Dragon 800 IQ with 2009 production calibration

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Shanon Pitts
6 years ago
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1 Dragon 800 IQ with 2009 production calibration After the dyno test report we did on this preproduction Dragon 800, Casey Mulkins brought the sled back to Mayville, NY with the Bikeman modded stock pipe (borrowed from Fun Unlimited Polaris in Gouvernor, NY) still installed. Chautauqua Lake still had ice on it, and Casey had a few days to put many miles at WOT at 157 HP (with BMP modded pipe) with that lean and powerful.60 lb/hphr BSFC. The sled was fast and reliable even on milelong top end runs with 87octane gas. Very encouraging. Recently Polaris engineering, after seeing our initial results, sent me a 2009 ECU for us to install on the Dragon 800, dyno test, and report on. Once that new ECU was here Three Seas Recreation had Casey Mulkins bring the Dragon 800 back to DTR for further testing. Casey Mulkins had sent the BMP modded pipe back to Fun Unlimited after the lake had thawed. But after he found out about our follow-up test session, Casey called Billy Lutz at Fun Unlimited who graciously sent it back for further testing. We waited until we had a sub-50 degree F air day, exactly like it was during the first session. The sled had the same 87octane gas that Casey ran on the lake with. Casey had a laptop computer with excellent Digital Wrench software/ connector cables so he could watch the engine coolant temp, exhaust center section temp, and individual cylinder timing, pulse width, and deto sensor voltage before, during and reviewed after each dyno run. And this time to help us assess airflow differences between exhaust systems we fitted the SuperFlow airflow meter to the stock airbox. Even though the box isn t sealed perfectly, this would still give us a reference for comparing exhaust backpressure and relative airflow. We used the wideband Innovate to give us approximate A/F ratio. During warmup where engine is loaded a part throttle like it might be on the trail, the BSFC registered.50 or thereabouts. This would suggest that fuel mileage with the Dragon 800 should be very four-stroke-like. First we reestablished our baseline with the 08.5 preproduction ECU and the engine repeated at HP first run and HP second run. Each test began with approximately 100 degree coolant and 650 degree CS, and ended with 130 degree coolant and 960 degree CS and registered 13.5 degree BTC

2 timing at Here is our 4/30/08 baseline with preproduction ECU, the average of the two tests: Preproduction ECU calibration EngSpd STPTrq STPPwr BSFA-B FulA-B AirTmp RPM Clb-ft CHp lb/hph lb/hr degf Next we installed the new 2009 ECU and immediately had problems with very light midrange detonation pulling massive amounts of timing out of the PTO cylinder, causing poor HP. The new ECU appears to be more sensitive to even the lightest deto, and makes rapid timing and fuel adjustments to cool the offending combustion chamber. As little as.1 volt rise on a given cylinder s knock sensor voltage sometimes would cause timing to be pulled back by as much as four degrees with accompanying drop in HP! We drained out the 87 octane fuel and poured in what was supposed to be 93 octane bought locally. This seemed to help, and allowed us to eventually

3 make several runs within ½ HP. But even with very similar peak HP ignition timing (13.5 vs 13.2) the higher fuel flow of the 09 ECU compared to our preproduction box caused us to see disappointingly lower HP. Note that dyno testing can aggravate midrange detonation because of the comparatively long period of time spent at torque peak during 20 second sweep tests. In the field proper clutching allows quick acceleration through torque peak RPM to HP peak RPM where cylinder pressure is lower. 09 production ECU calibration EngSpd STPTrq STPPwr BSFA-B FulA-B AirTmp Air1+2 LAMAF1 RPM Clb-ft CHp lb/hph lb/hr degf scfm Ratio

4 We did subsequent dyno tests with hotter coolant, then cooler coolant and we got best HP with the coldest possible engine. We began the test with 70 degree coolant and ended at 105 degrees after 20 seconds at WOT. CS exhaust temp began at 380 degrees and ended at 880 degrees. Ignition timing at peak HP was 13.5 degrees BTC. Note that airflow registered 202 SCFM at peak HP. 09 ECU stock pipe coolest engine/ pipe temperature EngSpd STPTrq STPPwr BSFA-B FulA-B AirTmp Air1+2 LAMAF1 RPM Clb-ft CHp lb/hph lb/hr degf scfm Ratio

5 Next we tested the same Bikeman modified stock pipe with the 09 production calibration. The higher fuel flow reduced the peak HP of the BMP pipe (154 vs 157 last time) but BSFC was safer. Also since the higher fuel flow reduced pipe CS temp, the HP occurred at lower revs compared with the same pipe with preproduction ECU. The airflow was 210 SCFM, nearly 5% higher than the stock pipe. Remember the fuel flow was seemingly lean on the preproduction ECU with the BMP pipe, perhaps necessitating a Boondocker-like device to add some fuel at peak revs to make us most comfortable. But this 09 ECU looks to be safe enough for most with the BMP pipe, perhaps saving the cost of a fuel-altering device to enjoy the added performance. With the production ECU, a Boondocker will still be a good tuning tool for smart riders adding negative numbers at to drop that hump in the fuel curve will likely eliminate the sag in the HP curve at that RPM with the BMP pipe. 09 ECU with BMP modified stock single pipe EngSpd STPTrq STPPwr BSFA-B FulA-B AirTmp Air1+2 LAMAF1 RPM Clb-ft CHp lb/hph lb/hr degf scfm Ratio

