I'm in the market for a new ATV, At what altitude do you really need to have EFI? I am wondering if I should spend that extra money elsewhere on accessories or something. I was looking into the Honda Rancher 420 4x4, BUt today I stopped into the Arctic Cat dealer and he told me he has 5, 2006 400's. He told me he would sell me onew for 4999.99 out the door. That includes tax. But again No EFI ??????
Any help on the EFI questions would be helpful.
Thank you
Chris

 

I was in the same boat as you... I would like to get EFI, but no you dont really need it. Its nice if you have the cash and soon all atv's will be EFI. I just got a killer deal on a 06 carb over the 07 efi so thats why I went with the non efi model. The best plus of EFI is having the fuel exactly when you need it all the time

 

In my opinion if you ride in areas up to 4500 ft you will be ok with out the efi. Going to extreme elevations you will need to rejet your carb. Both of my quads are efi and I love them. Efi is the way to go.

 

Thanks crazyfarmer,
8 of us are planning a trip to Utah this year and I figured I may need it then. Also a trip to Colorado is in the future. I think I may just get the New Honda. It seems like a pretty good package for the money. Hopefully I will have something by the end of Feb. My little Honda TRX250EX is for sale on Ebay as we speak.

 

The efi is nice. I however would get the Cat for 4999. Thats an excellent price for what you get. AC has more ground clearance, and a diff locker. I put a dial-a-jet system on my AC, so i can change settings in minutes if needed. But Honda makes a reliable machine also, my fourtrax is 14yrs old and still running strong!

 

you cant beat the price of the honda EFI.. either one will make you happy though. Its a candy factory of atv's out there. I wish I could own one of each... I do know in a few years ill probably upgrade from my 400 I just got to a 650-700EFI though. You dont need EFI, but its the way of the future[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

goodluck man and happy buying[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] We only live once so spend the cash while you can LOL

 

the real advantages is in cold weather and high attitude, but other wise carb is just fine.

 

That is not always the case. Go to the Yamaha forum and read the thread about the Grizzly 700 having cold start issues, and also read the thread about electric starting on the Grizzly 700. Both threads have over six pages worth of replys, so they should be pretty easy to find. Fuel injection is nice if you change altitude frequently, because it does not require rejetting. Once a good quality carb is jetted for the altitude you ride at it will provide performance every bit as good as fuel injection. But rejetting a carb can be a pain on some utility ATVs, because they are buried by so much plastic. I must admit that it has been nice to be able to ride our Grizzly anywhere from 1,100 ft altitude to 11,000 ft altitude without rejetting it. I just wish it would start in cold weather. This is our fourth Grizzly, and all of the carburated Grizzlys started fine in cold weather. This new fuel injected Grizzly will not start if it is less than 10 degrees, at 6000 feet altitude. So much for the cold weather and high altitude theory. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

 

i've had no problems starting my efi in the coldest of weather up here, got to love the smooth supply of power too.

 

You asked if you NEED EFI. No, you don't, but you also said, and recognize, EFI is the way of the future. It is. EFI will become standard on all mid and larger machines in the near term. That will make carb'ed machines less and less desirable as time goes on. Resale will suffer enough that at some point in the not distant future not having EFI will be a delimiter for many folks (want to buy a three wheeled Honda ATV? Didn't think so). The market wants EFI and emissions will soon require it. I have one machine with it (bomb 800) and one without (AC650). For any future machine I buy, not having EFI is a delimiter. It's not only altitude, it's because for the average guy/gal they run better without tweaking (cleaning, rejeting, and so on), have better fuel economy, and (generally speaking) start better in all kinds of weather (check the AC forum about starting the 650 V2 in cold WX). Kick the tire, light the fire and go - any time any where without worry about too rich or too leak, changing plugs, and so on. Only you can make the decision as to how you want to spend your money, but think hard before you do.