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By: Chris
Hodkinson
 Micro-Midgets
Sprint cars and Quads are two totally different beasts.
One is designed for Flat track oval racing while the
other is better suited for MX, TT, Desert racing, and
the dunes. The one similarity between the two is
that in many cases they are both powered by the famous
TRX250R powerplant. In the case of the micro
midgets Eddie
Sanders Racing (ESR) has been on top for many
years now. Eddie Sanders held one of the coveted
spots racing for Team Honda. After retiring he
started to build motors for the TRX250R riders in the no
longer existent MTEG Series. Turning his focus
towards the micro midget series Eddie quickly made a
name for himself as the premier motor builder for these
Honda powered cars.
As most people
know the easiest way to get more power out of a 2-stroke
is to get rid of the stock pipe and put an aftermarket
one on. Pipe technology for the TRX250R has been
pretty stagnant the last couple of years with only a
small handful of companies really coming out with a new
pipe. ESR happens to be one of them. Could
the same dominance they achieved in the micro midget
series be carried over into the quad division? Our
readers needed to know, heck we needed to know as we are
always looking for ways to get more performance out of
our TRX250R.
We placed a call to ESR and got the info
we needed to determine which pipe we wanted. Right
now ESR makes 4 
in-frame pipes. The TRX-5
pipe is for TT or Drags while the TRX-6
is for woods or MX. There are also 2 styles
offered for these pipes. Either you can get
the traditional in-frame style that bolts up in the
same position as the stock exhaust with the silencer
mounted to the right of the grab bar. Or if you
live in an area where mud, water, or snow is not a
factor you can get the Center mount style. It is
the same pipe but now it exits back through the middle
of the quad. This style of pipe has a slight gain
in horsepower over the traditional mounted pipe as the
stinger can be made quite a bit shorter. The only
draw back to this pipe is you have to remove the airbox
and run an open filter.
ESR sent us the traditional mount TRX-5
pipe as we like to drag race our quads but we also do
some trail riding where  water
is a factor. When the pipe arrived the first thing
we pulled out of the box was the silencer. The
detail on this silencer is amazing. No flimsy
welded on mounting tabs on this silencer. There is
more detail in the laser cut mounting tab then in most
pipes. When we pulled out the pipe we found the
same craftsmanship that went into building the silencer
was also used in the pipe. Every weld at the
joints and spring tabs were perfect. No gobs of
weld or tiny pin holes at the joints.
Mounting the pipe is a breeze. The
only tools needed are a spring puller (pliers or vise
grips will also work) plus 2 - 12mm wrenches if you are
still using the factory nuts and bolts. On every
joint we use hi-temp copper silicone to make sure the
joints won't leak. We're not saying that this pipe
leaks as we never tried running it without the sealant.
We have just found it is easier to seal the pipe the 1st
time instead of taking the chance and then having to
pull it back apart, clean it all up, and then seal it.
Once installed we were pleasantly surprised to find out
that this is the only pipe we have ever put on that did
not hit any part of the frame or radiator hose.
Finally someone got it right.
Another thing that we always do upon
installation of any new product that affects how the
motor breathes is richen the jetting up. After a
couple of jetting runs we dialed in our Lectron carb in
using our Digatron
EGT. With the use of this gauge it is a lot easier
to get a feel on the jetting with the exhaust temp and
what the motor is actually turning with the tach.
 Once
warmed up we went out for some hot laps on our oval practice
track. We were pleasantly surprised at the
throttle response with this pipe. Even though it
is designed for upper RPM riding this pipe offers a lot
of roll on power down low. The throttle response
was not much different then most midrange pipes out on
the market for roll ons. The big difference was
the topend power. Where most pipes sign off for
the R, even topend pipes, this pipe just kept pulling.
Most Hi Rev pipes require a lot of shifting to keep the
quad in the right RPM range to get the most out of the
pipe. This one on the other hand has enough power
to pull the gear longer if needed and let the power drop
off more before shifting down is required. The
powerband is not peaky and is easy to ride. No
more getting overly tired because you have to constantly
shift to keep the pipe in the meat of the powerband.
If you are looking for a pipe that has
tremendous topend Rev capabilities without lacking a
midrange punch this is definitely a pipe worth taking a
look at. For the average rider who wants to loaf
around the trails or do some fast MX racing the ESR TRX-6
would be a better alternative, but if Speed is what
makes you happy we have seen the ESR TRX-5 pipe as
an excellent choice. If you live in the dunes you
may even want to run the ESR TRX-5 Center mount to gain
that little extra advantage. Plus you are sure to
draw some looks when you pull up beside another quad and
the exhaust is exiting out the middle of the frame.
The cost of the Traditional TRX-5 pipe is $209.00
for the chrome and $194.00 for the unchromed plus $89.00
for the silencer. For the Center mount
version it is $285.00 for the chrome and $270 for the
unchromed. This price includes the pipe
and silencer. For the ATC 250R owners do not feel left
out as ESR also makes the same pipes for the 3-wheelers.
Eddie
Sanders Racing
1510 E Main ST
Unit C
Visalia CA 93292
Phone: 559.625.3157
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