I just bought a brand new 2006 Arctic Cat 400 Auto. It has a reverse override swith on it. What does this do? Also, what can you do to hop up the motor and where do you buy parts for it at? (cheapest with best service)

 

when you are going in reverse the motor will cut out and spit and sputter. if you hold down the override switch it will go wide open while going in reverse. i dunno if there is a whole lot of cheap upgrades you can do to the 400 maybe a k&n airfilter. i'm sure there will be some guys that have the 400 that will chime in on some good upgrades.

 

Welcome to the AC family.

To try to get more out of the 400, it probably would have been cheaper for you to just pay the extra now and gotten a 500. By the time you get done with cams, exhaust, CDI's etc, etc you will have spent more money and it still won't be as powerful or as fast.

If you want to tweak it a little then you basically are looking at getting more gas (this is what makes the power) and more air to the motor. You get more gas with bigger jets, about $2.00 each. It is not a matter of just putting a bigger one in because the engine dictates which size is needed for a proper air/fuel mix.

You will need to know how to do a proper WOT test and to be able to correctly read spark plugs color.

I would suggest to read my post in this forum on 'air-jetting' (cost $6.00 for more HP) this is the first step to getting more air into the air box. K&N are fine but you still need to make more air available.

If you need some help - just give a holler there are plenty of riders on here that will help you.

 

First off, welcome to the board.


<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: buckaroo50
To try to get more out of the 400, it probably would have been cheaper for you to just pay the extra now and gotten a 500. By the time you get done with cams, exhaust, CDI's etc, etc you will have spent more money and it still won't be as powerful or as fast.</end quote></div>

Bingo, why did you buy a 400 if you want power? You won't pull liquid cooled 500cc+ power out of a little oil cooled 400. Open up the intake, put a k&N on it, aftermarket exhaust, rejet and you pretty much have done all there is to do.

 

I did not want to make it sound like you made a mistake or that the 400 is not going to be able to do what you want it to do. It will go 50 mph - that may or may not be fast enough for you. But the 400 is a very capable machine and can handle many situations without difficulty. You will find over a period of time that you will be able to get places that a lot of other brands can't (many with larger engines also) simply because of your ground clearance, suspension wheel travel and in my opinion the best front locker on the market. I don't have a locker on mine and have left many standing scratching their heads. So don't sell your decision or purchase short. You will have many hours of enjoyable riding. You can boost the power a little and you can dial in your suspension and have some fun.

 

Well, I can't chime in on doing after-market add ons, but I can give my $.02 on them.... a little overrated maybe? I agree with Buck, you can squeeze out a few extra HP by doing the things he is saying, but I have a new 06 400 auto, with 140 miles on it, and the thing is great! I have done flat, long-distance trail riding as well as very technical climbing, and the thing has all the power I could need. I've never understood the reasoning behind getting the "big bore" machines, really. I know there's more torque and top speed, but for the riding that I do, I have plenty of torque, and the fastest I need to go is 20-30 mph, and that's just getting from 1 section of timber to the other.

I think the most important thing you can do to get your Cat to wake up is to ensure a proper break-in. I was discussing with Buck last week how at 120 miles or so, when I open her up past 1/2 throttle, it really wants to go. I have attributed that to a very thorough, almost methodical break-in as I have no add-ons! Don't baby the thing like the manual tells you to, but don't beat the hell out of either.

Hope that gives some insight! Just my $.02!

 

I'm new to the 4x4's but not new to quads (used to run national mx circuit in B class). Thanks for all the advice, just looking to probably do the K&N filter, kit, charger, open air box and few other misc odds and ends. Does the clutch kit help on these much?

 

I am not sure about the clutch kit. I understand that they give an extra 400-500 rpm's before engagement. I found that in stock condition the 400 seems to have plenty of grunt for the size. That is something that you would have to experience and determine for yourself. I am sure that for competition pulling or mudding that there would be a benefit. But for everyday use and most all situations for me it seems to be up to par in stock form.
One other comment - with regard to break-in most 400's come to life between 300-500 miles - some a little sooner and some possibly a little later. Once broken in you will have a better idea of what you like and don't like and what you would want to address.
I think from the factory your 400 has either a 140-142 main jet. Mine came with a 150, if you can get more air to the air box and are able to run a 150 then you will notice a good gain. After testing, and in stock form mine settled in as 142 being the correct size for proper mix. I put the 150's back in and increased the available air via 'air'jetting' - bingo almost felt like an additional 50 cc or more - 22% better gas mileage - this also reflects more hp (engine working easier).

 

One thing you can do while in the break-in period is work on your suspension with regards to handling. If you read the post 'How to make the AC handle better' could provide some helpful tips for you.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: brinkc1

I just bought a brand new 2006 Arctic Cat 400 Auto. It has a reverse override swith on it. What does this do? Also, what can you do to hop up the motor and where do you buy parts for it at? (cheapest with best service)</end quote></div>


I'd save the money you'd spend on the engine and purchase a good set of tires for your new 400. That makes a ton of difference in the handling. I also wouldn't touch the engine until you have around 500 miles on it. I've got the same quad you have and I'm at about 420 miles. The engine is really starting to wake up. Break the engine in and see what ya got then. You may not want to change anything.

Just a question, what are you wanting to accomplish by modifying the engine? What's your purpose for doing this?

BTW, good choice of machine. You'll like it a lot.

toe