BeachSled
Active VIP Member
** I wanted to share my experience in the process of buying a Big bore kit, no one seems to post much about them so I thought I would share what I found. I’m hoping this will help the next guy, and no I am not getting paid to post this, I did not receive a ‘special price’ if I wrote a review or anything along those lines. I’m just a happy customer!
So this season I decided to keep my ’16 XM and put some money into it, I am happy with the way it handles and just wanted a little more power. I also wanted to see how this new G4 chassis panned out before I hopped on the band wagon. I have been a guinea pig in the past on first year machines and really didn’t feel like doing it again. My ’16 runs great and I haven’t had any issues with it like I had with the ’14 (Such a long story)
I have spent a lot of time, and I mean a lot of time researching horse power mods for the 800 etec. Yes I did consider a turbo kit but I really don’t like having to fiddle with fuel controllers and constantly check gauges to make sure the sled is running optimal. So I decided on a big bore upgrade, I made a list of some of the major shops that produce kits. Then I started making calls, emailing people, reading reviews, talking to people who were out riding them. I found that peoples experiences were hit and miss with most of the shops except one (I’m not going to get into this because I never really asked people if I could share their stories). The one thing I did find out that most people don’t talk about is that Ski-doo’s deck heights vary so its almost impossible to buy a big bore kit off the shelf that will be a perfect match to the cylinders you mailed back to the shop as a trade in.
I found that Arctic Edge Motorsports builds more of a custom style big bore kit, they require your head, cylinders and raves to be sent in and you receive ‘YOUR’ parts back. So I decided to go with the 875cc big bore pump gas kit from Brent at Arctic Edge and have Dean at Mad Motorsports do the work for me. The motor work consisted of the usual tests (Squish test, leak down test, compression test, crank run out, ect.) before disassembly and the top end being sent off to Arctic Edge. Brent did the following – bored cylinders, ported them, cut the head, cut rave guillotines, and re-nikasiled the cylinders.
Then Dean assembled the motor and I had him to do the ‘Rave valve Mod’ (same as the old p-tec motors) but these guys have found a way to trick the computer into not needing the rave valve solenoid. This allows the crank case pressure to operate the raves, which in turn greatly improved the throttle response. I also had a ceramic coated SPI y-pipe installed that works in conjunction with the big bore. And had Dean re-install the XM performance kit he sells that I had in my ’14, which consisted of reeds, billet thermostat, clutching, gearing, chain, and clutch tower brace.
I was able to get the sled out on the snow for some testing last weekend and all I can say is HOLY SMOKES. I noticed the extra horse power and torque it produces right away. The seat of the pants dyno shows noticeable increase in power. But officially the kit produces 20-25hp extra and I can say that it is defiantly doing that. I let a few people ride my sled and at times it was hard to get it back from them, lol.
In the end I am extremely pleased with how my sled runs I literally just add fuel and ride, no fuel controllers to mess with, no extra gauges to watch, it is truly a pull and go setup. I can’t wait to get out again, I would say the smiles per mile for this upgrade is VERY high. It also made since that its Canadian built, tested and tuned where we ride!
So this season I decided to keep my ’16 XM and put some money into it, I am happy with the way it handles and just wanted a little more power. I also wanted to see how this new G4 chassis panned out before I hopped on the band wagon. I have been a guinea pig in the past on first year machines and really didn’t feel like doing it again. My ’16 runs great and I haven’t had any issues with it like I had with the ’14 (Such a long story)
I have spent a lot of time, and I mean a lot of time researching horse power mods for the 800 etec. Yes I did consider a turbo kit but I really don’t like having to fiddle with fuel controllers and constantly check gauges to make sure the sled is running optimal. So I decided on a big bore upgrade, I made a list of some of the major shops that produce kits. Then I started making calls, emailing people, reading reviews, talking to people who were out riding them. I found that peoples experiences were hit and miss with most of the shops except one (I’m not going to get into this because I never really asked people if I could share their stories). The one thing I did find out that most people don’t talk about is that Ski-doo’s deck heights vary so its almost impossible to buy a big bore kit off the shelf that will be a perfect match to the cylinders you mailed back to the shop as a trade in.
I found that Arctic Edge Motorsports builds more of a custom style big bore kit, they require your head, cylinders and raves to be sent in and you receive ‘YOUR’ parts back. So I decided to go with the 875cc big bore pump gas kit from Brent at Arctic Edge and have Dean at Mad Motorsports do the work for me. The motor work consisted of the usual tests (Squish test, leak down test, compression test, crank run out, ect.) before disassembly and the top end being sent off to Arctic Edge. Brent did the following – bored cylinders, ported them, cut the head, cut rave guillotines, and re-nikasiled the cylinders.
Then Dean assembled the motor and I had him to do the ‘Rave valve Mod’ (same as the old p-tec motors) but these guys have found a way to trick the computer into not needing the rave valve solenoid. This allows the crank case pressure to operate the raves, which in turn greatly improved the throttle response. I also had a ceramic coated SPI y-pipe installed that works in conjunction with the big bore. And had Dean re-install the XM performance kit he sells that I had in my ’14, which consisted of reeds, billet thermostat, clutching, gearing, chain, and clutch tower brace.
I was able to get the sled out on the snow for some testing last weekend and all I can say is HOLY SMOKES. I noticed the extra horse power and torque it produces right away. The seat of the pants dyno shows noticeable increase in power. But officially the kit produces 20-25hp extra and I can say that it is defiantly doing that. I let a few people ride my sled and at times it was hard to get it back from them, lol.
In the end I am extremely pleased with how my sled runs I literally just add fuel and ride, no fuel controllers to mess with, no extra gauges to watch, it is truly a pull and go setup. I can’t wait to get out again, I would say the smiles per mile for this upgrade is VERY high. It also made since that its Canadian built, tested and tuned where we ride!
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so riding was cut short for the weekend. Zero problems with mine so far and I was not nice to it.
