T_M

Greetings,

I recently traded my wakeboard boat for a Citation 22 mid cabin/BR. Love the boat but would like to get a little more speed out of her. Currently running with a 496 Mag (375 hp) and a 24p bravo one. I'm getting about 62 mph with five people and half a tank of gas at Lake Mead (about 2300 elevation) and 90 degrees. I'm not a gear-head and would out-source all the work. I'd also like to keep the guts of the engine as stock as possible but wonder what kind of "bolt-ons" I could put on her to get me closer to 70 mph. I've read a little about shorty drives on this forum and maybe different exhaust. Any recommendations? And what kind of increases might I see?

Thanks for any input.

Run_em_hard

I could be wrong but I believe the bottom end of the 496 Mag is a little weak, maybe someone else could chime in on that. Some new heads and exhaust are always a good start, maybe a cam. If I was you I would give Raylar a call. They have made some wonderful kits for the 496 engines.

HTRDLNCN

Raylar would be your best bet if your gonna outsource it,
you send him your engine and he can turn into a beast with carefully planned packages.

Advantage 575

iTrader: (3)

X2 on calling Ray. He is 496 Guru. Also check the bottom for straightness.

T_M

Thanks for the input guys. I checked out Raylar's website and it looks like the perfect place. Though when I mentioned I would be outsourcing, I meant that I would hire someone to do the work...I don't think I will go to the extent of sending my engine to them. That said, Raylars kits appear complete and ready for a competent mechanic to install quite easily.

Any thoughts on the benefits of a shorty drive?

Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.

ToMorrow44

Not sure what a shorty drive would get you with that boat. First, you'd have to measure the distance from the keel to the centerline of the propshaft. That will give you an idea of how your boat is set up.

A pair of CMI headers will net you 3-5mph throughout the whole rpm range. Usually have to go up a prop size with this upgrade.

You may want to try a Revolution 4 prop. That might get you a couple mph over the bravo 1 as its a pretty good lifting prop and fairly efficient.

-Tom

T_M

Thanks for the tip Tom. Looks like the 496 E sport tubes could be the most cost effective way of getting a few more mph's. It also looks like those headers will not void my engine warranty AND be something my bro and I could install.

Thanks again fellas.

Run_em_hard

The 22' Citation has a pretty deep x-dimension. I shorty should help. I have not found anyone that has actually tested it out. I did talk to IMCO a few years back about putting one on my citation, they thought I could get some speed out of it.

The Nerd

We have a 22 Citation (closed bow) that came stock with a 502mpi. Out of the box, it ran 70 (GPS) with a 24 in Hydromotove 4 blade Intimidator prop....great prop for the boat! Within a year, we put Stainless Marine headers on and the gained maybe 1 mph. No offense....but my opinion is that aftermarket headers (Stainless Marine, CMI, etc.) will NOT get you a large performance gain in a fairly stock engine running under 5000 max rpm....just not enough power being produced and exhaust flow for a stock engine to see much gain.

Now, we have a Whipple on the 502 (trued the heads, upgraded head gaskets, beefier IMCO lower unit gears), and upgraded several inches in prop pitch (still Hydromotive) and even had the prop blades blue-printed/thinned. Now, the best we've seen on a good day on GPS is 87-88. With a full boat of people and warm weather, we'll see about 84. The Citation can be a good performance boat without going too crazy.