difference between big bore

[David L.]

I look for a big bore kit for my 400e, and i want to know why the Athena kit cost always more $$$ than the JE kit?  And wich big bore kit (i want a bolt on kit, don't want to modify anything) are the best?

 

Thank you

[james509]

You can't go wrong with the Cylinder Works kit.

[Signman606]

I look for a big bore kit for my 400e, and i want to know why the Athena kit cost always more $$$ than the JE kit?  And wich big bore kit (i want a bolt on kit, don't want to modify anything) are the best?

 

Thank you

Definitely not an expert, but just made that choice myself. Athena was $155 more than Cylinder Works.....both have a forged piston. The Athena has a larger water jacket compartment and, a higher compression ratio....12.4-1 v/s the CW kit @11.3-1. How exactly that translates is still a question for me. One did not offer more HP than the other, but the higher compression required higher octane fuel, so the Athena was not regular fuel, had to have 91 or so octane. Bottom line for me, I ride in the dirt 95% of the time and the horsepower wasn't as much something I was looking for, as much as low end torque and grunt for those unusual moments that occur out in the woods. The CW kit seems to be a favorite choice here, and it was an offering from Sisneros Speed Works because of proven reliability, so I went with that and am a happy camper today. The last thing I wanted in this project was to be able to say I had the biggest and fastest, only to wind up fixing all the time.....reliability was key. Bolt on, change oil/filter, RIDE....YES! ?

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

You can't go wrong with the Cylinder Works kit.

+1

[David L.]

Thank you very much!!!  I'll go with the Cylinder Work kit

[150ron]

Definitely not an expert, but just made that choice myself. Athena was $155 more than Cylinder Works.....both have a forged piston. The Athena has a larger water jacket compartment and, a higher compression ratio....12.4-1 v/s the CW kit @11.3-1. How exactly that translates is still a question for me. One did not offer more HP than the other, but the higher compression required higher octane fuel, so the Athena was not regular fuel, had to have 91 or so octane. Bottom line for me, I ride in the dirt 95% of the time and the horsepower wasn't as much something I was looking for, as much as low end torque and grunt for those unusual moments that occur out in the woods. The CW kit seems to be a favorite choice here, and it was an offering from Sisneros Speed Works because of proven reliability, so I went with that and am a happy camper today. The last thing I wanted in this project was to be able to say I had the biggest and fastest, only to wind up fixing all the time.....reliability was key. Bolt on, change oil/filter, RIDE....YES! ?

Nice,   did you ever get your installed yet?

[Signman606]

Nice,   did you ever get your installed yet?

Yeh, and I sure like how there is all kinds of low end power now. Twisting the throttle is only minimal now, and when you do reef on it,....wow, instant ass kicking!! There's a couple of posts in "what did you do to your DRZ today" thread along with some pics......changed decals etc......glad you're back!  ?

[Erik Marquez]

 The Athena has a higher compression ratio....

Nope, not at all.. Just a difference in which base gasket each company used for their spec.

Either of those kits can be the higher or lower compression,, just use a single ply or three ply base gasket.

 

As for the water jackets being "bigger" 

Seeing as the ports in the head and case are the same size as stock... the coolant pump is moving the same amount of coolant through the cylinder as stock. And the OEM cylinder has no known issues of failure due to hot spots in the cylinder cooling design. ..The "bigger" water jacket means little but marketing as far as I can tell.

[Signman606]

Nope, not at all.. Just a difference in which base gasket each company used for their spec.

Either of those kits can be the higher or lower compression,, just use a single ply or three ply base gasket.

 

As for the water jackets being "bigger" 

Seeing as the ports in the head and case are the same size as stock... the coolant pump is moving the same amount of coolant through the cylinder as stock. And the OEM cylinder has no known issues of failure due to hot spots in the cylinder cooling design. ..The "bigger" water jacket means little but marketing as far as I can tell.

Thanks for that info Erik.........that compression difference was a mystery to me. Just curious.....why do you think they charge so much more for their product?

[Erik Marquez]

Thanks for that info Erik.........that compression difference was a mystery to me. Just curious.....why do you think they charge so much more for their product?

I really can't say for sure.. I assume it's just the price point they can do for the item they designed and have manufactured for them.

 

If I could observe a "better" reason for using the Athena , I'd happily suggest it over the CW BB... But I can't find a reason to pay more than the cost of the CW.

[Signman606]

I really can't say for sure.. I assume it's just the price point they can do for the item they designed and have manufactured for them.

 

If I could observe a "better" reason for using the Athena , I'd happily suggest it over the CW BB... But I can't find a reason to pay more than the cost of the CW.

As always, good info. Always better to know the facts than guess.........appreciate it!!