scheckaet wrote:3 WAYS TO TUNE YOUR KIPS: get the kips to activate later / smooth out the powerband or get it to hit harder/sooner
1:
Kips ball and spring.
this is the KIPS pre-tension mechanism.
Removing one or even 2 of the copper washer (compressing the spring) (same if you used a stiffer spring) under the 10 mm nut holding spring and ball will activate the KIPS LATER and get a more mellow powerband (good for tight single track or beginners).
Removing spring and ball will let the kips activate much EARLIER, harder hit.
It s easy enough you can even try on the trail! (And lose said spring and ball in the dirt
)
I stuff grease in there myself to keep everything operating smooth and together when I take it apart.
2:
KIPS cover spacer
thanks to Brock@BDK
http://www.kdxrider.net/forums/viewtopi ... 77&t=12800
yes a spacer plate on the KIPS expansion bottle should make a performance improvement to the water cooled as well as the air-cooled models.
Essentially the resonator bottle or expansion bottle is lengthening the exhaust pipe when open, so that you now have two different length pipes depending on revs.
Exhaust pipes are designed to only one rev range (for example 7000rpm) where they will perform best and everywhere else is a compromise. The longer the pipe the lower in the rev range it is tuned to. Typically road pipes are tuned to perform best well below the red line where the manufacturer deems most riders will be cruising (and to discourage you from holding it next to the redline where longevity is compromised). Performance pipes are typically shorter and work best closer to the redline (more rpm, more bhp).
Having an expansion bottle allows you to have two rpm's where the pipe is close to ideal, giving you a boost in mid-range performance.
In fact for whatever reason on a few models (the KDX and KMX notably) the bottle was not quite big enough to produce best spread of power and this becomes more pronounced with a shorter performance pipe. Quite why they did this is anyone's guess, but reducing the visual 'barnacle' effect may have had an influence.
The above is not a thorough technical rendition, there is a lot going on there but it gives those that don't know a good grip on the situation. As mentioned by someone else before on a previous thread; once the KIPS resonator is closed you are back to normal so there is no compromise of top end power for this low to mid 'boost'.
In bhp terms the improvement will not be astounding (at low revs the engine isn't making much power anyway), but in terms of percentage it is significant for the cost and ease of fit and makes the bike more forgiving and flexible.
adjust the resonator chamber volume by adding a spacer (not sure who makes them but they are out there) this should give you more low end torque but lower maximum RPM.
(the resonator cover is on the left hand side of the bike, just behind the slotted cap we mentioned before)
I can recall 2 different threads about making a spacer ranging from 250 thousands of an inch (or 6.35 mm) to 10 mm.
Another member (frenche200) mentioned using a spare kips cover, cut the top and get a spacer to the desired thickness for cheap ;)
3: change springs in the kips
http://www.kdxrider.net/forums/viewtopi ... 77&t=12425
moose racing makes a KIPS tuning kit that basically just consists of 2 different KIPS springs one softer for a quicker, harder hitting opening of the valves and one stiffer for a later, smoother opening of the valves