Mods to my new 2001 SLX

[CrazyAggie05]

hey guys i just got a new SLX, and i was wondering what mods i should get. Im thinking about getting a new ride plate, grate, waterbox, and impeller. ive looked at all of the posts here, and it looks like the OP ride plate is the one to get, but they dont make them anymore? the only other plate ive seen is the Chopper City Sprts plate, but it looks like it has some quality issues. are there any others? what about along the lines of grates? ive seen the aquaveine, and i think polaris also sells one, as well as CSS. which one is the best? ill be riding in mostly lightly choppy, to fairly chopyy conditions. as far as impellors, i hear that the skat-trak swirl is the way to go? will i loose any top end with that prop? and as far as waterboxes go, well what EXACTLY si one? im sure i have a pretty good idea. all i know is that it make ur bike sounds good and run better. i think i have a pretty good isea of what it is, but in the few years ive been riding PWC, ive never heard of one. im assuming its some kind of upgrade pipe or baffle that fits somehwere along the exhaust line. i think the only one ive found is at hot seat performance. concerning the plate, grate, and prop, i really dont wanna loose any top end, and i would love some more bottom end, but i know its a trade off. what combo would give me the best compromise? i hate to bombard yall with all of the questions, but not to many boards have a lot of polaris readers on them. thanks!

[titanic]

How about www.hotseatperformance.com [img]/graemlins/cwm3.gif[/img] [img]/graemlins/cwm3.gif[/img]

[Sinister SLX]

A water box is basically the muffler so needless to say, your "bike" already has one. I have a 2000 SLX and I think the first thing that needs to be improved is the tendancy to porpoise. I have an OP ride plate but have not installed it yet since I have to put the ski up for winter. You can find them if you are determined, I got mine off Ebay. Note: they have a different # of mounting holes than your craft, either drill the plate or settle with 8 screws to hold the plate on. I am coming from a differnt place with my ski as to what I am aiming for because I plan to focus on handling first since 135 HP will have to suffice in the mean time. [img]/graemlins/winkanim.gif[/img] I plan to get a grate and sponsons next as I wnat better rough water hook up (IMHO the porpoising and poor rough water hook up are the crafts only two flaws). The only grate I have heard of someone putting on a 1200 SLX is the Worx and it was a good review. www.worxusa.com

The polaris is said just to be a lower priced R&D Aquavein or however you spell it.
Do not expect a water box to do much of anything on a stock engine other than make more noise, your money would probably be better spent on things like flame arrestors, heads, or reeds. The impeller can increase top speed but you will losse low end...Sinister
http://www.hpcnet.org/be

[ January 25, 2002: Message edited by: Sinister SLX ]

[CrazyAggie05]

so should i steer clear of the CSS ride plates? if i cant find an OP, are there any other options? i know the SLX may not be thebest selling craft, but hell, dont they race a lot of them? some ones gotta have parts for them. what happened to WatCon? I heard they do a lot of polaris work, but at their website, all they have is random crap like dial indicators...........i think its crap how manufactures over look polaris craft, even though they kick the crap out of a lot of more popular craft.

[DTH]

A friend just bought a plate from OP,and I'll let you know how works when he trys it out.

[CrazyAggie05]

awesome...........i just called ken, he said hes making a new batch up........i just might have to get one! he also said if i bought the vortex intake with the grate, hed cut me a deal. sounds good to me. anyone else have the vortex?

[Wet Wolf]

R&D makes a grate that has a larger wing than the Polaris OEM/R&D grate. It was origianlly designed for the sl650/750. It is one of the best I've found for polaris hulls, the price is aroud $90 (i think) I wa not very impressed with the CCS ride plates, In order to make them fit properly, there is alot of grinding and filing that needs to be done. Go with an OP if you can. CCS does make a really cool airbox top that has flow directing cones for your craft, but then you should also do some grinding on the carbs to m,ake the intake of the carbs match the airbox bottom. i can't beleive polaris has never address3ed this issue. There is an 1/8 difference between the airbox bottom and the carb top. (makes for bad flow!) Boyesen Dual stage reeds, and an Adjust-A-Thrust for the pump.

