changing cam without changing piston?

[cals400ex]

i know this is not really recommended but my friend is looking at either a new stage 1 or 2 hotcam but is leaving the piston stock. the factory piston is in good shape and it was just going to be more of a hassle to change that so he just wanted to put in a cam. he is mainly looking for more speed in the upper rpm's. we can sacrafice a little lowend. would the stage two be more of a benefit than the stage one? the bike already has full exhaust, filter, jets, cdi box, etc. if it won't have any lowend at all, a stage one would be better than nothing. he will probally be changing the pistion sooner or later but just not at the moment. what does everyone think?

[Texan32]

seeing as how you are not going to chane the piston, the stage 1 is your best bet. The stage 2 is kinda wild and will probably cause no or lower HP gains because of the stock comp ratio

[Juggalo]

i have the stock piston but a stage 2. i love this setup. it pulls extremely hard for a stock bore quad. make sure your friend gets the stage 2.

[cals400ex]

thats what i was wondering. i get two opposite opinions here. :confused2 i was wondering if i would lose overall power with the stage 2 on a stock bore and compression piston also. i guess other opinions might help me out. i would love to have the top end pull of the stage 2, but can the stock compression handle that??

[Diedrich]

go with the stage 2..especially if he'll be getting a new piston anytime in the future. juggalo has the set-up so he knows how it works. go with the 2

[Texan32]

Originally posted by Juggalo
i have the stock piston but a stage 2. i love this setup. it pulls extremely hard for a stock bore quad. make sure your friend gets the stage 2.

well, if it works good enough for him...go for it. Its your dime:cool:

[Silverfox@C&DRacing]

Hotcam will tell you that the stage 1 is recommended for stock bore and the stage 2 is for the big bore kits. they say you will loose power with the stg 2 in a stock bike (it will feel like the power is there but from what the dynos show you actually lose power :ermm:

[cals400ex]

will it loose power with a stock bore or stock compression? what i am saying is getting a high compression piston with the stock bore any better? are you sure you got some good gains juggalo? have you raced some other bikes for some good proof? i am not saying your wrong but a couple people disagree and i don't want my friend to end up buying two cams because it runs like a terd with stage 2 in. what all do you have done to your bike juggalo? also, are those honing kits junk? someone told me to use one of those if just honing was needed but i think i rather get some nice machine work done.

[Juggalo]

the mods engine wise i have are this: uni airfilter (no airbox lid), choke removed, welds ground out of the header, white bros r4 exhaust and the stage 2 cam. theres NO way i lost power with the stage 2 cam. my quad pulls way harder now, and its suprisingly close to my friends piped banshee. i can take on raptors in a drag too and not have to worry too much, we are fairly even. i did lose some low end but not enough to care, its easy to manage and still luggable through the woods. even if i am wrong which i highly doubt i'm sure your friend will eventually do more to his quad, and in that case he won't have to change his cam again. i promise you won't be sorry with the stage 2. one last thing- my quad stomps piped 400ex's and Z-400's in drag races. we have a huge grass drag event around these parts so i know how my quad compares. and i ride on the track and in the woods a lot too so i know it does awesome there too.

Originally posted by Juggalo
the mods engine wise i have are this: uni airfilter (no airbox lid), choke removed, welds ground out of the header, white bros r4 exhaust and the stage 2 cam. theres NO way i lost power with the stage 2 cam. my quad pulls way harder now, and its suprisingly close to my friends piped banshee. i can take on raptors in a drag too and not have to worry too much, we are fairly even. i did lose some low end but not enough to care, its easy to manage and still luggable through the woods. even if i am wrong which i highly doubt i'm sure your friend will eventually do more to his quad, and in that case he won't have to change his cam again. i promise you won't be sorry with the stage 2. one last thing- my quad stomps piped 400ex's and Z-400's in drag races. we have a huge grass drag event around these parts so i know how my quad compares. and i ride on the track and in the woods a lot too so i know it does awesome there too.

Do you have any bottom end?????:confused:

[Dave400ex]

Why not just drop a standard bore high compression piston in?

[Tommy 17]

if it was me i'd look away from hot cams all together... to many problems on this website for me to ever put one in my quad... i think 80%+ of people who bought one had the flange come loose... i know me myself would not want to go back into my motor all the time to make sure mines not loose... why take that risk with the cam when u can get a differnt brand and not have any worries... just go read about the hot cams... yes they fix their problem but who wants to deal with it


go with a TC mx grind cam or TC gncc grind cam or even a xr400 cam...


i had the xr400 cam along time ago with a stk piston for about 3 weeks and i liked it... but then i put in my 406 piston and tc mx grind cam and it was a whole new quad... totaly differnt...

[Silverfox@C&DRacing]

The problem with the flange is fixed if you buy from the right people. When you put a stg 2 in a stock motor it will feel like you gained alot of power. but in truth the stg 1 puts out more hp in a stock motor than the stg 2. If you are useing a high compression piston then you can use the stg 2.

[cheetah]

What do you mean by from the right people?

[Silverfox@C&DRacing]

From a company that looks at the cams before they ship.. Large wearhouse dealers will normally just ship what is in the box..

[cheetah]

I know our local shop carries them and I'm not sure if they have the newer ones or if they are the older ones they haven't sold yet. I was looking in to getting one of them with a high comp. piston, but I don't want to get a lemon.

[Dave400ex]

I agree with Tommy just get a TC Cam, have more power, without any worries of problems.

[Juggalo]

i have the updated cam by the way. and maybe i am just being hard headed here but i don't believe you when you say i'm losing power. theres no possible way. i had a stage 1 before this and i traded it in for the stage 2 actually. i never had it installed but i have rode a stage 1 and it had more low end and less top end. and thats what i've always heard until now, stage 1 for low end, stage 2 for top end.

rico- i've got plenty of low end power still.

[cals400ex]

i have been told the problem with the hotcams has been fixed. i just wanted to get the hotcam because the price is right and i can do business with the site sponsor again. i don't know what the price for the tc cam is, but i myself wants a drop in cam with the top end speed of the stage 2. i will be getting a piston when i do it. i just can't see paying for the hrc, for example, when you can get a new hotcam for half the price or less. if the problem with the hotcams was not fixed, i wouldn't even consider. by the way, is it possible for me to install this piston and cam? i have never tried something like this before. i don't have a manual but i know that will be necessary. i also know i won't be able to bore the cylinder myself, but besides that is there anything i should need help with if i have the honda manual?

[hotex]

Juggalo, you are correct, you have not lost power. Either Hot Cam can be used with stock bore and compression, and see gains over stock. The main difference is where the gain is. The stage 1 has its biggest gain in the midrange, and the stage 2 gains mostly on the top.

[Juggalo]

Originally posted by hotex
Juggalo, you are correct, you have not lost power. Either Hot Cam can be used with stock bore and compression, and see gains over stock. The main difference is where the gain is. The stage 1 has its biggest gain in the midrange, and the stage 2 gains mostly on the top.

that makes much more sense to me. :)

[Colby@C&DRacing]

I never said you would loose power over stock.I'm not here to upset anyone just to help you make the right choices on parts. We work on more motors in a week than most people do in a year so I feel that I have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't.:)