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AmSnow recently got wind of a new product that improves air flow into the '08 Ski-Doo REV-XP 800R engine, an air box. The object of air boxes is to direct fresh air into your engine. Custom air boxes focus on getting more fresh air into your sled's engine to produce more power.
Custom airboxes are nothing exceptional or new, but the 800R engine is. So, we took a trip to Bondi Engines, just north of Toronto, to examine Chris Bondi's new air box for the 800R. Bondi is an engine builder who specializes in 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines for race sleds and other power sports. He has built a solid reputation for more than 20 years and his work has lead to several championships across North America. At his shop, Bondi invents, tests and makes his custom air boxes and performance products.
We asked Chris to run us through a test with the original BRP stock air box and then with his new fangled design to see the difference. Here's what we learned.
The testBondi first tested the stock BRP air box along with the entire BRP intake system. For that, he used his SuperFlow SF 600 flow bench. To give us a base line, Bondi set his flow bench at 18 inches of water column for vacuum and measured the air flow at wide open throttle through the 800R throttle bodies for a full 10 seconds.
It's hard to believe how noisy this large machine is just pushing air, but we soon had the results up on the monitor. The flow bench measured 335.4 cfm (cubic feet per minute) of air moving through the stock BRP parts.
Bondi then changed the stock air box for his custom air box. On your sled it's as simple as sliding it directly onto the stock carburetor flange and it then adapts to the front air box. It was easy to see the difference between the two air boxes, the air tube on the custom box is larger, but still fits in a stock sled. Bondi then ran the flow bench again, this time, the machine measured 368.8 cfm, a difference of 33.4 cfm every 10 seconds.
Interpreting the resultsInteresting, but what does this mean out on the trail or lake when someone adds Bondi's custom air box? What would they notice?
"When I tested the stock '08 MXZ 800R on my dyno I was getting up to 140 horsepower, nothing higher, but after adding the custom air box I was getting 151 hp, the numbers that this sled is suppose to be getting," Bondi says.
By adding the custom air box, he says you'll notice a 150-300 rpm increase over stock, or somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-12 hp. Jetting or clutching changes are not necessary, but one can adjust the drive clutch up by 1 notch or add some weight to bring the rpm down into the power curve.
Bondi also explained that temperature plays a big part in the results. "On a cold day when the air is good you won't notice much difference, but on a warm day, the horsepower gain is significant, drawing in a lot of air here will make big changes," he says. If you find your sled sluggish on warm days, this custom air box can provide a solid hp boost.
The key here is to draw in clean outside air. Someone could drill holes into their stock system, but they would run the risk of sucking either belt or brake dust into their engine, never a good idea.
This custom air box doesn't create any additional noise and comes complete with all the necessary parts, fasteners and easy instructions. Cost is about $290 US.
Unlike most modifications, this one can easily be changed back to stock in just minutes too.
More info: www.bondiengines.com