S & B Particle Separator!!!! – Product review by 410Customs

First off let me give a huge THANK YOU to Ryan and the rest of the people at S & B Filters for picking me to do an in depth product review of this amazing device!! 😎

S&B filters has developed a product for us Rzr owners that shares technology with military helicopters.
I showed some interest in this product when it was first posted to the rzr forum and I was lucky enough to be sent one for install & review.
:clap:

This particle separator box is designed to remove 94% of all dust from the incoming air that is fed to your airbox.
This will increase the life of your engines incoming air filter, and lessen the chances of your engine ingesting dust.
Something Rzr owners have feared since 2008. To me this is $$$$ well spent.

To say this product is high quality would be an understatement. Everything from the packaging to the materials are all top notch. The instructions are very detailed, well thought out and do not skip any steps (something we do not always get from the aftermarket and can really cause some headaches at time of install). As soon as you open the box and put your hands on this thing you will be impressed, I know I was!

This model says it will fit all Xp1000, Xp1000 4 seater’s, and of course the new XP 925 Turbo.
I am sure you can adapt it to many vehicles, I tried to convince my wife to let me install it on the end of her 07 FJ Cruiser intake snorkel…she was a bit skeptical, so I went ahead and put it on my 2014 RZR XP1K.

Lets get to the pictures:

#1, Un-boxing: Quality does not stop with the product, even the packaging is well thought out to protect your new investment. Here are all the pieces laid out on the work table:

#2, The instructions have some interesting tidbits I wanted to share:

LOOKOUT for flying particles! got it.

A hint at future quality products from S & B

Install time is listed as 1 hour, I would say this is very accurate

#3, The "box" itself is mounted to the roll cage with some very nice billet pieces and what appears to be all stainless hardware. Way to Go S & B!
(No rust marks on my rig and no plastic where it really counts)

The mounting hardware gives you at least two options to attach it to the cage, either right up near the bar, or 3-4 back like I did on my Rzr:

#4, Now that the "box" is mounted to your cage its time to run the air ducting and mount the very nice looking cover. A simple coupler and hose clamps are used to mate the air duct to your factory airbox duct work.

A very nice plastic cover is included in the kit, taking the place of your factory frogskin piece


#5, Wiring
is very simple. Included wiring harness has a waterproof relay assembly, a waterproof fuse holder, and 3 pigtails.
1 pigtail goes to the drivers tail light, 2nd plugs into the separator itself, and the 3rd goes directly to the battery.
Again, instructions are very clear and did I say these parts are high quality? S&B uses waterproof connectors and it is all plug and play:

Factory style plug is provided, simply unplug drivers tail light and plug into wiring harness. Tail light is plugged right back into the wiring harness, just like factory!

Battery connections are + and -, red and black.

#6, Overall I am very impressed with this thing! Here are some pictures of the final product installed and working. It has an internal fan that comes on and off with the key. The sound and airflow coming out the exhaust shoot are very impressive. Here are some overall shots for your viewing pleasure

Nice eh?

#7, Notes:
The relay could easily be mounted underneath the bed if you don’t want it in your cargo area.
The separator box itself can be mounted on the top bar of the roll cage, or the bar right behind your seats.
It would be really easy to mount on the top/back of a roof also, or even on the side bar of the roll cage.
Once you tighten the clamps this thing it not going anywhere, it is very sturdy.

S&B supplied both a brushed aluminum face plate and a black one, I chose black for my car.

I did not trim the air duct tube itself, the routing from separator box to the factory duct could be streamlined a bit by removing about 12" of the tube with scissors and clip the wire (Like a dryer duct)

I will go back and clean up my install later, I will need to modify my roof to gain clearance for the exhaust duct. For now I am all set for testing.

No I am not affiliated with S & B, I am just one impressed Rzr owner who considers himself lucky to be in the right place at the right time!!

If you are on the fence, buy one NOW! You will not regret it!

Pro’s:
Quality is there.
S&B is now 1st on my radar for all my filtration and cold air intake needs. I work on ALOT of 4×4 trucks. The quality of this product is TOP NOTCH (as i am sure you can tell from my review)

Cool Looking
This thing will turn some heads, it looks like something from the future mounted on your roll cage

Dirt removal
Keeping dirt and water out of my airbox is appealing to me for sure, good washable air filters are not cheap!

Air duct
this is the coolest silicoln hose I have ever seen, flexible and easy to work with. I could have used something like this about 1000 times in the past when creating under hood cold air intake systems for my truck builds.

Options
Factory mounting brackets are designed to be used in at least two ways, giving you flexibility in mounting choices and locations

Complete instructions with detailed pictures
Finally! A company with the end user / self installer in mind. They even tell you how to re install your seat after making battery connections

Clamps
Wow! Now that is a roll bar clamp, when tight I am pretty sure I could stand on it and it would not budge, very sturdy

Coolness factor
It sure is cool to say "Yes my Rzr is outfitted with a particle separator, isn’t everyone’s?"

Options
Brushed or black face plate, close or far from roll bar mounting options. Very nice that this is all included in one box

Completeness
Kit is complete, there is no doubt about that! from plenty of zip ties for holding the wiring, to the small nylon spacer so the relay mounts flush. S&B has obviously though this through, saving you headaches


Con’s / my only dislikes:

Noise
It is a bit noisy, the fan is obviously very high quality as it pushes ALOT of air out the back, but it is a bit noisy. Not a problem when engine is revving, but at idle you definitely know it is there

Power draw
It keeps running after the key is off, this is because the Rzr tail lights stay powered up for 30 seconds or so after you turn the car off

Weight
Not sure what this total sucker weighs, it has to be around 15-20#. For racers counting every ounce this may be a concern

Roof/Cab
I had to remove my roof to fit it. I could easily drill some holes in my roof and install the box on top, plumbing might take some larger holes (like 4" dia)

Overall Opinion (I have tons of these, if you see me on the forum you know I am not afraid to open my mouth)
To me it is obviously built for those who drive in the dust alot (desert, Moab, Dry season here in CO)
I am still un decided, I am not sure it suits my needs since we usually ride in the high country under wet conditions.
For desert use I would not hesitate to mount one of these on my machine.
I think my Bronco needs one of these suckers, to keep my air filter clean and if nothing more to have something wicked cool mounted under my hood! If I built a scoop on my hood and put one of these in there, well I would have the coolest Bronco hood ever!!

TOMORROW WE GO TESTING!!! Stay tuned………..