You might have seen our Video comparison of one of our members exhaust project. The X-Pipe - as he calls his design - has been discussed in great detail on our forums and until now its performance figures where pure speculation.
Today we had the chance to spend about 2h at our local Dyno shop to perform some testing and tuning. Together with the X-Pipe setup we have recently installed a Power Commander PCIII USB on our test bike, which allows us to fine tune the bikes fuel map to the requirements of the new setup.
Equipped with a Dynojet Wideband Commander for data logging we went out to test what this configuration can deliver and how it compares to the stock bike
The results have been nothing short of amazing. I received a working prototype a few weeks back as Mike asked to test his design and compare it to prior runs of the stock bike. Some 2 weeks back we put on the X-Pipe and where immediately impressed by the sound, the look (all stock heat shields are retained as well as the initial power experience.
Given the fact that the change to the exhaust system where radical, it was clear that a fuel curve adjustment was required to gain maximum power and efficiency. SInce no vendor had a fuel module available for www.starVmax.com at that point in time, a 2004 R1 PCIII USB was custom installed and turned out to be a good choice with its great flexibility and available accessories.
Meanwhile UFO has released a similar fuel controller. We have not been able to test their setup side by side, but hope to get the chance at a later point in time.
As for the results. The numbers speak for themselves. Peak rear wheel horsepower came in at 194.75 (uncorrected) rwhps (194.34 DIN & 188.88 SAE). Peak torque came in at 125.49 ftlbs (125.25 DIN & 121.66 SAE)
Early on fears about potential power losses in the lower rpm range where discussed and even the dyno shop experts where pretty certain it would happen. Well - we all got it wrong. Not only does the X-Pipe not loose low and medium range power, the gains between 3k and 4k rpm are nothing short of amazing. An increase of 11 rwhps at about 3800 rpm makes the 2009 VMax become a wheelie monster - given you run a tire that can take it. That is an extra 15 ftlbs of torque at 3800 rpm.
In this trim the bike makes more than 100 ftlbs of torque all the way from 3700 rpm up to 9700 rpm.
I did not have the time to fine tune the fuel map completely as our tests included the removal of the stock mufflers. Very interestingly, these stock mufflers do not harm power or torque at all. With less than 0.2 rwhps difference the power output was literally identical. Until some of the manufacturers come out with VMax specific slipons you can run any sort of car muffler (check them out on eBay) without loosing any power - if you care for the look.
Because of the not optimally fine tuned fuel map, you can see a few dips in the power delivery. So even though these numbers are impressive, there is a little more to be gained left in this setup.
With a few more low cost modifications, 200 rwhps is definitely within reach for this bike.
Just for comparison the dyno shop ran a 2009 Hayabusa earlier today, with Yoshimura exhaust, Power Commander and Race Filter which came in at a peak of 176rwhps (uncorrected - did not get the corrected numbers but given that it is the same day its still a decent comparison). That is almost 20 rwhps more for the VMax in a similar trim on the same dyno.
With the X-Pipe making its biggest gains at low to medium rpms, it seems that the combination of an X-configuration together with stock header pipes leads to a very solid setup with little to no compromises. The completely stock lock and good sound characteristics, will make this a choice for those the like the looks of the stock 4-2-1-2-4 setup. The setup retains full ground clearance .
Once I have a chance to fine tune the map beyond the initial mapping, I will provide that map for downloads for other to use. For these tests the restrictive stock air-filter was removed and a custom Big Air setup base don K&N high performance filters is in the works.
The top speed governor eliminator installed on the test bike allows the bike to rev to 10000 rpm in 4th and 5th gear, without the need for a drag race simulation. We also got a chance to test the VMax Race ECU but could not find and differences, other than a slightly different idle CO2 setup, which has no impact on power delivery whatsoever.
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maxout friday eve would be good for me I would like to find a place in spearfish to throw a sleeping bag down because I know there wont be a motel within 200 miles.
He said he'd consider trades, so maybe check and see if he's interested in a trade for yours? He may have been nervous about getting it dirty/breaking it in.
Swap a few parts out and Bob's your uncle. That would drop your mileage a bit, 25000 or so!
I like they way u think..His pads may be in better shape.