peformance stock vs jet kit, exhaust, and pods

I know I have seen many people here saying that you can ruin your performance going with pods, jet kit, and free flowing exhaust. I just want to hear some success stories from people who got it right and saw results. I'm sure it takes a lot of fine tuning. I have an 82 xj650 maxim and am wondering how much of a difference did it make and in what rpm range was there the most improvement, what size jets, and what type of exhaust? I know somebody out there doesn't regret it? I am great with carbs and am willing to spend the time and money to do it right!

 

If you have the money, do yourself a favor and buy a rack of non-CV carbs. CV carbs don't like pods or free flow exhaust. Some have had good results with a lot of hair pulling and cussing. You could try the velocity stacked pod as well, but you may loose some high end performance. Since you have a Max and not a Seca, that may not be a issue with you.
If it was me with enough money, I would get better carbs.

 

Not a bad idea at all! Makes sense. Any specific carbs you recommend?

 

If it helps, I was planning on getting Mac 4-1 with adjustable baffle plates. I would never run straight exhaust because I know the importance of back pressure.

 

One of the members hear put a rack of Kehein racing carbs on his, don't remember who. Look in the XJ Modification threads/carb mods. Or you could do a Google search on the different brands for their models. Hitachi - Mikuni - Kehein....hope that helps.

 

Yes it does! Thanks a lot for the info! This forum is great

 

i have pods cut off exhuast and stage 3 dynojets. and have it running great. just a little more tuning right now and will be running perfect.

 

That's what I like to hear! Seeing as how I have three sets of carbs, I think I'm gonna try it. If I don't like the results, I can buy a set of non cv carbs like recommended above. I will keep the airbox and one set of carbs intact stock just in case I ever want to put it back the way it was. I might even try some things outside of the box like I have read on the forum, or an idea of my own. Thanks again you two for responding!

 

May I make a suggestion Hardrock. If you are going to play around with the carbs I would suggest putting in a set of E3 plugs. Now before everyone starts yelling they are just a gimmick. The design is not. We use a plug similar in concept in our 120hp and up outboards. They have NO ground lug. The spark jumps from center to the side of the plug giving it an infinite number of ground points. They burn cleaner, give a larger/stronger spark and do burn more of the fuel that's in the cylinder. We also used a similar style plug in my old Piper Tripacer when I was doing a lot of flying for the same reason. More efficient, burned more of the available fuel in the cylinders, reliable, and do give you an increase in power. After all who wants to have fouled plugs at 15000 ft or get stuck out on the water some 15 miles off shore in a small boat?
Next time your at the power sports dealer ask them to see a marine spark plug. You'll be wondering why they don't make all plugs like that. The damn things last forever!

 

Thanks man! That makes total sense to me, especially with you having actually used them and not just read about them in an ad. The fundamentals seem legit.