hi guys. I have an 02 raptor with the following mods done to it. Pro Flow with K&N, full yosh comp pipe, no lid, 170/175 jets. I just bought a stage 1 Hot Cam. I havent put it in yet because im a little worried about loosing relibilty for the amount of gain i might see. my question is really this, is it worth doing the cam by itself or will i only see some results if i do a piston & head work? have any of you done the stage one without doing the piston and head, if so, how were the results?

 

I don't think the cam will cost you any reliability.

Too see a good gain for the $$ it would be good to put in a piston with the cam. Something like a 11:1 or 12.5:1 100mm piston.

For the best gain, port work is a must with a piston and cam.

 

I say - Have the head ported and, put the cam in. That is a mild cam and, you can use stock valve springs. You should see a big difference w/ that.

Call Kenz Cycle Tech (1-480-962-1714) in Mesa, AZ. Tell him Paul from Illinois recomended him to you. He specializes in porting and, building engines. He would also be able to lay out senarios for all the variations of mods in one at a time and, all done together situations. He is very knowledgable

 

thanks guys; but that is what i'm not ready to do. i bought the cam because it was a cheep mod. $120 (same as the air filter setup) but i really dont want to get into the engine just yet. I know me; it will go like this: new piston? why not make it a big bore 727 or something. head porting? why not send it off for porting, oversize ti valves, while the engine is out might as well have the frame chromed. now the guy building the engine says that a set of new carbs will really wake this beast up, or perhaps EFI from a corvett. next will be the turbo, nitros,and of corse i'll need a parachute it slow it all down. final result used raptor $3,900 engine mods $20,000. all because i want to beat my friend who has a slip-on air filter & jets but weighs 65# less

 

Pretty funny you sound like me the way i talk about my bike - that is exactly what mine is getting to......

Porting is like 3-400 i think. You already have the cam. I'd go for it. I think you'd be happy w/ just the cam and, porting to take advantage of the better breathing. with just the $ for porting you could be done and, lose 0 reliability! A lot of places like the one i mentioned have ported heads already ported, ready to swap so you don't have to wait for it to get done. You could be beating your 65# less buddy bad in a week for around 400. (if you do the work)

 

It is a viscious cycle...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]. You are eventually gonna have too go inside the engine (you know this too be true), ship the stage 1 back and tell them too send a stage 2 with some springs..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].
Gary

 

anyone with just stage one?

 

I run a stage 1, but also put a 11:1 piston in with a mild port job. I race it and it has held up for 2 years with no problems. (KNOCK OK WOOD)

 

just put the stage 1 in and run it like it is, you will have a noticeable performance gain, and no decrease in reliabilty. Once you decide you like it save up your money over the next year and when it is time to get into the motor anyway that's when you port it, or piston kit, or what ever your budget allows at the time. Dont try to get more performance than you want to pay for, your parts will never match. for a motor with only bolt ons mods a stage 1 cam is perfect, sure you can do all the extra and get the full potential out of it, but sounds like you have a good mind for what you are doing, stay in your budget untill your ready to pay more....Have fun

 

like gary said send the stage 1 back and get the stage 2..Youll be doing it anyways in a little bit..Trust me..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]