Hey everyone! This thread will walk through the installation and performance of the new airbox and filter kit from the guys over at R2C Performance. I installed this kit yesterday afternoon and I will be heading out to the Lucas Oil Regional Race in Arizona this weekend to punish it mercilessly and report my findings.
First off, a little background on R2C. Their parent company has been involved in filtration for upwards of 30 years. They started in the industrial marketplace, designing filter elements and systems for large machinery and things of that nature. From there they began to develop and supply filtration systems for many military applications like the HMMV and even Tanks. Over the past few years they have been introducing their filtration expertise into the performance off-road market and they have been very successful so far.
The magic is all in the filter. It is a blended synthetic media that provides 10-15 times more filtration than the old go-to cotton gauze types according to R2C. Filters selected for each application are the largest possible for the given packaging constraints, maximizing surface area and thus airflow. Did I mention that its completely serviceable, never requires oil and can be cleaned with nothing more than compressed air?
The subject of this review is their new XP900 Airbox and filter kit. The kit comes with a complete replacement airbox, clear airbox lid, a large R2C filter element, step by step instructions and all necessary installation hardware.
Everything appears to be very high quality, the box is straight and durable, the latches are easy to operate, and the lid is held down securely enough that I don’t foresee any rattles.
The install starts with disassembling your stock rear bed area. My set up in the back is a little different from most, but whatever it entails get your bodywork out of the way and gain access to the stock airbox
When I took everything apart on my RZR I noticed I may have been a little overdue for a filter service! This is after a race and practice at Glen Helen with a broken stock side intake tube sucking roost from right above the left rear tire as well lol. Anyway, take out your stock filter and remove the fender intake tube.
Next step is to reach around behind the stock box and undo the hose clamps on the throttle body. Disconnect the idle breather from the rear of the airbox and push it to the side. Now you can gently pull the stock airbox up and out and off to the side.
With all the stock stuff out of the way you can get ready to install the R2C setup. First all the rubber grommets and the idle hose are installed into the aluminum airbox (pretty much self explanatory but well covered in the directions anyway, kudos). Place the throttle body couplers onto the intake and secure them with hose clamps, leaving an extra hose clamp loose on each. The small metal tubes intake tubes get pushed through grommets in the main airbox and slide into these couplers. Press the face of the metal intake tube flush with the face of the throttle body and tighten down on them with extra hose clamps you left earlier.
Sorry its hard to photograph, but the instructions explain everything well and there's only one way it can fit.
Now during this portion of the program I realized my install might require a little extra. I have a custom fabbed sway bar on my rig that is located off the back of the frame in the rear of the car and it occupies some of the same area as the R2C kit. With a little persuasion I was able to make the stock lower bracket work by removing the grommet and bending it up a little bit. It certainly isn’t ideal but it feels plenty strong enough to race on. I want to reitierate that it was custom modifications to my vehicle that made the install require these mods, the R2C airbox fits perfectly in the stock location out of the box.
This is what the interface of the dowel and my bracket looks like. Hard to tell whats going on but I'm posting it for reference
With the airbox in its location and the dowel on the bottom pushed into the stock rubber grommet, tighten down the two stock air box mounting bolts. Place the last of the large hose clamps onto the filter element and install it onto the two intake tubes that are protruding into the airbox.
Next the stock idle breather tube gets installed onto the airbox nipple with the final remaining hose clamp.
The small breather filter is attached to the top of the idle breather hose within the airbox. It is a press fit onto the metal coupler coming from the breather tube.
Stock intake tube gets reattached and clear airbox lid goes on and Voila!
I took her for a spin up and down the street and everything felt and sounded good, we will certainly find out for sure this weekend. I gotta say hats off to R2C on the install instructions, they made everything very clear and install on a stock xp900 would be a snap. Even with my all my fiddling it still only took a chunk of an afternoon.
I’m stoked on the new filter element and never having to use oil again. My machine is definitely not a beauty queen (Function>Form) but I gotta say the system looks nice all installed. The clear lid looks cool but I really like that I can keep an eye on the filter cleanliness.
I am excited to get out to Wild Horse Pass and put these parts to the real test this weekend, I’ll report back with findings. If anyone has any questions or picture requests let me know!
Ride Review Portion, Added 9/30/14
I took this set up out with me to the Arizona Lucas Oil Regional race at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports park this September 26th and 27th to put it to the test. While my test session was cut short due to torrential rainfall (Check out the race report for more on that) I still got a good chunk of riding in to gauge how the new intake performed.
First, I rode with the clear lid on the box to get a gauge of how the intake would perform for most users. After putting in some laps, throwing it into the turns, airing it out and bottoming hard off the stutter bump at firebird a few times, there was nothing out of the ordinary to report. All the mounts held up well even after I compromised them by bending portions of the box to accommodate my swaybar. Aside from its structural integrity, my RZR also performed very well, never starving for air. I pulled the rear bodywork after practice to inspect everthing and it looks like the lid did a great job keeping dirt out.
To get the most out of the box for the short course environment I ran the rest of the weekend with the lid off. This is only recommended in these type of conditions as there is much less protection from water etc. This set up offered a little more power and a crisper seat of the pants feel and sound (my car is dyno tuned for a free flowing set up too).
All in all the airbox and filter performed admirably and I’m looking forward to the ease of cleanup to get ready for the next one!