[rexsltx]

I bought a 01 SLX last summer my mods so far are head domes and water box from hot seat.Mods did increase the bottom end and mid range acceluration don't know about top end yet can't keep boat in water.Water box did not increase noise level too much.Talked to Ken at OP have ride plate and intake grate on the way,let you know how the ride plate fits and works.Also rejetting carbs and F/A.I'll post later and let every one know the results.

[SeaLion]

The OP plate will be amazing! It will get rid of a lot of the poirposing and carve turns better too. The OP intake grate is good for smooth water but for rough water the R&D made Polaris intake grate is better. Bruce is right that the R&D grate for the SL750 is way more agressive but when I tried it on a lower hp Polaris, I was not happy with it at all. With the higher hp of your 01, it might be different? All around performance, you can't beat the $30 price for the one Polaris sells.

[CrazyAggie05]

hey what about the jet dynamics intake grate? ive heard great things about it, though its rather pricey. i think its also fairly aggressive. i guess i have a few choices now! theres the worx, jet dynamics, polaris/r&d, and OP. the op is out cause ill be riding in mostly choppy water. the polaris/r&d sounds ok, but for $30, its sounds kindy shady? the jet dynamics is really expensive, but ive heard its top notch, and i havent heard much about the worx grate. too many choices...........oh yeah, any more scoop on the vortex intake?

ryall

[Wet Wolf]

The jet dynamices grate is as big as a snow shovel. It will knock 2 to 3 mph off your top end in smooth water, but it does keep the pump loaded. Unless you are racing, I wouldn't recommend it. The 30 dollar polaris/r&d works better than the stock 4 bar grate, but there is still a noticeable lack of hookup in the rough stuff. The large wing R&D loads the pump harder, and will scrub off a mile an hour on top end in glass, but i have found that it is a good compromise. I am running it on a low horsepower machine( hurricane, mostly stock) I have also had good results with the solas dual wing grate, but i think they are getting hard to find.

[Sinister SLX]

There is definitley more out there for grates as apposed to plates. I'll throw another into the mix, there is also a UMI intake grate, (you know the people that make the steering systems). The have a web site but I cannot remember it. Whatever anyone gets please post your impressions!

Note: Worx offers a grate/sponson combo deal for $250. This is almost the price of the Jet dynamoics grate.

[ January 29, 2002, 12:32 PM: Message edited by: Sinister SLX ]

[CrazyAggie05]

yeah i kinda thought the JD grate was rather large. i cant find the UMI grate. i guess theres two different R&D grates? The mild one is the R&D/Polaris one that only costs 30 bucks, while the large wing, as found here at R&D costs 90 bucks right? The large wing sounds promising, as the 30 dollar one is hardly more aggressive than the stock grate. who sells the solas? how bout worx. i hate to ask yall all of these questions, but **** , if theres not so many choices!

[SeaLion]

I agree with Bruce on the JD. It is literally a shovel. It has its uses but not on a rec ski. There is a world of difference between the R&D/Polaris compared to the stock flat grate. Be careful ordering the R&D grate because you can end up with the $30 Polaris grate for $90 [img]smile.gif[/img] Most people don't know about the other R&D grate. You must specify that you want the SL750 model. It's funny that they call it that because when I bought my SL750 in 95, I got that grate a few months later and lost 3 mph with it. With the higher hp newer Polaris', it might not be such a loss but once again, for $30 you will be fine with the Polaris one, IMO. To throw another grate into the mix, my personal favorite was an Ultrac grate. I found one a few years ago for $20. I lost it somewhere between the mainland and 25 miles offshore to Catalina Island here in SoCal. I have not been able to find another one since :( It was a double scoop similar to the Solas but a little more agressive. I didn't lose any speed with it but it hooked up extremely well.

[nov785]

Hello,

I'm the one that has been telling CrazyAggie about the JD grate. JD does make 2 kinds of grate and I figured if he ordered one HSP would ask what his craft was and recommend the correct one. One is mild and the other is super-aggresive. A friend of mine runs the mild one on his '96 Hurricane with fabulous results. I run the super-aggresive one on my Pro 785 stock machine for racing with excellent results. I have a UMI grate that I shelved for the JD, it's fit and finish wasn't the best but it worked until I saved the money for the JD. R&D does have a decent grate for the Polaris machines, I guess I'm just more into the racer side of the biz. [img]graemlins/uts.gif[/img]