Sparks x-1 cam

[Chet]

Been reading about the Sparks X-1 cam for my 400ex. been thinking of getting some more power from it, will the sparks cam and a higher compression piston make power that I will feel on the seat of my pants with the stock bore, I want to stay with pump gas and I do alot of trail riding too. what piston recommendations would be a good combo with the sparks cam. will the addition of the 416 make bigger gains over the stock bore set up I mentioned above.

Chet

[a4guy]

I plan to do the Sparks x-1 cam, 11:1 416 and sparks 6* key here in a month or so after I am done with my suspension. It seems like a bullet proof, reliable, best bang for buck setup.

[Thumpin]

I seem to be one of the few people on here that gave the Sparks X-1 cam a try. And to say the lest I think its an Awesome Midrange power cam. For an all around cam this thing is hard to beat!

On the compression side of things I will warn all of you that running 11:1+ compression and the Sparks +6 Key may not run too cool and could get into detanation problems, than end up burning up your engines!

The reason I am getting away with it is because I'm running E-85 fuel, which is 85% alcohol which makes the engine run much cooler, and has a 104 octane rating. My 11:1 416 was pinging like crazy on 89-91 pump gas without the Sparks +6 key! So I had to mix VP110 race gas 50/50 with pump gas to make it stop pinging.

If you plan to mix race gas or run E-85 go for it with 11:1+ compression. Other wise I'd run no more than 10:1 and a Sparks +6 key on pump gas to be on the safe side of things. Or 10.5:1-10.8:1 without the +6 key on 93 octane pump gas.

When C&D Racing worked over my cylinder head and jug he shaved the surfaces to make them flat and true again, which will in turn cause the compression to rise alittle, and the head gasket I used also was thinner than stock. So I guessing my compression is really close to 11.25:1-11.5:1 the way it acted to me.

Just passing on the information that I learned on my own so take it for what its worth. Building engines is alot of fun, but can be fustrating at times, but in the end its all worth it!

[a4guy]

Thanks Thumpin for that info. Will come in handy when I start my build.

[bkelley]

On the E-85 topic, are there any other advantages or disadvantages to running it? I might have to go with it when I do my rebuild since I was thinking about going 11:1 and leaving the Sparks key in. Not to mention it'd be a lot cheaper to run.

[honda400ex2003]

cooler temps for running and it is 105 octane which is nice, a bit more power out of it also. you just have to jet accordingly since you have to richen it up quite a bit. I wish i had a station around here cause i would have 12.5:1 and run that instead of my 10:1. wheelie has done quite a bit of tuning with it and has some great write ups for it if you want to search around. If i get a chance i will look for them. steve

[Thumpin]

One thing I noticed on an engine running E85 with a carburator is the engine will be cold blooded starting, and the colder the outside temp is the harder they are to start. I noticed this in hot rod V-8's and quad engines.

Once the engines start and warm up they restart and run like normal. Thats just the nature of running alcohol. But for an air cooled engine like the 400ex the cooling attributes of alcohol is awesome and will cool your engine as good or better than running an extra oil cooler!

The last thing I will add about alcohol or E85 fuel is that the engines perform better with more ignition timing, both the hot rod and my 416ex responded really well to the added timing, improving throttle response and torque.

If any of you have E-85 at your local stations and want to try to convert your engines to that type of fuel, feel free to ask me to help walk you through the carb tuning process. Its much easier than you think.

[bkelley]

I'm highly considering since I have two stations within a mile that carry it. I'll drop you a PM so this thread can stay on topic.

[honda400ex2003]

man you guys are killing me with all this talk of the x-1. i really wanna try one, then get it dynoed again but i cant keep doing this lol. I was even looking at 426 pistons a sec ago. for 200 it would be a worth while addition since i have all of the jets i will need to get it dialed again and the stage 1 and 2 depending on how i want it. lol. I just wanna leave it since i know the hp now but part of me wants to punch it out to see what it has in there still. lol. steve

[honda400ex2003]

even a full cyl and 440 setup is 400 only! wow, before the summer is out a 440 may be in the hundy with the stage 2. you guys are terrible, you got the old brain a ticking again, now to get the jetting figured out so when i get it i am set up and ready. lol. steve

[tri5ron]

Ya know Steve,...
I seem to have read somewhere about a 502 kit...
LOL!!!!

[bkelley]

Originally posted by tri5ron
Ya know Steve,...
I seem to have read somewhere about a 502 kit...
LOL!!!! Don't forget about the XR650 swap...

[honda400ex2003]

I just need a donor lol. Steve