Hello Evrione:

I know this topic has been beat to death on this site and many others... But what, in your opinion, would be the best oil to use in my quad??? I am currently using Valvoline ATV 10w40 oil. I have noticed that when I shift gears, the shifter is kind of hard to operate, and there is a louder than normal "clunk" between gears. Also at times when I shift from first to second the gears grind a littile and it kicks back to first. I did not notice this when I first got the quad. I don't know what kind of oil was in it then, and that's one of the reasons that I changed it. I always tune up any used vehicle I get. I am wondering if the oil I am using is causing the shifting problems. It only does this once in a while, not all the time. Please let me know your .02

Thanks in advance.
Jack

 

Around here you will get the basic comment, "Use either Amsoil, Mobil 1, Royal Purple, Ester stuff, or any other synthetic". I personally use the Amsoil Motorcycle 10w40 stuff. Previously I was using the Mobil 1 MX4T 10w40, but it became too hard to find. I have heard people having great luck with a premium automobile oil. If you change it often, I don't think the brand matters as much.

I know nothing about your model of quad, but I use the Kawachem (424) stuff in the rear end.

For the oil filter, I use the Super Tech two dollar special from Walmart. I change my oil too often to buy an 11 or 12 dollar filter.

Hope this helps!

Bubba

 

I recommend the Amsoil. I run it in my KFX 400...0W-40. With the stock oil after a few hours of riding it wouidn't shift as smooth. Once I ran the amsoil the problem went away. Also remember to change the oil per manufactures recomended cycle. Even though it's synthetic oil, due to off road conditions it shouldn't be run for an extended amount of time. You should be able to get Amsoil at your local bike shop. If not shoot me an e-mail and I'll hook you up as I'm a dealer as well. No matter what oil you choose just remember to change it regularly as Bubba said. Good luck!


Joe

 

any premium synthetic that meets the specs in your owners manual will do fine. use what you can get where you live. there have been page after page of X vs Y, and there is not enough difference to measure without lab equipment and a couple of techs,so get what you can locally. for me, the Mobil 1 MX4T is available at wal-mart, so i use it. whatever you use, change it often and keep it at the full mark.

it is far more important to use a premium air filter and maintain it correctly.

monty

 

Good point guys. I thoroughly believe that the cleanliness of the air filter is of the utmost importance. I clean mine when I ride in a dusty area even once. Maybe I go overboard by cleaning the filter once a week, but the worst thing is particles getting in there. I love the feeling of going riding all day, taking the filter off, and seeing virtually no dust. I use the PJ-1 cleaner and PJ-1 Super Tacky red filter oil on mine.

 

Hello

Thanks for the tips. This brings up a good point, Would a UNI air filter be any better than my stocker??? I have been thinking about getting one, but my stock filter does not appear to be any different than a UNI.

Thanks
Jack

 

Interesting thing about most air filters is that as they get dirty they actually do a better job of cleaning the air but at the same time the amount of air that will pass thru them at a given pressure drop is reduced. The reason the filtration action improves is that the particals tend to partially plug the holes in the filter and make them smaller. Hence the filter will then trap smaller particulate.

With foam filters that have oil on them, which I personally dont care for, this is not always the case. Many of these filters depend on the particals impacting on the oil coated media to trap the material. While these filters pass air more freely, in most cases, then paper filters they do not, at least in my experiance, do as good a job of cleaning the air.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong. But I doubt it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Everything I have ever read is that the foam air filters on these machines does much better at trapping than a paper filter. When you take a foam filter and thoroughly saturate it with tacky filter oil in every pore of the foam, nothing is getting through that too well.

Heck, if paper did better than foam the ATV manufacturers would put them in. Paper elements are not that expensive. I trust the Kawi engineers who designed my Brute to have already run a thorough engineering study on foam vs. paper filters.

I would never run a paper filter in a dusty riding environment. I could be wrong, but I am probably not!

 

Thanks for the input guys.

I have always heard that paper filters (like the k&n) are not sealed as good arround the ends of the element (where the paper meets the plastic frame) and will let dust pass through. I also don't like the HUGE price of the K&N filters. The one for my Bayou is like $45.00! I can get a UNI for it for $20.00. I still wonder though, Is a UNI better in any way than my stock filter????

Thanx -N- STUFF![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Jack

 

There is probably a little difference, but maybe not too much to upgrade over stock. Heck, the stock foam filter just cost me almost 30 bucks when I wanted a spare! I will be checking out the Uni if it is cheaper than stock. Why not? I think K&N is not made for dusty or dirty environments. I think it is made for street use and an add on to make the performance higher on Johnny's Dodge Stratus.