Side-by-sides are heavy vehicles, roughly a thousand pounds for most models. And running anywhere from 50 to 80 horsepower means the power-to-weight ratio is on the weak end of the scale compared to some other recreation vehicles. And when you change the terrain to sand, that formula gets compounded.
Most performance UTVs get around on sand just fine. But you don't notice what the potential for performance really is until you log some seat time in a turbo-charged vehicle.
We spent some time riding a turbo-charged Polaris RZR S at the St. Anthony Sand Dunes in Idaho and got a solid feel for the differences and benefits of boosting a four-stroke UTV engine.
This RZR S is owned by Brent Willsey of Powerlabs, and it has a KT turbo, head work, air-to-water intercooler and clutch upgrades, along with an HID light conversion kit and Rigid light bar. And it gets its custom look from a Toyskinz wrap.
Aside from just the overall power increases, the turbo makes the RZR handle like a completely different machine on sand. It lightens the front end and makes the RZR so much more fun to drive on sand. Going from a stock RZR 800 to a turbo-charged one is like getting out of a Ford Focus and jumping into a Mustang. Throttle response is huge and the engine is able to hold peak power for long climbs where a stock engine would normally fall off the curve.
The turbo-charged RZR doesn't get bogged down in dry sand, and it doesn't lose its drive off of jumps or in hard turns. Instead, it just sprays a stream of sand behind it and takes off.
If you're a sand rat and the RZR is your ride, we would definitely recommend giving a boost system a try.
