9 top snowmobile performance mods

6 Exhaust – A freer-flowing exhaust increases the engine’s VE and may up power. One drawback can be higher sound levels. This is a sticky issue. Government officials, communities and landowners have banded together to outlaw exhaust modifications in many areas. The good news is aftermarket companies now have newer designs increasing power levels within acceptable noise levels. A win-win! Cost ranges between a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000, and can net up to a few dozen horsepower.

7 NOS – There’s many do-it-yourself nitrous kits on the market. These give short bursts of increased power and many deliver a good “bang for your buck” in terms of power for cost. But they have drawbacks, including having to refill your nitrous bottle. Most kits range from $400 to $1,100, and can add 25-80+ horses. In addition, the costs of NOS (about $5 per pound at press time) factor in, since you only get about 10-15 seconds of full throttle operation per pound of nitrous on average.

8 Superchargers – Blowers (as they are commonly called) come in many designs, most commonly an external, centrifugal supercharger driven by a belt from the crankshaft. You can adjust the boost generated by the blower by changing the pulleys. Superchargers are great for instant power, but their efficiency, especially in high boost situations, can be a hinderance as blowers draw power away from the engine due to their parasitic engine-driven design. Still, they offer simplicity and huge power increases, but have a high initial cost – most start at $2,500 and up, but add 50-100 hp.

9 Turbos – Turbos have been around for decades. Today we have the ability to more accurately control them (thank you computers) and the quality of construction materials make them last longer. Many factors impact turbo performance, but power all comes down to one thing – boost level. Controlling boost across the entire operating range of the engine is the trick here.