Lightman,

In section 7-2 of the Kawasaki manual (Engine Lubrication System) it lists the oil pressure as 69.7 psi at 230 Deg. F and 4500 RPM's. I have found small differences in the read pressure depending on which weight and viscosity oil I am using and how dirty it is. I have been using non Kawasaki motorcycle filters and have had no problems. Your friend may not have worked enough with the new 650 Prairie engines to be familiar with the specs.

ED

 

You may be right, he's the service manager these days, was head tech for a long time. Anyway, I could be mistaken with the psi numbers the more I think about it. However, his point was there was some difference between motorcycle and auto filters. Maybe he's wrong. Seems you all have good experience with it. He did account two blown p650 engines to it though, he said both came in with mobil 1 filters for a nissan pathfinder, which is the m1-110. He said he hasn't hardly had ANY blown p650s and to have two with mobil1 filters does make me question it somewhat. I'd like to get to the bottom of the issue and get a real answer though, as I really would like to run a higher quality filter if it's safely possible.

 

Lightman, ask the dealer where you bought your Prairie if the warranty is still good if you use another brand of oil filter as long as its a cross-reference with the Prairie filter. If he says that it would not be covered then get another dealer to do your servicing. I asked my dealer about these scare tactics years ago when I heard this same discussion (he knew that I was a mechanic so he didn't try to B.S. me). He told me that as long as I was using a quality filter that was properly cross-referenced, they would cover the machine. I was using a Wix filter that is a cross-reference for the old Prairie filter. It costs about 5 dollars Canadian compared to the dealer's 19 dollars. If you cut them both open, they look practically identical (I'm still using Wix). I don't know who makes the Kawasaki filter, but it is probably one of the big filter manufacturers. It might even BE Wix.
I can't tell you that your friend was lying to you about the failed engines because of Mobil 1 filters, but if it is true there is probably a lot more to the story. For sure his oil pressure story is way off base and he should know better. I don't know if the new Prairie engine has a relief valve to bypass the filter or if the relief valve is built into the filter they use, but it has to have one of the two in case the filter plugs. A guess is that the Mobil 1 filter may have a smaller micron rating than a standard filter which means that if it does, it would do a better job of filtering out smaller particles. This means that it would also plug easier and so should be changed more often. If the oil was really dirty the filter may have plugged and if there was no relief valve the engine may have starved for oil. This would mean that the filter is not a proper cross-reference so he could blame the filter (but if this happened the oil pressure would probably have blown the "O" ring seal out of the filter and the engine would have run out of oil---then he could still blame the filter). Either that or the oil bypassed but was so dirty that it wore out the engine which means that the filter did its job. BUT--- it takes a lot of dirt to plug an oil filter so maybe the problem was a leaking air filter or the result of no oil changes. Whatever---if the dealer sees that its not a Kawasaki filter on the engine, its easy to blame the other filter and get out of warranty coverage.
The important thing here is to make sure that you use a decent oil and filter and change them on a regular basis and that you make sure your air filter is sealing properly and is cleaned on a regular basis also.
I asked my dealer about the oil for my Prairie at the same time that we discussed oil filters with the same reply. As long as you use a good quality engine oil (like you would use in your car) there is no problem because with a belt drive ATV, the oil is only for the engine and you don't have to worry about additives for the transmission clutches etc, and with water cooling it never runs really hot (similar temperatures to automotive engines). The dealers charge WAY too much for oil and filters, but if they can convince you that theirs is the only stuff that works, they can make a killing.
All this fuss about oil and oil filters is kind of comical. It wasn't many years ago that most ATVs and motorcycles didn't even have an oil filter (let alone water cooling). They used an oil screen only (some still do). If you serviced them properly, they ran for thousands of trouble-free miles. Now it seems like everyone is super concerned about their oil and filters. Thats not a bad thing, but you will probably have a new ATV before you ever put enough miles on it to wear out the engine if you service it properly (especially your AIR filter). Most people don't worry about their expensive cars as much, so relax!

 

I'm **** about maintenance by nature =] Much, much worse with the car! =] Anyway, I think his concern was that the auto filters had too much pressure resistance compared to the small oil pump of the 650. Sounds like you guys think thats all a bunch of bs. It may be. Thanks for the replies.

 

I disagree with your friend's "theory" on the P-650 oiling system. I have used Purolater filters for 4 mo., and will continue to do so.

 

Lightman

I use Amsoil mostly there is a new viscosity for quads and sleds a 0-40 it keeps its viscosity at -40 and is able to handle the hot weather also. Normally I change the oil in my quads at the 50 hour mark regardless. With my turbo setup I prefer to change oil more often as with the increased heat it breaks down the oil easier so oil is cheaper than a new engine. I prefer the Baldwin brand for the hot stuff as I don't use the quad in mudd just for racing and there is little mud around. The Baldwin is slightly longer and it sticks out a little more and it might get caught on something this is why I don't use it for trail riding. I change oil often and now that I have cheaper filters that are as good or better than OEM I feel completly confident my machinery is looked after. I would give you my numbers for the oil analisis although I beleive my situation is totally different than yours if you had the oil done on your quad.

 

Alltoys, I'm sure your numbers would be different. I just haven't ever seen an analysis of a quad's oil, but have seen a ton of car oil analyses. Glad to hear you found the good stuff. Last week I ordered a case of amsoil 0w-40, and hope it gets here in time for my 10 hr/60 mile service. By the way, if you're that brave =] the amsoil SDF-13 also fits.

 

I just got a reply back from the tech at amsoil. I specifically asked what the difference between their automotive and motorcycle filters were, as they do make two filters that fit the prairie 650, the sdf-13, and the smf-103. The superduty filters are for autos and the super motorcycle filters, duh.. anyway, he said the differences between the two are flow and valve pressure. Similar to the stuff my dealer was saying that you guys dubbed nonsense... You can keep using auto filters if you like, and you bike may run, but I wouldn't. My opinion is to use a product thats designed for a motorcycle, since it is one. Just fyi.

 

All toys

Ice racing?????????????????

Like on the bikes????????

Or drags??????????

I have the quad Ice drags (Its going to be part of a fishing turny just for fun)comming up and need help what do you run for tires. I was going to stud my Mud Lites with sled studs or maybe the new ATR,s if not much snow. Any thoughts would help.

 

I for one, will not take any chances with oil filters. I will always use OEM filters from Kawasaki for my P650.