i ride an arctic cat 400 auto. i am really happy with the machine. it has the best 4x4 system i have ever ridden. i would however like to give it more power. has anyone found an exhaust system that works pretty good. also, has anyone tried the bighorn radials. thanks for the help.

 

Only a fraction of HP can be gained with muffler mods for a 4 stroke. Most people ignorantly misstake more noise as more power. There are enough noise complaints agains ATV's now. I ask people to not contribute to the problem but rather be part of the solution - Ride as if everyone is watching. Becuase they are.

 

As soon as you start modifying things, you will be back on here asking why this is going wrong or why that thing isnt working, it just invites problems.

 

so have you made any performance mods to your cat.

 

Nope, i like it the way it is. I bought the V2 which has plenty of power for me.

 

Someone had tried something simular to this muffler mod not too long ago. Don't know weather he was pleased with the end result or not.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/scebok...king/my_photos

 

dont mean to rain on your parade but the earlier post regarding increases in noise levels[ irritating others in the woods] has i think, some validity, also you have purchased what is considered a "utility" quad not particularily designed for speed per se[i think post on these forums bear that out with this model at around 25 hp], while engine output can be increased it would come at a fairly large cost relative to purchase, you would be much better served aquiring a sport model quad that would be considerably less heavy,150-200 lbs. which would make a more cost effective performance increase rather than trying to increase engine output which by the way can reduce reliability and engine life... you dont get somthin' for nothin'

 

as for the mods why? the tires your looking at are great all around tire strong sidewall,great ride,good traction,and the ware like iron, there are better mud tires and there are cheaper tires but the bighorn is a great all around tire. i now have around 1900 miles on them and they still act new and i have only had 1 flat (stupid tree hugger with a board and 16 penny nail) so if you want a great tire look at the bighorns.

 

i think i know the difference between a sport quad and a utility, but thanks for your concern. i have had several sport quads in the past and wanted something a bit more practical for the terrian we ride. i really dont see anything wrong with having a faster than stock quad. and i dont recall saying anything about noise. i have never had any trouble out of changing the exhaust and jetting in the past, i just cant find any products for arctic cats. that is why i was asking. i would just like to get the most power (not noise) i can out of my bike.

 

If you were planning on modding your quad, you choose the wrong model, a 500 or 650 would have been a better choice. There is pretty much nothing made for the 400 for preformance improvements. Even the few items there are are very cost ineffective. The cheapest change is a jet kit with a better air filter, but the increase is not gonna be felt by the rider. You can go with an aftermarket clamp-on muffler, but again the power increase isn't there and most are noisier and the noise laws are getting bad. The county south of me passed a 55 db noise limit for atvs only. To realize how stupid this is, a lot of people talk louder than 55 db. I ride with a number of 500 thru 660 utes and on trails and twisty roads I stay up, because I get all the preformance out of my machine. The only time I can't keep up is when we hit the long straights and the big horsepower kicks in. I can also go places they can't because of the full IRS and the extra ground clearance. One guy wrote as follows:

"RCat400 Sun January 22, 2006 7:46 PM


I have a 2005 400 auto with 400 miles on it and it has improved the more I ride it. However, like most I feel for a 400 it was lacking a little in power/speed so this is what I have done to my 400 so far and I couldn't be happier!!
I modified my stock muffler and drilled threw the baffles, it has a deeper tone at idle and is NOT LOUD while riding, I can't hear any difference so It will not offend anyone on the trail, My buddies stock Brute is louder than my modded cat. Next I installed a K&N filter with pre-filter and a Dyno jet kit @ the current settings. 136 main jet, 2.5 turns on mixing screw, needle e-clip on 4th notch. I spent about $100.00 for these mods and all I can say is that it was money and time well spent!! I have not had it on the trail yet but have done a little back yard riding and it finally feels like a 400. It really get up and goes now!!

I have the clutch kit setting in my garage and will install soon and hope to upgrade tires later! I will keep ya posted about present and future mods and appreciate all your help and time!! I highly recommend what I've done on my 400 to other 400 owners! Thanks!!

I had it Dyno tested and would like to know what stock figures are compared to mine if anyone has that information.

Max power 18.66
max torque 14.22"

But he didn't dyno test before modding, so he doesn't and will never know. Now the info I have is that the 400 has 25 hp stock. But that would be flywheel horsepower and not rear wheel power. I would be willing to bet money that he gain less than 1/8 horse if that much and may have lost some. Seat of the pants preformance increases are almost always the riders desire for an increase and not actual improvement. Either run a base line before mods so you have something to compare to, or you have nothing to compare to except your desire for your money to have been well spent. I race a long time and did a lot of changes, some good and some bad. But I did learn onr thing important. Alway do one change at a time, then compare. Once I changed 3 things at once and no improvement. When I when back and did them one at a time, two improve top speed by a total of 3 mph and one killed 3 mph.