What would it take to beat a stock Raptor? My 400ex is all stock. Please let me know how much it would cost and where I could buy the parts for it. My friend just bought a new raptor and it beats my 400ex so please help me.

 

First you give our good friend Mr. Curtis Sparks a phone call, or just check out his website sparksracing.com to beat a raptor you WILL need some motor work, unless the guy who has the raptor doesn't know how to drag race and hopefully you do. You don't have to send your engine to Sparks if you have a mechanic that can do some porting and boring. I would order a 440 sleeve, cam, of course a piston, and a carbeurator. Then if you have the right mechanic he can do the boring and the porting. I would not build an engine without porting!! THe porting is very important. it'll put you under a little over $1000 if you don't send it to sparks. O and the most important parts, a pipe, and a filter.

 

Porting smorting! The cam and carb are the most important on a 400ex. Get the 440 big bore kit, aggressive cam, FCR 39mm carb, and have them shine up the intake port. Race porting ain't worth the dirt on your tires. Then look into a pipe. IF you want to keep it forest approved, then I'd recommend the White Brothers R-series complete with headpipe. If not, then any race exhaust will do. Curtis Sparks, TC racing, etc. Your prob looking at $1200-$1400 depending on what kinda deals you can find. Oh yeah, your going to have to run race fuel also. Or at least mix race fuel with premium pump gas 1/2 & 1/2. You'll have to do this if you go over 11:1 compression. Then look at suspension. Your going to have too much power for the stock suspension. you can get Works fronts and rebuild your back shock for around $500 or you can get custom Axis or Ohlins, or Elka's for around $1,300-$4,000 complete with a new rear shock.

 

The Raptor doesnt look so expensive when you add up all of that does it! Wow, I almost fainted when I saw the msrp on it but now it doesnt seem all that bad.

 

i will agree with that a cam and a carb plus a high comp piston really wake an ex up. But, all the cams and carbs in the world aren't going to help (as much as it could) unless you can get the air and gas through the engine. which is why porting is important, i won't say its the most important like i did before, but it is important. I would opt for the DMC or Duncan Double Barrel if you wan't a good free flowing exhaust and a spark arrestor. you can buy spark arrestor's (actually a set of discs and a cap like supertrapp uses) for them at about $50. plus you can take it off when you don't need it for more ponies.

 

Another way to do it would be to change your gas cap. The way this is done is: You unscrew your Honda cap from the tank, drive the 400 out from under it. Roll a raptor under it and screw it on the tank. Problem solved, if you're a better driver than he is.

 

Just hope that the Raptor owner doesn't go buy a Sparks exhaust and open the airbox up, otherwise you will be in the same situation your in now, except both will be better than stock!

 

Talk to Tom at TC racing. He'll explain the whole thing to you. A true porting job is not going to add more than a 1/2 a horsepower overall to the engine. This is one of the better features of the 400ex. Even with the 440cc piston and a new carb, the head will still "pass the gas" so to speak. You will have to modify the airbox also. For the $200 more that it will cost you, it's not worth it for a recreational rider. It's only worth it when your going to race it. That's the only time when every little bit counts. Play porting only costs about $50, and that's worth the money to go back in and smooth out the intake tract. Leave the exhaust rough too! Rough is good there!

But, the cam and valve train on the 400ex is acient when compared to the Raptor. This is where the problem lies with the 400ex. This is why it costs money to get more power out of the little bogger, and why in a couple of years, you'll see the displacement value of 440cc's set for a national quad, drop. THey are getting alot higher peak hp numbers now out of a 4 stroke than later years. It's a good thing though. It's easier to get horsepower out of the YZF engine and even the DRZ engine when compared to the 400ex. No, I'm not dis'n my quad, I just don't like the engine.

And the numbers don't lie, the E series added the most horsepower to the 400ex for a slip on. And the R series added the most for a modded engine with the headpipe and a spark arrestor. And the disks come with both of them, giving you the spark arrestor. People can talk, but the dyno doesn't lie...

The 400ex set the bar pretty high, now people are going after it aggressively. This quad started more than alot of people will say.

 

all you guys are forgetting that there are no ports on a 400ex, there are valves, you can move and adjust the valves but no porting. and rockers and valve springs are also needed because that is what the cam moves and you will do better, it is very very expensive and the 400's tranny isn't that good with a 440 and higher compression piston so you probably need a new rod too

 

How in the world does the air/fuel make its way into the engine (I'm guessing through intake ports)? How does the spent gasses exit the engine (through exhaust ports right)? The engine has to have ports unless they use some new Star Trek technology to beam the gasses into and out of the engine.