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PSI Performance Banshee Pipes
By: Chris Hodkinson and TBN Racing
 The
Yamaha Banshee has been around since 1987 and other then
switching from the earlier J-Arm setup to the current stronger
A-Arm the Banshee has virtually remained unchanged.
The same can also be said about aftermarket manufactures.
When the Banshee was 1st introduced there were companies making
new products for the screaming 350 twin all the time. New pipes,
engine kits, and all sorts of other goodies to improve the looks
or handling of the quad. Unfortunately you can only make so many
optional parts before duplication starts in. Pretty soon after
enough R&D everyone has what they consider the ultimate design
for their product. The world of pipe building for the Banshee is
probably the hottest contested market for the Banshee as this is
usually the first thing that most owners do to increase
horsepower.
One of the newest High Performance companies to throw there
hat into the ring for Banshee pipes is PSI Performance. PSI has
made its name for years building some of the fastest most
innovated snowsleds in the world with their Genesis Motor
Packages. Can the same be said about their 4-wheeler line of
products? We wanted to find this answer out first hand.
 After a quick phone call to PSI we secured a set of their new
ceramic coated pipes. Yes we did say ceramic coated. Ceramic
coatings have been used for years in the snowsled industry to
coat the tops of the pistons and heads to help decrease the
chance of meltdown due to the extreme variance in the outside
temperatures and the chance of a lean condition in the winter
time. Pipes have also been coated to keep under the cowl temps
cooler and to keep the gas charge inside the pipe hotter to
increase speed in which the burnt gas charge pulses inside the
pipe. Ceramic coated pistons have been in the ATV world for a
while now but this is the first time we have heard of a company
making it standard on their pipes.
The ceramic coating on the pipes does not offer the flashy
appearance of chrome but more like a polished aluminum look. Our
first question about the coating is how durable and chip
resistant would it be? While we were bolting them on it was
found that the coating would take a lot of punishment. Slipping
the pipes onto the exhaust manifold was not a easy task as the
pipes hit the lower frame rail but after they were started on
the exhaust manifold they slid right on. Fit and finish of these
pipes once installed are good. Most banshee pipes we have tried
rest against the airbox and these pipes are no different.
With the pipes installed we fired our Banshee up and to our
surprise these are the quietest aftermarket pipes we have heard.
The reason for this is mainly due to the large round steel
silencers. After a quick call back to PSI to question them about
why they used steel canisters instead of the lighter aluminum,
we were informed that steel was used for longevity so instead of
drilling out rivets and then reriveting the end caps back on
after repacking the silencer, all you would have to do is grind
the weld off and spot weld the caps back on. Another method that
would probably work, if you did not have access to a welder,
would be to drill and tap holes into the caps and canisters and
use button head screws with loctite to hold the assemblies
together.
 Before we go any further let me tell you that our test
Banshee is a finely tuned machine. The only thing that has been
done to the cylinders is they have been pulled off and the ports
have been cleaned up of any casting flaws. The ports have not
been raised or widened from stock.
After a couple of jetting passes it was determined the
jetting for the previously installed FMF Fatty's with custom TBN
silencers was the same that we needed for the PSI's.
Power delivery on the PSI pipes is very smooth and predictable.
The power comes on early in the powerband and has a nice smooth
transition into the midrange with a lot stronger topend then the
stock banshee pipes. In side by side tests with another banshee
our test banshee constantly shot out quicker and farther then it
did with the FMF Fatty's on.
Another observation that was made about the ceramic coated
pipes is that the head pipe did not turn blue after hrs of hard
wide open running as it does with chrome pipes. Even when
antifreeze came out of the overflow tube and onto the pipe it
cleaned right off the ceramic coating without leaving any water
stain.
The price of these pipes and silencers are $519.95 including
the ceramic coating and all the mounting hardware. PSI also
offers a jetting kit for modified motors that includes custom
needles.
These pipes would be a good choice for a trail/woods banshee.
With the smooth power delivery that these pipes offer it will
help control the wild beast that is in the Banshee to help make
it more trailable and user friendly for a full day of riding.
But the question remains, are the PSI pipes the best overall new
pipe on the market today? We will be testing more of the new
Banshee pipes that are available and do a full blown pipe
shootout in the near future to compare them all on equal ground.
Contact Info:
PSI
Performance
P.O. Box 72
Wild Rose, WI 54984
Phone: 920.622.4555
Fax: 920.622.4477
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