6 The SLP single pipe was installed with stock Ypipe and stock muffler. This time, the SLP pipe added slight airflow and seven peak HP. The coolant temp was 93/125 and CS temp was 333/879, from start of the test to peak HP. The best timing we saw was 12.0 degrees at 8000 RPM. Note that the mechanical A/F ratio is not correct due to the less than perfect fit of the stock airbox allowing air leakage. 09 ECU with SLP single pipe, stock Y and muffler EngSpd STPTrq STPPwr BSFA-B FulA-B AirTmp Air1+2 A/FA-B BaroP RPM Clb-ft CHp lb/hph lb/hr degf scfm Ratio in/hg

7 We also had a SLP Y pipe and muffler that we tested with all three single pipes. The Y pipe by itself did not change airflow SCFM or HP on any of the pipes. But the slightly louder SLP muffler was much less restrictive than stock, which added airflow to all three pipes, but only the SLP single pipe benefited from the reduced backpressure. The BMP modified stock pipe jumped from 210 to 216 SCFM but HP dropped to 148, indicating that it needed the stock muffler s higher backpressure to operate optimally. Here is the SLP combo, including the Y pipe, single pipe and muffler. Airflow increased to 215 SCFM and, due at least partially to improved A/F ratio, HP increased by two along with better midrange HP. 09 ECU SLP single pipe w/ SLP Y pipe and can EngSpd STPTrq STPPwr BSFA-B FulA-B AirTmp Air1+2 BMEP TsTim2 RPM Clb-ft CHp lb/hph lb/hr degf scfm Psi second

9 EPILOGUE This 2009 production ECU is fat and happy, probably fat enough to handle the awful ethanol laced high test gas coming soon in the Midwest. The 09 ECU has deto protection that will yank timing at the first hint of knock, then enrichen fuel if deto doesn t immediately subside, and even drown the offending cylinder in fuel to misfire if it gets worse. This was annoying on the dyno, but will surely benefit those who ride hard and long on poor quality gasoline. I m betting that seized pistons will be rare on this model next winter. All production sleds must be reliable while enduring abuse by low octane gas and operation at WOT for many miles at a crack. What about that comparatively low performing stock pipe? Bikeman bandsaws that stock pipe, welds in $3.00 worth of metal into the center section and in this case adds 16 HP while still fitting beneath the stock heat shields, just like they ve done with 1000 F7 Firecat and other stock single pipes. Why couldn t Polaris have done the same? We don t know the answer to that. Could the Polaris engineering thinking be that lower HP = better reliability? But, both the SLP pipe/ muffler and the BMP mod stock pipe with stock muffler have much higher HP and airflow than stock! Higher HP combined with higher airflow is usually good since it should increase the likelihood of those evil deto-creating active radicals being blown out the pipe instead of staying behind to wreak their havoc. But my contacts at Polaris tell me that the stock pipe we tested is the production pipe. No BMP

10 mod or SLP shape will be included. Remember, Casey Mulkins (who s snowchecked a Dragon 800 for himself) was originally miffed at having to spend $200 for a pipe mod to get 154 (or 157 after he Boondockers [leans] out three lb. of fuel per hour on top end). But now Greedy Casey is delighted that for $200 he will outpower many stock Dragon 800s whose owners are oblivious or who are extreme Polaris loyalists who just can t believe this information. The most performance-savvy mountain riders have been doing this pipe mod on the Polaris 800 for a season now. Polaris dealer Extreme Performance in CO has been offering the pipe mod as a dealer installed upgrade with excellent results on the dyno (Bill Davis Extreme Performance Dyno in Utah) and in the snow. Their customers are said to be pleased to get such excellent power for a few hundred bucks. Their original dyno results at high altitude were much like ours. They ve got a year s head start on modding on the dyno and field experience, and we hope to follow their lead testing stuff like nipped heads and SLP twins, both of which Bill Davis says work great in the mountains (I forgot to tell Casey about those). And both Bill and we are anxious for Boondocker and/ or Power Commander to create fuel/ timing controllers for this engine. Adding big HP for a few bucks on a stock sled is not new or unusual. Remember the infamously bad stock Y pipe/ removable restrictive plastic air inlet sound dampener on the Cat F1000? Or how about the 128 HP early F7 Firecats that became 145 HP rockets with a $20 timing key and a cheap restrictor in the fuel line to lean out top end A/F ratio? Us old guys who rode mid-eighties Yamaha Phazers all bought Aaen single pipes that, incredibly, added 20% HP. There are many more examples of HP being left on the table, but found and delivered to the consumer by smart aftermarket people. It is surely acceptable for DTR subscribers to share this useful information, but please no cutting and pasting on the internet. Paragraphs or even pages taken out of context can be confusing. Everyone should digest this directly to get the whole picture.

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