what mods for less ca$h?

i just got a 400 and i put a 14t c|s sprocket on it and it already had k&n filter and jets(i got it used). i want more power and speed but am spending most of my cash on the monthly payments. im thinking of a rev box or lightened flywheel. what do u guys think?(i dont really want a pipe at the moment, had a big gun on my 300ex and was constantly harassed for being too loud)

keep it real:devil



1999 400ex( used but had less than 40hrs and looked like it was never touched)

[sly400ex]

Do you have your air box lid off yet? If not, try that. You can get a Pro Circuit T-4 slip on for around $200. Very, very nice improvement and also sounds AWESOME. The stock header on that thing will breath very well with little modification to it. Actually, if you don't have much money at all, you can gut the entire exhaust to breath freely too.

A Curtis Sparks ignition advance key will give you more power all through the power band. I sell them for 20.00 shipped to the lower 48 states. Also a Curtis Sparks air box screen lets more air in and keeps dirt out also 20.00 shipped. Curtis Sparks also makes a rev box 120.00 shipped. If your interested in any of these products or have any questions contact me.

[Dave400ex]

How much would a X-6 pipe with spark arrester be?

A Sparks X-6 with a spark arrestor is 562.00 Shipped. With out the arrestor it is 502.00 shipped.

You can modify your stock muffler, remove the airbox lid and rejet the carb and this will make a noticiable difference,,check the slack in your throttle cable,,most have only 75% of the throttle available when there new,,so there's 25% more power for free. That's a good start,,do those and get back with us and we'll give ya more secrets..Oh and all the stuff I listed is free no cost at all,,you might not have ta spend any money....sweet huh..:D

thanks for the info. i got plenty of ca$h but my dad says to save it incase i have to spend it on payments when i dont work in the winter or something(reasonable idea) ill be able to spend as i please by next summer. i think im gonna get the ignition advance key. i dont want the airbox lid off cuz its kinda dusty where i live and i dont want to risk it even wit the outerwears i got over the filter(k&n) i might take the baffle off the stocker exhaust, but it sounds kinda stupid.

keep it real:devil

The timing advance key helps but you will not gain any power from the CDI box. The CDI only helps if you are racing TT where you use more of your upper RPM.

[trueblue450]

The Wheel Man

Does Curtis Sparks have some of the same things for a 300EX. I have heard nothing but good from sparks, and been wondering some specs on stuff I'm real interested in. What is the average hp gain for a complete x-4 system for the 300EX. Do you guys have the ignition advance key and rev box for the 300. What exactly does the ignition key do? And lastly what other performance parts does Sparks have for the 300.

Thanks in advance

Dustin

Is that5 true about the slack in the throttle cable, and if so how do you adjust the cable out. And also how do you check it

There is no need for a timing key for a 300. This is only used on the 400's because of the factory retarding the timing to remove some of the HP from the motor.

For the throttle cable remove the cover from the side of your carb. Lightly push your throttle while watching the cam in your carb. Adjust the throttle cable so that you only move it maybe 2 to 3 mm before you start to see the cam move. There will only be noticable gain if it was way off from the factory.

[Dave400ex]

Go to Sparksracing.com.

DO YOU WANT A PIPE AND HEADER, CHEAP, USE DONLT 2 MNTHS, A POWERBOMB HEADER WITH A BIGGUN RACE SERIES PIPE, LET ME KNOW 275 SHIPPED, HAD TO ASK:)

[86atc250r]

Originally posted by dirtyp
There is no need for a timing key for a 300. This is only used on the 400's because of the factory retarding the timing to remove some of the HP from the motor.

Be careful if playing with an advanced timing key. Advancing timing doesn't always equal horsepower, and I've heard a lot of stories of lifting head studs with this mod.

It's probably OK with a stock engine, but if you've raised compression at all - watch out....


For the throttle cable .....

There will only be noticable gain if it was way off from the factory.

I have to disagree. When I received my 400EX, I had spent quite a bit of time on a '99 model that was adjusted properly.

I was VERY disappointed with the power of my 2000 model. In fact, I'd be surprised if it would have been able to beat a 300EX in a drag race.

Needless to say, I started searching for the problem and found it in early September of 1999. After posting my findings on the internet back then, I soon found that all 400's are shipped that way from the factory and unless your dealer catches it during his PDI - it doesn't get corrected.

To this day, I still run upon a lot of people that have this problem with their 400. Personally, I feel that it took my 400 from a completely unacceptable power level, to a very respectable power level.

The next day after correcting the problem, I went to an old familiar MX track for testing. I actually got myself in trouble several times by hitting things too hard, and coming out of corners with too much throttle. The difference was THAT large.

[Dave400ex]

I`ve heard all kinds of things about the advance key, good and bad. Sparks says they work from a stock to a fully built motor. For only $15 that`s not bad, but I don`t want to screw up my engine. So should I get one or not????

[booneTRX]

It will not hurt your engine, modded or not. The key advances the timing back to what it was on the XR400. They sell big bore kits for the XR ( which is what mine said on the box for my EX) and they dont have a problem.

Guess this is the first thing that I would have to disagree with Gabe on........

First things I did to mine....... Sparks key, adjust throttle, holes in airbox and jetted. I could easily walk away from 2 friends with their '00 and '01 400ex's and could hang with another friends Raptor respectfully. And this will cost you less than 50 bucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[86atc250r]

You sure about that? I've not heard that before - I may have do a little reseach to confirm.

I get preignition off the bottom on mine as it sits - have from day one. This only happens under heavy load, like when feathering the clutch in 1st over gnarly rocky terrain

Setting the base timing ahead 6 degrees certainly won't help matters.

To truly benefit from timing adjustments when the bottom is this close to the edge, you need a programmable cdi - even better yet, a cdi capable of a 3D ignition map. But then you're also talking a lot of tuning time - and a lot of potential for melting your engine down if you don't know what you're doing.

Rico...I want free power!

"check the slack in your throttle cable,,most have only 75% of the throttle available when there new,,so there's 25% more power for free."

How would you adjust it to 100%?
Thanks.

Using the advance key will not hurt your motor. The only time that you should evaluate if the key will be more harm than good is when you get into a high compression motor. The higher the compression with the timing advanced will generally cause the motor to run a little hotter, and as you may know more heat equals less horsepower. I'm running 12.5:1 and I race GNCC,( it does not get any hotter than running in the woods) and I have not had any problem with mine. I very stongly recommend using it. The only thing that you are going is advancing the timing back to what the motor was from its origin of the xr400. As far as for installing one, it takes less than 1/2 hour, faster if you have access to an impact wrench. Skill level to do this on a scale of 1 to 10 would be a 2.