. My friend cant get the same deal but wants to either go with my setup or the cam and piston way. I am helping him out even if hes faster.

[H_W]

Originally posted by cals400ex
well if that is the case mine is jetted like crap. it just didn't wake it up that much.

I know that when I put my carb on, it really came alive. The carb was the last mod that I made to my 400, so I know what a difference it made.

[cals400ex]

Originally posted by H_W
I know that when I put my carb on, it really came alive. The carb was the last mod that I made to my 400, so I know what a difference it made.

i have a few questions for you then:

what main fuel jet?
what main air jet?
what pilot jet?
what fuel skrew location?
what air skrew location?
what needle you using?
what clip position is it on?

thanks

[H_W]

Originally posted by cals400ex
i have a few questions for you then:

what main fuel jet?
what main air jet?
what pilot jet?
what fuel skrew location?
what air skrew location?
what needle you using?
what clip position is it on?

thanks

I am running a 170 main jet, with air box lid off, and a 52 pilot jet. I do not know what clip position on the needle or which needle it is. I bought the carb from C&D Racing. I told them what mods I had done to the 400 and they set the carb up for me. I got them to include their air/fuel mixture screw, easier to adjust. All I did was install the carb, adjust the air/fuel mixture screw a little and ride. It has ran perfect ever since.

[cals400ex]

thanks for the help. i am running similar jetting. the carb felt like it really woke the bike up and it did in throttle response. however, in a drag race i only gained about 1 bike length up to fifth gear, even though it felt like i gained more. oh well, i still like it. thanks