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Ascender turbo kits? Reviews?

madmax

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It's easy to blame the turbo when a sled doesn't run. Most of the time it is an issue with the components not associated with the turbo kit. Polaris uses 50 cent relays, crappy wiring, tps that goes out of spec. Most likely you have metal against metal banging some where giving false det readings. You might be over revving. Could be numourous things not concerning the turbo kit.

After installing and tuning a number of turbos over the last 2 years, I’d have to agree with this. Every time one of them doesn’t run right it’s almost always sled related, not turbo kit related. Either something was installed wrong or something is broken. I had 7 friends this year that bought left over axys 800. Had a shop in Idaho install sidekicks on all of them. Second ride out one of them started running bad, pulled the side panel to find all the bolts holding the exhaust to the turbo housing had come off. Another sled, they forgot to tighten the charge tube clamp. Another sled broke and exhaust cable, and another had relay failures. Broken clutch springs and on and on and on. By the end of the season just about everyone of them had had a “did not run right” issue at least one or twice. None were turbo kit related.
I would trust any of the major turbo kits out there, Silber, boondocker, MPI, etc. they are very good and very reliable these days.
 
F
Sep 28, 2017
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Have heard that the supercharger kits don’t really make that much more horsepower then a stock, and people kinda get dissapointed about them.

Ive always had turbos, and with the technology today, the turbo lag problem is more or less gone.

If you haven’t ridden the Supercharger,really hard to have an opinion...i just started selling them this year and i havent put one person on it to demo that hasn’t been blown away..You should try it before you take other people opinions as your own.
 
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JJ_0909

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After installing and tuning a number of turbos over the last 2 years, I’d have to agree with this. Every time one of them doesn’t run right it’s almost always sled related, not turbo kit related. Either something was installed wrong or something is broken. I had 7 friends this year that bought left over axys 800. Had a shop in Idaho install sidekicks on all of them. Second ride out one of them started running bad, pulled the side panel to find all the bolts holding the exhaust to the turbo housing had come off. Another sled, they forgot to tighten the charge tube clamp. Another sled broke and exhaust cable, and another had relay failures. Broken clutch springs and on and on and on. By the end of the season just about everyone of them had had a “did not run right” issue at least one or twice. None were turbo kit related.
I would trust any of the major turbo kits out there, Silber, boondocker, MPI, etc. they are very good and very reliable these days.

This.

Nearly every "my sled doesn't run right" comes down to one of three issues...

1) Not enough octane. Yes, you may need to run some AV gas or similar with your kit. Our octane chart is a suggestion - riding style, environment, how long you hold the flipper open for all play into this. While I wish we could all run 12 psi at sea level on 87 octane this isn't the case. You may need a gallon or two of av per tank, even at 5 psi. The difference costs less than those snacks at the 7-11 you bought while filling up...

2) Clutching. If you are over-revving you will not have a happy running sled. If you are getting belt slip you will not load the motor effectively and you will confuse the map. Clutching is key. Belt condition is key.

3) Something isn't right with the sled to begin with or bad install. Just as this poster is suggesting.
 

turboless terry

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How does the new cat kit run in comparison to my flawless 850 kit. Bottom end response is all I care about. The 850 is hands down the best I've had.
 

madmax

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This.

1) Not enough octane. Yes, you may need to run some AV gas or similar with your kit. Our octane chart is a suggestion - riding style, environment, how long you hold the flipper open for all play into this. While I wish we could all run 12 psi at sea level on 87 octane this isn't the case. You may need a gallon or two of av per tank, even at 5 psi. The difference costs less than those snacks at the 7-11 you bought while filling up...

This is a really good point worth mentioning. Some sleds will be fine on pump gas, others with the identical kit will need alitte octane. You’d think two identical sleds with identical turbo set ups could run the same fuel, not so. About half the guys I ride with will occasionally detonate on pump fuel, while the other half will never detonate. They fill up st the same station, same fuel, same sled same turbo kit, same set up. If you run a pump gas turbo I’d just plan on a little octane over pump fuel. It’ll make your life a lot easier.
 
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Bacon

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This is a really good point worth mentioning. Some sleds will be fine on pump gas, others with the identical kit will need alitte octane. You’d think two identical sleds with identical turbo set ups could run the same fuel, not so. About half the guys I ride with will occasionally detonate on pump fuel, while the other half will never detonate. They fill up st the same station, same fuel, same sled same turbo kit, same set up. If you run a pump gas turbo I’d just plan on a little octane over pump fuel. It’ll make your life a lot easier.

My guess is there is enough manufacturing tolerances that effect that. Little more timing, little less squish, a little variance in injector output. It all adds up. Why does it seem some stockers run better than others?
 
J

JJ_0909

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This is a really good point worth mentioning. Some sleds will be fine on pump gas, others with the identical kit will need alitte octane. You’d think two identical sleds with identical turbo set ups could run the same fuel, not so. About half the guys I ride with will occasionally detonate on pump fuel, while the other half will never detonate. They fill up st the same station, same fuel, same sled same turbo kit, same set up. If you run a pump gas turbo I’d just plan on a little octane over pump fuel. It’ll make your life a lot easier.

Preach brother. Preach.
 
