in need of a lil more power

[johnnydufus]

not really a need but is a big want

do cams really add that much power on a stock motor?

i have less than $200 so what would be the best for more power?

[UglyMotha™]

cam helps but need to been done in conjuction of other things to actually work, it's like buying a cheap garden hose and nozzle and then later upgrading to a larger more powerful hose and trying to use the same nozzle, your not really gonna get anywhere cause you still choking the water with the little cheap nozzle

just the same with a cam, in order to move more air you have to unchoke the engine, such as porting the head, larger exhaust, mabey even a lager carb, after market filter, and higher compression piston, all add to the effect of a cam


for 200 dollars you best bang for the buck would just be a higher compression piston, and then later down the road when you've saved up more you could install a cam and porting even

[johnnydufus]

so cam is no good unless i have other things. gotcha


what would be the best piston to get? JE or Wiseco?

[UglyMotha™]

JE or Ross hands down

[bbhondas]

wiseco works good on almost anything

[UglyMotha™]

Originally posted by bbhondas
wiseco works good on almost anything



really, can we get some facts with your OPPINION there :o


wiseco you gotta buy a 13:1 piston if you want to have 11:1 compression, not to mention a wiseco weights significantly more than a JE, and a lighter piston will do what inside a motor, thats right it means it will rev considerable quicker so again JE or Ross would be a considerably better choice

[400exrider707]

I went with a wiseco 11:1 and a stage 1 hotcam in my 400 (std bore), knowing that it wasn't a true 11:1. I just wanted something with a little more power and to keep my reliability. It definitely revs quicker than stock and has more power than I expected. No complaints, and its still on the standard bore so it should last for a while. The piston is not what I would consider light weight though. It weighs about the same as the stocker so if you want a light piston with higher compression then yes go for a JE or Ross. Plus with a ross you have the option for the lightweight pin too.

[johnnydufus]

where do i find these ross pistons and how much do they run?

[bbhondas]

depends what kind of riding you do, if you are going on long rides through mudd and stuff you are not going to want the JE because it is a smaller and lighter piston, and will make alotta heat, but as the wiseco still allows higher revs will not be moving as fast therefore it will not create so much heat and you wont need cooling upgrades for long distance
uglymutha wrote: explain your opinion

[johnnydufus]

i'm racing cross country this year. what would be the best for my riding

[bbhondas]

for cross country i would go with a wiseco, but im not a professional thats just my theory

[johnnydufus]

is there really that much of a difference between the wiseco and the JE or ross?


thanks guys for answering all of my questions,



johnny

[400exrider707]

well the difference is that the wisecos were made for the XRs so they wont give as much compression as they claim, because XRs have thinner gaskets then the EX's

[johnnydufus]

so if i bought a 11:1 piston

how much compression would it really have?

[400exrider707]

Im not sure exactly. Im assuming your talking about the wiseco. I've heard as low as 9.5:1 but I'm not sure about that. Does anyone know what stock is on these things? I know it did boost my bottom end pretty good though.

[johnnydufus]

yes i was talking about a wiseco, sorry

are there any cheap parts i could buy off of a xr400 and install for more power?

[400exrider707]

an xr400 cam will work on the EX also while you have it apart I would do the heavy duty cam chain. Order the crf 450 cam chain from service honda for like $35 shipped. It is cheap insurance since the stocker stretches pretty badly.

[johnnydufus]

how good is the xr cam?


sorry for all the questions, i'm a newbie to hondas, i came off the POS yammys

[400exrider707]

Keep the questions coming thats why we're all on here anyway. Um the XR cam I THINK had comparable specs (duration and lift) to that of stage 1 hotcam. I'm not positive. I remember seeing the specs on just about every cam ever made for the 400ex and I'll see if I can dig that up ......... ;)

[johnnydufus]

thanks dude,


what about a revbox? are they worth the money? do they actually give you more power?

[400exrider707]

eh yes and no. Most of the people who use them dont need them. You really dont need one until you start doing more mods. It all depends. Does your power seem to fall off before you hit the limiter? Or is it already starting to lose power at that point? If its falling off before you hit the limiter then you really have no need for one. Some do have a more advanced timing curve to give a little more mid and bottom from what I understand. GT thunder makes a good cdi. I personally (just my opinion) stay away from ones like white bros because they are just simply an xr250 box. Since they are made to spin that engine they CAN give you EX starting problems if the battery is not fully charged, and it worsens if it is cold out. The GT thunder is one of these that will not give you starting problems. I know there is another one that alwasy slips my mind too, but I'm sure someone will post what it is.

[johnnydufus]

ok, i'll just take that revbox money and put it into a piston then.
would it be a good idea to go ahead and bore it out? it is a 2000, i dont know if it has been rebuilt or not.

here is what i will be purchasing then

wiseco 11:1 piston
used ac pro-pegs (old style) for like $50-100 from a friend

[UglyMotha™]

just wondering why your picking a wiseco cause if it was cause of this statement


depends what kind of riding you do, if you are going on long rides through mudd and stuff you are not going to want the JE because it is a smaller and lighter piston, and will make alotta heat, but as the wiseco still allows higher revs will not be moving as fast therefore it will not create so much heat and you wont need cooling upgrades for long distance


that was the most off the wall bogus statment i've ever heard, and doesn't hold true :huh


if you did a little more research, you would find that either ross or je is goin to be top pick piston, but i ain't gonna twist your arm you get whatever

if he wants to speak in theorys, since the je is a lighter smaller piston which means less material which mean less friction which in turns means less heat, not more

[johnnydufus]

yea i didnt think of that, all forums have their cracksmokers

well i want to win my xc races and i want to know what the BEST is for these type of races.

could somone that KNOWS what they are actually talking about tell me what the best will be for me

[UglyMotha™]

I already told you what your best piston choice was, the majority uses JE and i already gave you reasons why the majority chooses JE

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by UglyMotha™
just wondering why your picking a wiseco cause if it was cause of this statement




that was the most off the wall bogus statment i've ever heard, and doesn't hold true :huh


if you did a little more research, you would find that either ross or je is goin to be top pick piston, but i ain't gonna twist your arm you get whatever

Well technically he was right but for the wrong reasons. The Ross and JE will create more heat, but only because they have higher compression, which will give you more power. But if you run higher octane you shouldn't have any problems at all. I only went with the wiseco because like I said before I wanted utmost reliability, and the wiseco didn't have the higher compression, but I made a sacrifice for power too. If you build it right, anyway you do it will last long. Mine was a 2001 and I got away with just a honing on mine. there is really no way to tell if it needs to be bored or not, until you take it apart and look. Again if your looking for the most reliable I would say stay away from the boring if at all possible just cause you will have longer cylinder life, but again if its built properly and you have the right gas it will run forever! It is a honda afterall.:D

[johnnydufus]

alright, i see now. i pulled my head out of my ***.

[UglyMotha™]

Originally posted by 400exrider707
Well technically he was right but for the wrong reasons. The Ross and JE will create more heat, but only because they have higher compression,


the compression ratios arn't even far enough a part that it is even goin to make a noticable difference in heat, were talking bout like 8 tenths here, heat is far from a deciding factor between the two pistons

[johnnydufus]

where do i find JE pistons besides from JE themselves? do they have a dealer?

[UglyMotha™]

Talk to Dusty at C&D racing banner at the top of the page

[johnnydufus]

ok thank you