I have a 03 warrior 350 that Im looking to do some performance upgrades. I ride mostly on trails and in open fields but do occaisionally go to the MX track. I was looking at a cam, jet kit, and a air intake kit. I already have a FMF powercore 4 exhaust (just a slip on). I wanted to know what would improve my low end to midrange power since woods riding is my primary activity. I see that there are different stages of cams and jet kits. Is it generally the best to go with the highest stage? Or do different stages affect different areas of the powerband? I need advice!

 

....and some suspension to go with that! I find suspension mods ultimately pay off more than performance mods.

 

Agreed, improving a warrior's suspension will defintely increase your speed in the trails more than just increasing your power. Some good shocks will let you corner better, maintain more constant tire contact with the ground, smooth out the ride so you can ride faster, with more control, and with less fatigue. More power only helps in a straight line on smooth terrain, and in my experiences, that doesn't come into play much in the woods. The suspension upgrades i've done far exceeded my power upgrades, so much in fact that I'm upgrading my aftermarket suspension components to higher quality stuff. My Works front shocks will be replaced by some custon made TCS shocks with reservoirs and compression adjustment, and I picked up a used pep shock for the rear. Look in the right places and you can get good deals, I got my pep rear shock for $125 on ebay and it's like new. Cost of a new pep shock - i don't know exactly, but i'm sure it's over $650.

Either way, even if you just replace your warrior shocks with stock shocks from a banshee, it'll really make an improvement in your ride quality.

And to answer your original question, yes different stage or grind cams do focus power gains on a certain area of the powerband. Generally the lower stage or the lower the lift, the more gain you're getting in the lower end power, and the higher numbers yield a gain in the higher rpms.

As for 'stage 1 and 2 jetting', the whole jetting stages thing is something that dynojet made up to make it sound like rejetting is a performance modification in itself. There really aren't different stages in the real world, and what jetting you need to run is based on many variables. Some of those variables are engine modifications like your cam, carb, intake, exhaust, any kind of displacement increase, and even your climate and altitude. The only benefit a dynojet jet kit has over just going to a dealer and buying a handful of different size jets for a few bucks each, is that if you buy the dynojet kit, you most likely will have whatever size jet you need already, and you don't have to run to the shop if the sizes you choose don't work well. Is that worth the extra money? That's your decision, but in my opinion, no it's not.

In all honesty though, I don't think the warrior really needs any more power in the low rpms, a stock tuned engine belongs in a john deere tractor with all the low end torque it has. I like my power gains in the mid-top range for when I really open it up and push it to the limits in the straights.

I hope that helps you some, and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

Thanks guys for the info I really appreciate it. I was thinking about doing some suspension upgrades, but shocks are just so expensive. Are some Works shocks a good improvement over stock? I dont really want to widen it because the woods I ride in are really tight and Id be clipping every tree if I made it wider. Also, would you guys go with a mid-top range cam or a low- mid cam?

 

Yes, works shocks are a great improvement over the stock pogo stick shocks. They may not be up to par with other aftermarket shocks, but still a very noticable improvement over stock. I know what you mean about making it wider. There was a couple places I couldn't fit through without trimming some trees, but at 6 inches over stock, my warrior really isn't much wider than most of the sport quads on the market now.

With the cam, here's something to keep in mind. When you replace your cam with an aftermarket one, you also need to replace your valve springs with some stiffer ones designed for the higher lift. These springs are required to keep your valves from floating at high rpms. Typically a set of valve springs and retainers is going to run you about $100 itself, in addition to the cam. And of course if you don't have the expertise to install it yourself, figure on spending at least $120 more to have the shop install it for you. All of a sudden that $130 cam just turned into a bigger investment, possibly more than new shocks, and for a less noticable and beneficial improvement.

The only exception to the valve spring requirement is a stage 1 hotcam, which was designed to work with the stock valve springs. However in my opinion, as well as many others opinions, hotcams generally suck. In order for the cam to work with the weak stock valve springs hotcams ended up building a very mild cam, and still makes it too easy to float the valves. Because of how mild the hotcam is, it probably only offers about half the power gain of a good one like one from Webcams, Powroll, FST, Megacycle, or any of the others.

With my current setup I don't feel I need any more power, but when I do step up to an aftermarket cam, I will be going with a Webcam .430 cam and of course titanium valve springs, to get a nice boost in top end power where the stock warrior really falls off, without sacrificing much or any low-end grunt. A full race cam will most likely actually cause a noticable loss in low end power.

 

Thanks for all the help. I am purchasing some Kenda Klaws for the rear to replace the stockers (Theyre so worn I can drift on wet asphalt without trying LOL). I am also going with a stage 2 hot cam due to the fact that I can use the stock springs, and if I have a problem with them, Ill toss em. I am trying to locate some slightly used Works shocks, and I found a nice set off a Banshee, and according to Works site, The Warrior and Banshee are interchangeable? Ill re-jet while im at it and get a new chain (my chain will stretch about an inch just after a short ride, and return to its previous length in a few hours...). Also, Ive noticed a smalloil leak from the bottom of the cylinder jug where it meets the bottom end. My friend's Warrior has the same thing, so is it a common problem? How hard is it to fix? Thanks so much.

 

I guess you can call the warrior and banshee front shocks interchangable. The banshee shocks are something between 1/4 and 1/2 inch longer which shouldn't bother anything, and I think that works shocks for the banshees are triple rates, or maybe just some of them are. All of them for the warrior are double rate only.

When you say you have a small oil leak, is there actually oil running out and dripping, or is it just a little bit seeping out at the seam? I wouldn't do a thing if it's just seeping out and not really losing much, it wouldn't be worth the trouble.

 

its not a bad leak, and i never have to add any oil, but it seems to leak worse if run at higher RPM, but even then, its not a serious leak. I found some banshee shocks made by TCS and he wants $300 for the fronts. Is that good? Thanks

 

Do the shocks have reservoirs? how old are they? also find out what they are set up for. You don't want a shock that's set up in a way that won't work for you. Like if they're set up for extended a-arms, or if they're for a rider significantly heavier than you or for a type of riding different than yours.

 

Well it said in the description thatit was set up for a 190 lb rider, but since im 6 foot 2 and 300 lbs, finding shocks set up already for my weight will be near impossible.