Cheap 496 mag upgrades (375hp)
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01-07-2011, 11:48 AM
#23
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Do It Right Or Don't Do It
Assuming you are NOT doing the labor yourself and are paying shop rates....
Consider the price to get the computer bumped from 375 to 425HO. Add in freight both ways.
Now buy a cam and have it installed etc...
Now, you have to spend another $800 or so on the "right" prop and that means freight back and forth and shipping does add up (30 bucks each way..)
It's quite a bit of money (relative to the gain). Hardly worth it to me but that is just an opinion. I remember "just wanting a little more" but it almost never works out that way.
At the risk of seeming pessimistic, throw in the cost of somebody getting that flash job wrong and you just spent the bank (relatively speaking). Also, if cash is that tight, how long will the boat and engine sit while you catch up? There is a price for having your boat torn apart in the spring and summer in most cases.
If you can't spend the time and money to really do it right, you will spend twice or three times that much money and hassel getting over a bad decision.
Stock engines break too as said a few posts back. But there's no reason to put a rush on it.
If you keep good oil in that engine (knowing she uses a little) and never run it hot, you'll see lots of good use before any major breakdown typically...
Consider the price to get the computer bumped from 375 to 425HO. Add in freight both ways.
Now buy a cam and have it installed etc...
Now, you have to spend another $800 or so on the "right" prop and that means freight back and forth and shipping does add up (30 bucks each way..)
It's quite a bit of money (relative to the gain). Hardly worth it to me but that is just an opinion. I remember "just wanting a little more" but it almost never works out that way.
At the risk of seeming pessimistic, throw in the cost of somebody getting that flash job wrong and you just spent the bank (relatively speaking). Also, if cash is that tight, how long will the boat and engine sit while you catch up? There is a price for having your boat torn apart in the spring and summer in most cases.
If you can't spend the time and money to really do it right, you will spend twice or three times that much money and hassel getting over a bad decision.
Stock engines break too as said a few posts back. But there's no reason to put a rush on it.
If you keep good oil in that engine (knowing she uses a little) and never run it hot, you'll see lots of good use before any major breakdown typically...
01-07-2011, 11:51 AM
#24
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Sorry, didn't mean to rub you wrong. I assumed the caps were pointed at me regarding the price comment.
But keep in mind, if you get heads for that price you most likely will find that the intake will be the new bottle neck as the flow just "doesn't flow".
But keep in mind, if you get heads for that price you most likely will find that the intake will be the new bottle neck as the flow just "doesn't flow".
Last edited by SDFever; 01-07-2011 at 11:55 AM. Reason: spelling
01-07-2011, 11:51 AM
#25
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STOP! Don't do it. Don't go for the BS power gain claims! I spent almost $5,000 on the CMI Sportubes for my 496 HO and saw ZERO gain. If you have the early aluminum exhaust the ports are huge and it flows very well. My final decision after a lot of discussion on forums was to lose the 496 and drop in an '07 vintage 525 which I found on this site for $20,000. Seven hours of run time later I had to upgrade to a Bravo XR upper 
. The cam change and ECM will get you 50 hp and a few mph. That is true. Then you will have a 496 Magnum HO. Some people are getting away with whipplecharging a stock 496 but I think you will be running on borrowed time. A shorty drive can add 2-3 mph but I'd start a thread to find out if it would be right for your application.
. The cam change and ECM will get you 50 hp and a few mph. That is true. Then you will have a 496 Magnum HO. Some people are getting away with whipplecharging a stock 496 but I think you will be running on borrowed time. A shorty drive can add 2-3 mph but I'd start a thread to find out if it would be right for your application.
01-07-2011, 11:54 AM
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01-07-2011, 11:58 AM
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I thought the same thing.....for $12K you could get the Raylar BCK-103 (With Heads)....have the work done at about any shop of your choice and be close to getting Dana headers.....might be closer to $14K. But that route your at ~550 HP.....175 more than now.
01-07-2011, 12:00 PM
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Hey
I love it! Let's start a new engine shop and have a "numbered" menu just like a fast food restaurant.
Call it "Pick Two".
Uh, yeah I'd like cheap and fast please. Okay, That'll be $3200 plus another 15K after it blows up. Please pull around to the next window....
LOL!!
Call it "Pick Two".
Uh, yeah I'd like cheap and fast please. Okay, That'll be $3200 plus another 15K after it blows up. Please pull around to the next window....
LOL!!
01-07-2011, 12:14 PM
#30
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Even the labbed prop may get you no gain depending on what you are running now. The first thing that netted me a real performance gain was the Imco -2" shorty lower and the four blade (yes, labbed by Brett) prop that it required. That gave me 3 mph. Are you able to do your own work? A cam swap isn't that hard. You don't have to pull the engine if you are willing to cut a small hole in the front of the engine room and put a patch over it. I'm not sure what has to be done to the ECU. This will get you about 3 mph. Nothing comes cheap. Sometimes I wish I had stuck with outboards. You should be able to do the cam, ECU, prop and shorty (if right for your boat) for under $5,000 and pick up about 5 mph. I think that is money well spent.
