Turbo, 900 BB, or stage IV SLP

[qbeam]

I have been thinking about doing some mods to my 12 800. Any suggestions as to what I might be the most satisfied with. Most of my riding style is boondocking and tree riding. I am not much of a point and shoot guy, not looking to be the highmark king. I am not mechanically inclined and don't have buddies with turbos or know how to work on sleds. I want pull and go with little or no tuning. So with that what is your take on the following:

• PG Turbo-how is the bottom end specifically for riding in trees in situations where you need instance throttle response? How much weight does it add, typically?
• 900BB-is it worth the expense($6,800 installed) considering a turbo is roughly the same price or cheaper? Sounds like the Carl's BB is dialed in and runs well. Will I always wish I would have jumped into the Turbo?
• SLP-I haven't heard a lot about the performance gains of the stage IV. For those who have them are the worth the money? Any weight savings, what about reliability?

Thanks in advance.

 

[steepndeep800]

I have a Dragon with Carls Cycle edition of Stage 4 motor work that has twins on it and it flat out rips and has been nothing but pull and go all the time, I also got the single pipe and ECU for that sled but never have run it but another friend had the same thing and it work great also.

I Now have a Pro with Carls edition of the Stage 4 motor with a single as well as a bunch of misc other stuff done by Carls, I have not ridden yet but have been told by many the new ones work better than the old CFI 4's which is hard to believe because I couldnt find a gurgle bobble anything in that sled as long as I've onwed it but my new one does pull 2 grams heavier weights then my twin piped version of CFI 4. I have also been told the Carls stuff seems to run a little stronger than the SLP stage 4's but cant say in person because I havent ridden them both. Carls has a reputation and customer service like no one else.

My old twin piped version ran fairly close with a carls 860 but the 860 did have a stronger bottom end and on a hill it was pretty close but the 860 would pull it, his sled was much lighter (70 lb's) but I have no doubt the motor was stronger also but the ported version is extremely impressive. Heads and tails above the stockers.
Buddy has a 900 Carls also but have not run side by side against my new one yet so I cannot give you a comparison, I know his 900 has lots of bottom and top pull, he had it last year. I'm sure the 900 is stronger, its really your call on how much money you want to spend.
Stage 4 is a big increase
900 sounds like it is equal to a 6-7 lb turbo on a longer pull but throttle response and down low will kill any turbo no matter how good they get.
Turbo if you do a lot of long pulls and you boost it up to 10-12 lb's will rock but sacrafice in the tree's some.
There is no right or wrong, my type of riding is tight areas occasional longer pulls and I want my sled to be trully pull rope and go and that is why I chose what I did. No matter your choice Chris at Carls performance can help you out and give you true honest answers and assist you in whatever you choose!

 

[himarker]

If I had the coin I'd be going with a carls 900bb. Maybe next yr, going to put at least one season on my 13 before I drop another 6k. First pro for me.

 

[Jkinzer]

don't forget to throw Brad's 910 kit in the mix cheaper than the 900 and should be a runner!

running slp pipe/rk tek head and pistons/ and custom clutching on mine this year, only have 46 miles on so far but i'm excited about the results so far

 

[slednutz]

I have a 2012 turbo pro which does require some maintenance and tuning. If you are set on strictly pull and go I do not think the turbo rout would be one you would want to go, especially since none of your riding partners have turbos.

 

[phatty]

I have been thinking about doing some mods to my 12 800. Any suggestions as to what I might be the most satisfied with. Most of my riding style is boondocking and tree riding. I am not much of a point and shoot guy, not looking to be the highmark king. I am not mechanically inclined and don't have buddies with turbos or know how to work on sleds. I want pull and go with little or no tuning. So with that what is your take on the following:

• PG Turbo-how is the bottom end specifically for riding in trees in situations where you need instance throttle response? How much weight does it add, typically?
• 900BB-is it worth the expense($6,800 installed) considering a turbo is roughly the same price or cheaper? Sounds like the Carl's BB is dialed in and runs well. Will I always wish I would have jumped into the Turbo?
• SLP-I haven't heard a lot about the performance gains of the stage IV. For those who have them are the worth the money? Any weight savings, what about reliability?

Thanks in advance.

depends on your end goals. I run pump gas turbo and have no issues in the trees. yes the really really tight ridiculously trees, runs just great. As for weight if you remove the headlights its like 3-5lbs over stock weight i believe. Obviously it has the ability for the most power gains as well. If you want pull and go I would have a reputable dealer install the turbo who will also take the time to ride with you and show you how to make fine adjustments if needed.

the 900BB is a sweet machine, but same price as a turbo, which IMO the turbo will out preform the BB in deep snow and higher elevations. Seems i have heard reports of 900BB running even with turbos at 6lbs boost. cant give input on mechanical stuff for "pull and go"

SLP kit is a great bang for the buck. its not in the same ball park for performance/power as the 900BB or turbo, but for the guy looking to spend a lot less, this kit works well. the 2 i have seen run have been snappy off bottom and put stockers to shame. Its def a pull and go sled.

 

[assault11]

I am running Carl's 900BB. It's awesome. Fuel mapping is spot on. The throttle response is unbelievable. Definitely will be a pull the rope and go sled. Perfect for tight tree riding. I wanna run mine next to a turbo at ten pounds, I'm pretty confident my set up(3 inchx162) should run pretty close. The three inch track is also something to think about. You're not sacrificing any reliability and it will take an slp stage 3 easily with the stock motor

 

[Turbo 911]

i have had awsome luck w carls bb kits had 975 took a sled that i dident like to won i loved to ride thay did the685 kit flat out riped both where pull and go the 975 is still around 3000 miles never ben worked on and stillrips this year i went w par 910 biger is always better so i will let every one no how good or bad it is

 

[D8rider]

You should look into rk TEK 858 kit it's about 2500 including the boondocker fuel program...should be pull the rope and go and also it's pretty much the same price as the stage 4 kit from SLP

 

[Slingn Snow]

Power Addiction Racing Put there version of a stage 4 on my sled and it rips. There stuff always works great and Brad will build you an engine from mild to wild depending on what your looking for.

 

[assault11]

The 900 should be pretty close to a pg turbo set up on the top end but the bottom and midrange with the 900 will out do any turbo. If you really want a pull and go sled do the 900. You will be pleased with it. But whatever you decide to do get Carl's to do the set up for you. Chris is awesome to deal with, he'll answer all your questions. And they stand behind there stuff

 

[Ckale]

X2 on the RK Tek 858, seems like the best value of all the big bores.

 

[assault11]

X2 on the RK Tek 858, seems like the best value of all the big bores.

I wouldn't recommend just boring out the stick cylinders like they do. You get what you pay for.

 

[hudini]

I am huge Carls BB fan and have seat time on all BB's they have put together except for the 1140. I am not sold on the fact that the 900BB will run with a Carls tuned turbo sled at elevation. Bottom and mid I would hypothesize the 900 is a bit better than the 13' BD Turbo that Carl's has tweaked, but after that the turbo will not be touched.

Chris has explained to me that the 13' BD Turbo is tuned and runs very well, almost no leg and the turbo spools quicker than it ever has. I know that Burandt took delivery of a Carls 900BB last March and put roughly 1200 miles on it last season. Carls received a ton of great feedback, not only from Burandt but others alike, and I believe made adjustments. They are very pleased with the 900 and BD Turbo sleds they have put together and sold.

My advice to you is consider your goals, can you get everywhere you want to go, how will modifications change my sled and the way I ride it, and what maintenance will need to be performed each year?