TE/TC Gnarly pipe review on 15 te300

After 400 miles running the stock pipe I tried out the fmf gnarly. Ran an hour and a half hairscramble and here is my opinion. Bike was jetted near perfect with stock pipe. Of idle the bike feels more responsive. I had no complaints before but now I believe it's better. I purposely rode a gear higher than I typically would have just to see how this pipe worked. It pulled great riding this way, so much so that I turned the map switch down. I can't say it pulled quite as hard on top but I'm ok with that. I can't tell any difference in sound. For anyone on the fence about trying this pipe and who rides single track, I'd say you will like the pipe. Just my 2 cents.

Did your jetting change at all?

Not a bit. Jetting was still spot on.

What jetting are you running, and at what temp and altitude?

Like the OP I also just tried the FMF Gnarly for the first time at a HS this past weekend also on a '15 TE300. I have ridden the stock pipe and a Pro Circuit Platinum 2 which I waffled leading me to the FMF. Going from the PC to the FMF seemed to mess up how my gearing felt. The bike pulls harder off the bottom with the FMF so 2nd seemed to low but 3rd just didnt seemed to be quite enough for our tight twisty rock strewn terrain. I prefer not to shift into first while racing but a gearing change is needed for my type of riding and style while running the FMF. On top the pipe will not rev out as high as the other two but with the torque the bike has, I typically short shift anyway unless Im riding sand. This is easier do with the FMF as it will pull a higher gear easier. I like the FMF Gnarly and have had them on my YZ250 and '06 KTM 300. That being said I was quite impressed with the Pro Circuit Platinum 2. Once I get my gearing sorted out I am sure I will really like the FMF just as much. No jetting changes here either (stock) and I was really lugging near idle in some sections. Great pipe choice for sure.

35 pilot, Jr. Red needle second clip, 168 main, air screw 1 3/4 out. Sea level in Seattle

Jd needle and stock gearing

I went from stock to gnarly to fatty. Like the fatty the best for single/double track. Fatty has a little more meat at mid to top for transfer sections I find. No improvement down low but find the 2015 TE300 pretty good with the fatty or stock pipe. Find the fatty more responsive all across the rev range as well. If I rode tight single track all the time I'd stay stock.

stock pipe with stock silencer = lazy (great for tight stuff)
stock pipe with FMF Core II = bit better
gnarly with stock silencer = better still (good for tight stuff as well but liked stock setup better)
gnarly with FMF Core II = pretty good
fatty with stock silencer = now where getting somewhere
fatty with FMF Core II = BINGO !!

I'm so torn when it comes to pipes. Everybody has their own preferences so with out trying them all its a gamble. I was sold on the gnarly but my thoughts have been changed with the pc platinum and the scalvini. It's a bit more money but I have heard nothing but great things and great all around power gains from the scalvini

the fact is a different pipe moves the power around understanding what you want to increase and take away is the problem, i found the fatty took away a lttle bit of torque off the bottom on a 300 big deal... it also and made the transfer on the the band smoother again a lttle less there but in the last half on the pipe if pulls allot stronger than stock, jeff slavens does a goo review on the pipes

Yesterdays ride resulted in a dent to the stock pipe on my 15 300TE, so now evaluating a replacement. I use the bike for east coast enduros and the local series is a mix of tight and open rock and sand. Very rarely do our enduro courses get into high speed, but we do have sometime long transfer sections. In going I thought the gnarly pipe would be the definitive choice, but after reading this I'm not so sure. It reads like the Fatty might be the better pipe.

I really have no issues with the performance of the motor with the stock pipe, other than it dents easily. So would the Fatty pipe be the better one for me as a replacement?

-Scott

the fatty is or is as close to the OEM as you will get. I rode with a new gnarley and with my oem silencer with a EE endcap S/A on it, I like it a lot that way. also side cover holes are good addition.

mmmm scalvini
who cares how it runs how good do they look!

I'd rather not have to cut holes in the airbox, as that wouldn't work well for east coast weather. So Fatty is the "broad" pipe for lack of a better term. It sounds like FMF pipes work stock silencer which is an added bonus. Question, aside from cost, what is the difference between fmf silencers? Power Core vs. Turbine Core 2, the Q, Q Stealth?

Here is RTL scroll through
www.fmfracing.com

funny because I always kept that in my mind (the holes thing)... but also I always remember the old single cam Husky 610s (570-630s) from the nineties that won the 500 4T championships and even the 400cc versions from Husly factory racing CH Racing had all those screened holes in the filter cover on the side of the bike. looking through the offroad champions book and seeing anders, Kari and Stefan completely mudded and water drenched and running up front....I guess they though of it as water injection as long as the filter stopped the dirt, and also Im sure they rebuilt those things all the freakin time anyway.

Unfortunately that's the mod that made the biggest difference so far I think!
Fitting a better exhaust doesn't do much if no more air can get in.

Thanks and yes I've read through the fmf site but it doesn't really provide any meaningful detail. So I was looking for first hand experience. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Yep-no water injection for me thank you! If you're lucky to be in a dry west coast environment, cutting holes in the airbox and adding filters may make sense but not for us on the rainy east coast.

-Scott

Put a 172 in for the main. You are missing a ton of top end.

I ride a fair amount at elevation so this has been a happy medium for the main jet.