Kitty needs to breath better... need advice.

[Scotty]

I have a problem with my Firecat breathing in deep dry powder. When the snow is heavy and wet no issues at all as far as breathing goes. Firecats draw in air from under the hood "beak" if you will. There is a membrane under the beak that filters the snow and moisture, just like the m's and Crossfires, however those sleds draw air from up by the winsheild. Snow cant plug or build up there. On my sled the beak plugs up and the sled bogs Does anyone know of a filter or a remedy for this? I rode with a guy a couple years ago in the mountains that had the same issue on his Rev 800 Summit, side hood air screens plugging, bogging. His remedy was a spunge type material wrapped in a nylon (pantyhose?) It worked.

Also thinking about BullsEyes installed in the air box. That way I could at least draw in dry air from under the hood when the beak is plugged. Warm air but better then nothing?

Please advise if you have had similar experiences and / or remedies.

 

[ZRrrr]

Do not use the Bullseyes Scott. They still let dry powder through and you will bog. I now like the Frogskinz stuff from Speedwerx that uses a water/snow resistant membrane. Same membrane as SLP Flowrites, but a lot less expensive. Many different sizes and shapes to choose from. You could swiss cheese your aribox and put alot of the Frogskinz on it. If you really want Bullseyes I have a handful here I will give you.

 

[Scotty]

Thanks Duane... Let me know where I go from here. I will search "Frog Skins" but I would appreciate your imput as far as purchasing them and installation etc. I trust your experience as far as the Frog skinz go... Thanks!!

 

[Scotty]

Do not use the Bullseyes Scott. They still let dry powder through and you will bog. I now like the Frogskinz stuff from Speedwerx that uses a water/snow resistant membrane. Same membrane as SLP Flowrites, but a lot less expensive. Many different sizes and shapes to choose from. You could swiss cheese your aribox and put alot of the Frogskinz on it. If you really want Bullseyes I have a handful here I will give you.

Duane... bought the Frogzskin. Speedworks told me not to install to many on the airbox as it can cause a loss of throttle response. Whats your take on this. I have 4 one inch ID units and 2 two inch ID inits. Wondering which ones to install? I'm thinking one 2" id units on each side of the airbox to start with. My thinking is that more air creates a lean issue? Poor throttle response is usually a fat issue right? Too much fuel not enough air? Opening up the air box should lean things out a bit and clean it up... this is what i'm looking for.

Anyones imput is appreciated.

 

[wcroftac]

I was having horrible bogging issues on my M7. Bought a timbersled kit and smartend it right up. Just had to duct tape the two nose vents closed to keep too much pow from getting in. Buddy had an F7 with same deal and bought a velcro screen kit that covers the sides of the "beak". Worked o.k

 

[ZRrrr]

Scott,

This is just my opinion, but start small and work your way up. You can always open the holes bigger later on. Be sure to reach inside your aribox and feel around. There may be a couple edges you don't want to get too close to. On my CF, if I remember correctly, both sides of the airbox were not identical. Make sure you have room to drill out the bigger holes in the future. I can take a pic of my airbox later to show you where I put a couple of the small Frogz. You might be OK going with the big ones right from the get go, I'm just thinking you can always go bigger later, but harder to go smaller once bg holes are cut. One other thing you might consider is getting some of the filter material and adding it to the front of your intake screens. I think SLP sells the material in bulk. Hmmm, that brings up another idea that might help out. We need to talk.

 

[Scotty]

Scott,

This is just my opinion, but start small and work your way up. You can always open the holes bigger later on. Be sure to reach inside your aribox and feel around. There may be a couple edges you don't want to get too close to. On my CF, if I remember correctly, both sides of the airbox were not identical. Make sure you have room to drill out the bigger holes in the future. I can take a pic of my airbox later to show you where I put a couple of the small Frogz. You might be OK going with the big ones right from the get go, I'm just thinking you can always go bigger later, but harder to go smaller once bg holes are cut. One other thing you might consider is getting some of the filter material and adding it to the front of your intake screens. I think SLP sells the material in bulk. Hmmm, that brings up another idea that might help out. We need to talk.

I agree with starting safely, small, I bought an assortment of skins for that reason. The guy from Speedworx said that the 2" ID would be fine. They are pretty big? Thats a lot of extra air flow in my opinion? I'm worried about leaning out by adding extra airflow? Even though it's EFI.

As far as the hood vents letting snow in, that is a non issue. Underhood steam (causing bogging on most sleds) doesnt effect the Firecats as ALL the air the mill breathes is drawn from the exterior (beak).

We do need to talk about this.

 

[Scotty]

One other thought... when I cut through the airbox with a hole saw, I had better suck up the cuttings with a Vacume right? Don't want the little plastic debris getting through to the engine.

 

[ZRrrr]

Scott.....you ride a Cat....It's going to be rich from factory, even being EFI. Why not start small, do a couple rips across the yard and check plugs. If they look OK, then cut again and go with the 2". I too think you would be fine with the 2", but I don't want to have something happen and you not like me anymore

Yes, vacuum up the little pieces, all of them!

 

[cles]

Wish I would have seen this post before. I've had these sitting in a box for two years...yes, they're kinda ugly, but they work great.

 

[Scotty]

Scott.....you ride a Cat....It's going to be rich from factory, even being EFI. Why not start small, do a couple rips across the yard and check plugs. If they look OK, then cut again and go with the 2". I too think you would be fine with the 2", but I don't want to have something happen and you not like me anymore

Yes, vacuum up the little pieces, all of them!

Who said I liked you anyway

Just kidding .. you rock! :d Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to go with a 2" on each side of the airbox. If I'm still not too lean I'll add 1" too one side, one at a time that will be max. Ofcourse I will probably change my mind tomorrow

 

[Scotty]

Wish I would have seen this post before. I've had these sitting in a box for two years...yes, they're kinda ugly, but they work great.

Thats what the snowcross racers use... where did you get those? I would only be interested in the air inductuion pieces on the side of the beak. All the other vents peices I can do without.

Thanks for the help

 

[cles]

I bought them thru "White Knuckle Performance". I think it was from Edge Performance, who sold them thru White Knuckle. The Edge link on the website is now dead, so I'm assuming they don't make them anymore.

I'm a flatlander, so they not only kept the snow out of the beak for me...they kept all the grass/seeds/twigs out from under the hood. Ugly as hell, but very functional.

 

[Scotty]

Finally got around to installing the Frog Skinz on the airbox. Pulled out the box and drilled 1 inch holes, 4 of them and placed the 1 inch ID skinz. The plastic cuttings, shavings were a mess inside the airbox. I pressure washed the crud out of the box so nothing could be ingested and cause havic. I will be riding this weekend in the deep stuff and can't wait to see what the improvement will be when the beak is stuffed with snow?? A little conserned about running on the lean side? Hope the ECU will compensate for the additional airflow as there is a sensor on the airbox. Anyone with some valuable imput please feel free to share.

 

[dooryder]

scooty just check your plugs ever once and a while and check the color of them

 

[ZRrrr]

Should be no probs with mixture. Cat's are too fat from factory. Nice work!

 

[Scotty]

Should be no probs with mixture. Cat's are too fat from factory. Nice work!

I agree. I hope it runs leaner but not to lean We'll see. ZRrrr thanks for the tip on the Frog Skinz!