'08 800 Dragon - Get the engine update or not

RoadKing · Feb 22, 2010

Seems like people are spit on this, some say sled runs great after the update with the latest flash, and some are still not happy.

My sled runs great now, no bog, hesitation or anything like that. Usually ride at 6,000' and above. Sled has almost 1,000 miles. So I have a few questions maybe someone can answer.

1. What's the deadline for Polaris to pay for the update?

2. What's the warranty period after the update?

3. Could you still get the old style pistons later on if you have a problem?

4. Will having/not having the update change the future value of the sled + or -?

Thanks in advance for thoughts.

AndrettiDog · Feb 22, 2010

Seems like you should ask your dealer those questions. For some reason, I get different answers to those questions from different dealers. It really comes down to what your dealer is going to do for you if you burn down.

I would say go with your setup until you burn down and you get a free set of pistons, but the problem is if you are out in the steep and deep it could be very difficult to get back to the truck. I think the update works really well with a PCV on the D8. Mine runs great and rips!

snofoshow · Feb 22, 2010

I have on 08 too. I had the pistons and head but no reflash. Sled runs harder than ever. Boondocker fuel box on it. Son in law has same year. New flash and have had a hard time getting it to pull decent. Been playing around with different clutching. finally running good. Never did have the mid range bog

crashnbash · Feb 23, 2010

The update is basically a free top end rebuild. It is a gamble wether or not your sled will run as good as before, but most people have already figured out how to correct any problems caused by the update.

TSND · Feb 23, 2010

crashnbash said:
The update is basically a free top end rebuild. It is a gamble wether or not your sled will run as good as before, but most people have already figured out how to correct any problems caused by the update.

What's the tricks to make it run a little more snappy? I've got a SLP full pipe, clutching, and had the update done at the beginning of the season...it seems a little boggy then before...any ideas? Would a higher compression head (SLP 6-9000) help a little and running a 20 % race gas mix in lower elevations?

thefullmonte · Feb 25, 2010

If you are still running the original 08 map and it runs good then you may not want the update. I don't think any of the reflashes worked as good as the original from what people have been saying.
The new head doesn't seem to be working as good as the original at altitude. So, you may not want to loose that either.
What I did was get a set of twin ring Wiseco pistons and a PC V. The sled absolutely rips now.
Please don't wait for it to burn down. That could lead to another issue in the lower end further down the road.

crashnbash · Feb 25, 2010

TSND said:
What's the tricks to make it run a little more snappy? I've got a SLP full pipe, clutching, and had the update done at the beginning of the season...it seems a little boggy then before...any ideas? Would a higher compression head (SLP 6-9000) help a little and running a 20 % race gas mix in lower elevations?

Put a pcv on, contact jim at dynotech with what your setup is, pipe, current ecu map, ect., he will have a map that is pretty close. Then try pink exhaust valve springs, they should work for your elvevation. SLP should also have a map for your setup. That should make a noticeable differance in how it runs.
A higher compression head usually helps too, but I have not tried any yet to know how much they help.

Njones125 · Feb 25, 2010

I have an 08 D8 and had the updates done before this riding season and it runs great. I wouldnt have even known anything had changed in it. My opinion is go and get a brand new top end in it for nothing. I also ride at 6,000+

RoadKing · Feb 25, 2010

thefullmonte said:
If you are still running the original 08 map and it runs good then you may not want the update. I don't think any of the reflashes worked as good as the original from what people have been saying.
The new head doesn't seem to be working as good as the original at altitude. So, you may not want to loose that either.
What I did was get a set of twin ring Wiseco pistons and a PC V. The sled absolutely rips now.
Please don't wait for it to burn down. That could lead to another issue in the lower end further down the road.

thefullmonte -

So you think the piston design is to blame and not altitude? I noticed you are in MN, what elevation do you ride at? I was thinking this was Polaris covering their *** and going overboard on the fix by lowering the compression to make sure the engines would not burn down at sea level and letting us higher elevation guys suffer, thats why these fueling boxes are working so well. You don't have a part number handy on the wiseco pistons do you?

thefullmonte · Feb 27, 2010

RoadKing said:
thefullmonte -

So you think the piston design is to blame and not altitude? I noticed you are in MN, what elevation do you ride at? I was thinking this was Polaris covering their *** and going overboard on the fix by lowering the compression to make sure the engines would not burn down at sea level and letting us higher elevation guys suffer, thats why these fueling boxes are working so well. You don't have a part number handy on the wiseco pistons do you?

I typically ride around 6000-8000ft. I just spent most of the week in the Black Hills which is a little less than that.
I think the new head is a great design at sea level, but I'm hearing reports of very low compression and problems holding RPM at altitude from it. In theory it is designed to give a better fuel burn with less detention. I think you would want to mill the new head if running above 6000ft. I do think they are being somewhat cautious with the new update.
The OEM single ring pistons were out of specification right out of the box. They had too much piston to cylinder clearance and didn't even meet Polaris spec for some reason. With the amount of throw from the crank it caused quite a bit of piston rock in the cylinder. Some people got good life out of them, but they seemed doomed to failure.
The closer tolerance and the twin ring seem to really liven up this motor. However, I did do numerous changes to this motor durring the rebuild.
The OEM on mine measured .0068 which should have been .0037-.0052. Which seems to be very consistant measurements from others as well. The Wiseco measured .005 on the money. Mine even sounds completely different and runs much smoother. The Wiseco # is 2456M08500 available and in stock through WPS.

rmkboxer · Feb 28, 2010

I had the 1st update and it sucked but after I got the 2nd reflash it runs like a raped ape

mrmojoinco · Mar 13, 2010

I say dont get it,

Last year I loved my D8, then I got the update a couple months ago and the motor lasted 97 miles. It almost has 700 miles total now. It did run pretty good after the update for 80 miles. What happened? Well the cage that holds the clutch side outer crank bearing fell apart and went thru the seal. That let oil spray onto the clutch and grenade a belt. On top of that both cylinders are cracked near the bases. No mods are done to this sled. Polaris screwd something up real good with this update. Anyone else have this happen??
:doh:

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'08 800 Dragon - Get the engine update or not

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