J

JJ_0909

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My guess is there is enough manufacturing tolerances that effect that. Little more timing, little less squish, a little variance in injector output. It all adds up. Why does it seem some stockers run better than others?

Part of the equation, but not the big part.

Mostly has to do with how a turbo wastegate is never going to be 100% perfect until we can run full ECU derived closed loop systems. Even then, its going to be hard as we push fuel to the absolute limit. 0.5 psi too much on a big pull. DET.

Point is, at sea level, with a stock sled, we don't have a ton of wiggle room on 91. (with not-so-good fuel you'll hit DET). Some quick "pressure" math will show you why some AV gas, regardless of the kit, is likely a good idea this side of 4psi in the mountains.

Its cheap. Its not hard to find. It smells cool. It makes your balls bigger (3 of the 4 are true anyway...)
 
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Bacon

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I've never really got the pump gas turbo infatuation. I realize it's easier to just go fill up at the pump but your spending good money on a turbo. Is it that hard to put good fuel in the sled. I liked race gas half and half. Some like AV gas. Whatever works.
 

madmax

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I've never really got the pump gas turbo infatuation. I realize it's easier to just go fill up at the pump but your spending good money on a turbo. Is it that hard to put good fuel in the sled. I liked race gas half and half. Some like AV gas. Whatever works.

I would say for most people buying turbos these days it is that hard for them to get and use race gas. There is only a small number of us that are in tune enough with the machanics of our sleds to really know or care about what is going with them. The majority of guys that can afford a new sled and a turbo want to walk into their dealer, plunk down some cash and go ride with no thought about it. It’s just the way it is.
 
J

jim

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My PG turbo kit requires a little octane to prevent detonation. I have tried av gas mix, race gas mix and octane booster. I have settled on Royal Purple octane booster...half a bottle per tank ($12/bottle). Main reason I like the octane booster is that my fuel mix remains very consistent. When you add race or av gas to the pump gas, you will end up with varying densities which do impact the fueling a bit. Octane boost doesn't do this and I get awesome consistency from day to day to day. My sled is an 09 Boondocker PG set-up. Not nearly as clean as the newer stuff, but runs great and I don't have issues. Pull and go. Even with adjustable controller, I don't have to do anything. Only thing I'll do is turn boost up or down depending on how much I want to ride that day. If I want good mileage, I'll turn down a few pounds. If I want max power, I max out injectors. Been a fun sled.
 

kiliki

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This is a really good point worth mentioning. Some sleds will be fine on pump gas, others with the identical kit will need alitte octane. You’d think two identical sleds with identical turbo set ups could run the same fuel, not so. About half the guys I ride with will occasionally detonate on pump fuel, while the other half will never detonate. They fill up st the same station, same fuel, same sled same turbo kit, same set up. If you run a pump gas turbo I’d just plan on a little octane over pump fuel. It’ll make your life a lot easier.

most over looked part of the is the fuel pump. the regulators used have too far of a psi band (due to the poor calibration of the type of regulator ) one will run 42 psi and the next 39 and next 44 ect. same fuel map but more or less fuel due to the pressure.
 

Sunvang

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So, pulled the plug the other day and ordered a Silber kit. What did it was they are going to make it possible, to flash my own ECU at home with a cable and software you can buy from Silber. That really makes it easier for us international customers.
 
J

JJ_0909

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So, pulled the plug the other day and ordered a Silber kit. What did it was they are going to make it possible, to flash my own ECU at home with a cable and software you can buy from Silber. That really makes it easier for us international customers.

Nice! The kit is running super strong and very clean.

Only thing I'd suggest is to throw a boost gauge on if you are at lower elevation.

Enjoy!
 
J

JJ_0909

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It is worth investing in a turbo kit if you only ride at low altitude (0-3000ft)

Depends what you call "worth it". 30 horse+ is worth it in my book. You may need some octane at sea level. 3,000 feet you could run 3-4 psi on pump, though as I've indicated elsewhere I am not a fan of pump gas in turbos....
 

Sunvang

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Depends what you call "worth it". 30 horse+ is worth it in my book. You may need some octane at sea level. 3,000 feet you could run 3-4 psi on pump, though as I've indicated elsewhere I am not a fan of pump gas in turbos....

I always get kinda frustrated when people say turbos dont work at low altitude. I have for several years on many different sleds and turbo kits, ran boost from 6psi to 10psi on pump gas and 1500-4000ft without issues. Should be no problem running the new Silber kit at 7-8psi if the map is tuned properly.
I had a MTNTK Polaris Axys last season at 8psi and pump gas, low elevation. Never missed a beat. Turned the boost up to around 10psi, added some AVGAS and no issues.
 
X
Jan 10, 2018
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Sunvang, I can see you is located in norway, im from Sweden. Will you buy the silber kit?
What about the ECU flash? Will you send it to silber or Will you wait until fall and order the self flashing thing?
 

Sunvang

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Sunvang, I can see you is located in norway, im from Sweden. Will you buy the silber kit?
What about the ECU flash? Will you send it to silber or Will you wait until fall and order the self flashing thing?

I have already snowchecked a Silber kit.
Havent decided about the flashing yet, because im going to install the kit on a new Alpha, so it depends when it arrives, and if the flashing cable and software are available then. If not, i will have to send the ECU, but I would mostly like to flash it myself at home, to save shipping time.
 
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