S&S Cycle - Performance Parts for American V-Twins


Here’s the intake scoop; it sits between the seats and points toward the rear of the vehicle. While S&S doesn’t advertise it as a water-tight snorkel kit, handy RZR owners will be able to modify and seal up the S&S intake for higher water-fording capabilities.	The S&S stainless exhaus is much nicer to look at than the stock painted steel piece, and it increases performance as well. The fit is perfect; we didn’t have to bend or trim anything to get it to line up.

WHAT IT IS: S&S Performance is a staple in the streetbike scene, mainly with Harley-Davidson fans. They produce industry-leading, go-fast parts for Harleys and import cruisers, and they’ve been around since ’58, so you bet they have some good experience. Their newest venture into the world of motorsports has landed them smack dab in the middle of the UTV world, with an intake, full exhaust and motor parts for the Polaris RZR and RZRS. We called up S&S to get a further look at these products, and they were more than happy to ship an intake kit, full exhaust and custom ECU our way. So, here’s how it went!

THE PARTS: S&S Performance’s RZR intake is a complete replacement from the throttle body back. It reuses none of the stock pieces, and it’s made from injection-molded plastic that’s lightweight and sturdy. It uses a cotton-gauze filter similar to a K&N, which is housed inside a large still airbox, which draws its air from a snorkel that extends up into the bed of the RZR and houses a foam pre-filter that will trap most of the dirt before it enters the airbox. S&S also routes the CVT intake into the new airbox for a clean air supply. The exhaust is a stainless system that has a twointo- one style not unlike the RZRS header. It looks mean and is very simple to install, especially if you do it while the bed is off (while installing the intake). The install of the S&S intake is rather in-depth, but it comes with a detailed instruction booklet as well as a cutting template for the bed plastic. Yes, you read that right, you have to cut the bed—but it’s not where the cargo sits; it’s the piece between the front seats. The S&S instructions have clear details and pictures that will lead you through the install easily. We completed the intake, exhaust and ECU install in a little over two hours.


The billet aluminum endcap adds a bright touch, and the exhaust isn’t too loud. The spark arrestor comes out easily via the four Allen-head bolts.	Here’s the remapped S&S ECU; it’s calibrated specifically for their intake and exhaust combo on an RZRS, with a 7000 rpm redline. S&S offers different calibrations and rev limits for custom applications as well.	The front of the scoop is held on with four Phillips head screws, and unbolts to reveal the filter and airbox.
BREATHE IN: The intake looks awesome once installed. It’s got a badged intake snorkel that sits between the seats at shoulder-height, but it doesn’t get in the way. It’s a little louder than stock, but not annoyingly so; it sounds quite a bit more aggressive when paired with the raspy but-quite-tame sound of the S&S exhaust. The intake has a foam pre-filter that is accessible via four screws on the billet intake grate; take it off, rinse it out and re-oil it. As long as you keep it clean, your actual air filter service intervals will be fairly long. The filter itself is easy to clean as well and easy to get to. All you do is remove the four screws that bolt the snorkel to the airbox and loosen the clamp on the filter. S&S addresses some of the shortcomings with the stock RZR intake, and increases flow and horsepower considerably. BREATHE OUT: The stainless S&S exhaust comes in four pieces; a header, a midpipe, a muffler and a large billet aluminum endcap. Installation is easy; it even comes with a new head gasket, muffler gasket and hardware. If you’re just installing the exhaust, it can be done in about 20 minutes. The muffler has a removable spark arrestor screen that is accessible by pulling off the billet endcap with four Allen-head screws. The exhaust uses unique internal baffling to keep the RZR quiet while still increasing performance, and it works. It’s in no way offensively loud. It measured a tame 97.4 dB on our ATV Action sound meter.	TIPS & TRICKS: When installing the intake, make sure you align the template exactly as it tells you in the instructions, otherwise you’ll be retrimming the hole to get it to line up with the airbox after you re-install the bed. Also, if you don’t have a jigsaw to cut the plastic, you can use a razor blade. It’s tedious and takes time, but you can cut it just as well as you can with a saw by cutting the outline and then making passes, cutting deeper with each turn. Also, when installing the intake tube into the airbox, slip the larger end up into the airbox, then install the filter onto it once inside. This will keep it from slipping back out while you line everything up. PERFORMANCE: S&S claims that the stock RZR’s ECU mapping is rich enough to run their intake and exhaust, but to reach maximum power potential, a re-map of the stock ECU is necessary. They have the re-map service available for $399.95, because they cannot perform the service on a stock Polaris ECU. After you have purchased the S&S ECU, you can have it recalibrated (for motor mods and such later on) for $150. With the intake, exhaust and S&S ECU installed, our RZRS started right up with no drama. After letting it warm up, we took it for a couple laps to get a feel for the newfound power, and you can tell the difference. Using our private test strip, our bone-stock RZRS ran 0-40 mph in 4.53 seconds in 2WD, which beat out our standard RZR by 0.16 seconds. The S&S-equipped RZRS did the 0-40 sprint in just 4.02 seconds—shaving a half-second off its time. The power is felt the instant you hit the throttle, and the more authoritative tone will make any RZR owner proud.	Inside the airbox, the large cone filter takes up most of the room. The intake on the bottom left is for the CVT. THE VERDICT: The fit and finish of the product is great, and the performance matches it as well. We thought cutting through the bed would be too much trouble, but it was actually very easy, and it adds an ease of service to the vehicle, along with good looks. We like the innovation S&S has brought to the table—and at a price we can stomach! RATING: 5 STAR PRICE: ECU, $399.95 intake, $349.95 exhaust, $575.00 CONTACT: S&S Performance, www.sscycle.com Download PDF file Article supplied by: Hi-Torque Publications ATV Action Magazine - used by permission

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