Exhaust ? for a 426ex

[carlj75]

I just ruined my second stock headpipe this weekend. One of the welds for the heatshield broke off and now there is a hole in my headpipe. Right now I am running a T4 slip-on.
I have a 426 with 11.1 comp. and a stage 2 hotcam, running straight race gas. I only ride in the sand dunes (no need for spark arrestor). What would my best choice be for a full exhaust? Sparks, LRD, or HMF?

[westcoastmxer]

sparks x-6!its great power and sounds really good!

[carlj75]

Any other opinions? Also, if I do get the X6, do I want it ceramic coated or stainless? One of my friend has a chrome Trinity system.....the head pipe started to rust after the first week.

[sparks400ex101]

dont get ceramic they start to rust after a while, i would recomend stainless, i have one on my ex....great pipe!

[ranger400ex1994]

or you could just get the Pro C headder pipe they look to be well made.

Also carlj75 how is the power and reliabilty of your 426ex i am building the same motor with the same compression and the same cam but can't deside on either the 416 or the 426? I am leaning towards the 416 just cause more reliabile but what do you think.

[mack400ex]

which 426 kit you running and are you happy with it? tell me anything about it im lookin to upgrade my stock 400 and tryin to get some homework doen on all of theses kits...reliable? fast? alot of power? etc. thanks

[carlj75]

I would say it's pretty fast. At Florence's comp hill I always beat my friend's piped Raptors, Z400 and DS650. I am dead even with my other friends Cannondale Blaze and another piped and cammed Raptor. My top speed, even with a 14 tooth front sproket is faster than all of them.
It has been reliable, although I just had it done last summer. I am running a JE 11.1 piston and a stage 2 Hotcam. I replaced the rocker arms with new stock ones when I did the cam. At first I was running a 50/50 mix race gas with pump, but I found that it runs stronger with straight race gas.
I still need new exhaust, and I would like to put a new carb on it sometime.
If I blow the motor, I will just upgrade to the 440 kit.

[ranger400ex1994]

carlj75
one more thing do you have any over heating problems with your 426?

get a sparks x-6 ceramic...stainless is a pain in the @$$ and it doesnt rust as fast as people say...and never will rust if u keep it cleaned

[pnut420]

Originally posted by ranger400ex1994
carlj75
one more thing do you have any over heating problems with your 426?

He said he hasnt had any problems with it, but only had it since last summer, if it would have overheated, he would have had to go inside... I dont know why everyone is so scared of the 426 bore, people run 440's, I am getting my 426 in a few days and I dont expect to have any problems with heat, I will run airscoops when spring comes around, but thats it for now.... I got the same setup also, JE, Stage 2 and mild porting with a FCR39MM and Sparks X-6.

My brother has a HMF, I have a Sparks and for mid to top power, like dune riding is for me, I like the sparks, but for MX the HMF has a little better down low, both are great pipes, the quality of the HMF is defintely better, but the Sparks is lighter

[exatak199]

get SPARKS!:D

[cals400ex]

i have the stainless x-6 pipe. yes, i do like it. however, i don't think you will have a problem with sparks, lrd, hmf, ct, etc. all will produce similar power gains.

ceramic vs stainless:
i would have to disagree with some on this topic. stainless shouldn't rust and should last longer. even scott from sparks racing told me that the stainless will last longer. he said you might have to use steel wool very lightly to remove the surface rust from the ceramic coated pipes. this was a big concern for me when i bought my pipe. i wanted the longest lasting, and he told me that the stainless would be the one for me. now, why don't many people get the stainless?? 1. its more expensive. 2. the headers don't look as bright, it looks more like a bronze or copper color. 2. the ceramic coating will hold in heat better than a non-coated header. this means that the heat transfer will be better with the coated pipes, in theory, giving a more efficient exhaust system. will you notice a difference in power?? i doubt it considering an aftermarket exhaust doesn't make that much power on a 400ex in the first place. also, scott said the difference wouldn't be noticable. i am very please with my stainless. i honestly don't want a pipe that is going to rust. the less maintenance, the better for me. good luck on your decision.

[pnut420]

Originally posted by cals400ex
i doubt it considering an aftermarket exhaust doesn't make that much power on a 400ex in the first place. .

:confused: Seems like almost every aftermarket pipe Ive seen made a big gain in power, maybe not on the dyno, but it will out on the track. A stock engine wont see huge gains, but a 416 with porting it will make a huge difference.

[RuffRyder]

I think he is talkin about the head pipe. On some quads, replacing the head pipe to aftermarket wont make but the slightest difference. But yes a new silencer is way better than a stocker. Whenever the engine is allowed to breathe better more power will be made.

