ActiveFun

What are the pluses and minuses? Do the 575's have to be rebuilt much earlier? How do they hold up compared? Are they worth the additional hp? What's everyone's opinion?

Von Bongo

Both great motors.

525's are cheaper to run, 87 vs 91 and close to same HP.

blower need rebuilt around 200-250 hours.

Up side to 575 is intercooler, pully and ECM and you can get to 700

Overall both very good motors. Stock 525's with closed cooling and 87 are pretty easy to take care of, althought I'd own 575's again with no reservations at all.

I guess I would say, I wouldn't pay much of a premium for a 575 boat over a 525.

socalstone

VB is right, both are great motors. I have a 600 with no issues so far.
I loved the 525 but wanted the extra mid-range and top end, even if it's only 3-5mph. I'd like to think the blower motor -since it's low boost- will be good for more than 250hrs, but I'm not there yet so I don't know for sure.

Another plus for the 525 is the drive isn't being taxed as hard, so should last longer.

Wild Card 09

575SCi uses all the same technology as the 500EFi, and is one generation behind the 525EFi. It does not have the PCM555 ECU, closed cooling or Guardian/Smartcraft functions, sweeper headers.

The horsepower rating of the 575, as with the 500, is crankshaft hp.

In contrast he 525EFi produces 560 crank hp, and 525hp at the prop.
Motor......Prop hp......crank hp
500EFi.......470............500
525EFi.......525............560
575SCi......540............575
600SCi......600............640

So the 575 has only 15hp more than the 525....
but because it is blower motor, it has a big chunk of extra torque over the n/a motor. The mid range difference is night and day!

Alex runs a 575 in his H2x and we are mostly running side by side at 60 - 80 mph. He has had no issues with the motor, and it runs really nice. Blower motors tend to oil up a little during long idle periods.
I think the technologies of the 525/600/700 series motors are worth having but I donīt see any reason to avoid a 575 if it is in the boat you want to buy.

BillR

I have the 575.
Compared to same boat w/ 525's.

575 boat use same amount of fuel as 525 boat,
575 boat is 7 to 8 mph faster, accelerates faster, is easier for avg Joe to work on (not an electical nightmare)
575's are reliable but need blower upgraded for more reliability.
Biggest downside - 93 octane

I prefer the 575 over a 525.
After driving both, 525's are like a limp handshake over 575!

BraceYourself

closed cooling and technology are a huge advantage with the 525. On a hot day both engines will run the same hp. 525 will last longer. I bet the 575 will stop being manufactured soon where as you will continue to see new boats with the 525 package. Better resale. I would avoid the 575...

BKSAE

575s w/ arizona upgrade + superchiller push my 01-42' lightning well into 90mph range. Easy gains for not much money. Still start, idle and run like EFI motors. After 4 years, nothing negative to say about 575 SCi's. Fuel economy is not nearly as bad as spoke about.

baja bailey

Where in e'ville do you live??

JaayTeee

I have a pair of 575's with about 330 hrs on them.

So far, they've been flawless.

Neither uses a drop of oil.

Maintenance wise the only thing I've
done differently over my HP500's I had in the last
boat, is to change the supercharger oil.

And that's not a big deal.

They don't have hyd. roller cam's, so the
valvetrain doesn't take the beating it does
with the 525's

The only bad things I've heard about with them
is on the newer ones with the B&M blower,
some have had rear bearing failures.

I've heard of a few head gasket failures too.

But then again, I've heard about problems with the 525 too.


You don't get the supercharger whine with the 525's

Wild Card 09

Very true, but the sound of a 525 when you start it up and idle out of the marina is just incredible Higher compression, sharp cam!