[400exBro]

someone post a picture between the cermaic coated and the stainless steel. I love the look of the cermaic but want stainless steel becuase it will last longer.
thanks

[carlj75]

Thanks for all the posts! Ranger: no I haven't had any overheating problems with the 426. It sounds like the stainless X6 is the way to go.

i talked to scott just today about the FCR39mm carb...i wanted to talk to jeff but he was sick...he gave me some nice info on it...and yes i do agree with him...stainless will last longer but ceramic is less maintnance...which he says it is more...this is untrue for the fact that u must clean the stainless almost all the time to keep it looking good...sure u dont have 2 but if u want it to look good u do...and the ceramic always looks good...either way u should be ok...just make sure to take care of ur pipe

[cals400ex]

what i meant by not much performance gain by a pipe on a 400ex: your money can be spent else where for much more power. for example, i got much more power from the $375 i spent on cam, piston, gaskets, boring etc, even with the stock pipe in place than i did from my $495 x-6. yes, when i put the pipe on after i built my engine it did make a difference, but nothing like the cam/piston did. i have seen many many stock bikes outrun piped 400exs even after swapping riders. in a drag race, the pipes just don't make a huge difference. yes, if you piped it and its jetted right, you will gain performance in a drag race, just nothing like i was expecting. also i was referring to other bikes open up much more than the 400ex with just a pipe. for example, z's, kfx's, and other larger bikes like raptors etc. don't get me wrong, i would get a pipe too, but perfomance for the dollar isn't the greatest with a pipe.

in what way is the stainless more maintenance?? mine has no rusting, pitting or any surface problems after 5 months of riding. i don't have to polish it or anything. of course, cleaning it if you don't want mud and crap caked on is required. if you are just talking about looks, a ceramic will look better because it is coated. it will always be a brighter color than the stainless pipes. the ceramic will be more maintenance because you have to keep on it for the looks. by the way, have you ever used the stainless steel pipe?? if not, how can you say its more maintenance than a ceramic one if you never used one?? i have dealt with two ceramic pipes and they are a little more maintenance. just some polishing here and there is all it takes. not big deal, just a couple times a year clean them up a bit. good luck on your decision.

[pnut420]

Originally posted by cals400ex
what i meant by not much performance gain by a pipe on a 400ex: your money can be spent else where for much more power. for example, i got much more power from the $375 i spent on cam, piston, gaskets, boring etc, even with the stock pipe in place than i did from my $495 x-6. yes, when i put the pipe on after i built my engine it did make a difference, but nothing like the cam/piston did. i have seen many many stock bikes outrun piped 400exs even after swapping riders. in a drag race, the pipes just don't make a huge difference. yes, if you piped it and its jetted right, you will gain performance in a drag race, just nothing like i was expecting. also i was referring to other bikes open up much more than the 400ex with just a pipe. for example, z's, kfx's, and other larger bikes like raptors etc. don't get me wrong, i would get a pipe too, but perfomance for the dollar isn't the greatest with a pipe.

in what way is the stainless more maintenance?? mine has no rusting, pitting or any surface problems after 5 months of riding. i don't have to polish it or anything. of course, cleaning it if you don't want mud and crap caked on is required. if you are just talking about looks, a ceramic will look better because it is coated. it will always be a brighter color than the stainless pipes. the ceramic will be more maintenance because you have to keep on it for the looks. by the way, have you ever used the stainless steel pipe?? if not, how can you say its more maintenance than a ceramic one if you never used one?? i have dealt with two ceramic pipes and they are a little more maintenance. just some polishing here and there is all it takes. not big deal, just a couple times a year clean them up a bit. good luck on your decision.

Oh I see what you were saying on the exhaust, thats why I picked up a nice used one for $250.

It is Ceramic coated and I plan on polishing at least once a month becuase they do dull pretty quick, the older they are the harder to keep them looking good also. I think I might send in the headpipe and have it jet coated.

[cals400ex]

Originally posted by pnut420
Oh I see what you were saying on the exhaust, thats why I picked up a nice used one for $250.

It is Ceramic coated and I plan on polishing at least once a month becuase they do dull pretty quick, the older they are the harder to keep them looking good also. I think I might send in the headpipe and have it jet coated.


yeah, thats probally pretty smart buying a used exhaust system. i would say once a months is just fine for polishing. by the way, mothers mag/aluminum polish seems to work good. i want to sent my pipe in to get jet hot coated too. can't you send the silencer in to get coated also? or does it have to be a certain material in order for them to be able to coat it??

Originally posted by cals400ex

in what way is the stainless more maintenance?? mine has no rusting, pitting or any surface problems after 5 months of riding. i don't have to polish it or anything. of course, cleaning it if you don't want mud and crap caked on is required. if you are just talking about looks, a ceramic will look better because it is coated. it will always be a brighter color than the stainless pipes. the ceramic will be more maintenance because you have to keep on it for the looks. by the way, have you ever used the stainless steel pipe?? if not, how can you say its more maintenance than a ceramic one if you never used one?? i have dealt with two ceramic pipes and they are a little more maintenance. just some polishing here and there is all it takes. not big deal, just a couple times a year clean them up a bit. good luck on your decision.

yes i have used them...and i think they are more work...its really more of an opinion...i do a lot less to my ceramic then stainless...just my opinion

[cals400ex]

what exactly did you have to do to your stainless?? the only thing i see people doing to their stainless pipes are polishing the heck out of the to try to get them to shine like a coated pipe. it would be less of a hassle to just get the pipes hp or jet hot coated. just wondering because i only wash mine with soap and H2O and then dry it.

Originally posted by cals400ex
what exactly did you have to do to your stainless?? the only thing i see people doing to their stainless pipes are polishing the heck out of the to try to get them to shine like a coated pipe. it would be less of a hassle to just get the pipes hp or jet hot coated. just wondering because i only wash mine with soap and H2O and then dry it.

yes...polishing...takin off the mud...etc