Just keep in mind there is always a weak link and the outdrives will be that link.

I was able to get about two seasons out of the Bravo XZ's with the 500 EFI upgrades (550 HP) and that was running it pretty hard. When they go they go and in my case it was usually upper gear sets. You will have similiar power but less of an outdrive so do the math.

The key is EASY on plane, do NOT hammer the throttles, KEEP the props in the water and PRAY.

I'm doing a lot of praying right now with the 824 HP in front of the new ZR's. It is simply a fact I added more HP than the drive is designed to handle and you will be adding more if you make the upgrade.

But it sure is FUN and in my opinion worth every penny!

I was having big fun both times I blew a drive
but after the mayhem, my mood changed...and I started
drinking heavily

I got to share my drive breakage experiences. They all turned out just fine.

Drive #1 - Stock engines and drive 1 year and three weeks old and three weeks out of warranty. It was a beautiful fun weekend on Lake Norman and we dropped the boat in the water Friday night, enjoyed all day Saturday and all day Sunday and broke the drive 1 mile from the launch ramp headed home. The dealer and Mercury stepped up and gave me a NEW drive. The top cap failed on it and it trashed the unit 100% and totally locked up at about 70 MPH and pulled the engine down until it died. But the coupler held and is still going!

Drive #2 - Somehow and I still have no idea how the drain plug came out of the drive, the fluid drained out and the alarm came on. My wife is a SUPER first mate and the first thing out of her mouth was raise the hatch and she was all over it. We had two customers on the boat and at the same time a friend saw us stop and raise the hatch and came over to see if all was okay. While I'm talking to everyone the wife tells me the drive fluid was low and she already filled it up and that we are good to go. Well what she did not know was that it was not simply low it was EMPTY. This time we are about one mile from the ramp again and we load the boat after a good day and head home. Once home I spend the broke and feel something is not right. Well the drain plug and the sacrificial zinc are in a big ball between the drive and the prop. What actually happened I don't know but now I'm VERY concerned because Baja and Throttle Up magazine are coming to town in two days to do the article on us. I pulled the top cap off and did a visual inspection and all looked good. Then I poured two quarts of drive oil down the top of the drive and it drained out the bottom nice and clean with no chunks of parts. At this time I'm feeling lucky! Well I put the cap back on, filled the drive up and started the boat on the hose and it shifted fine and seemed to be okay. Trust me I was down on my knees thanking the good Lord actually believing I dodged the big one. Well two days later we are back on Lake Norman with four people doing the magazine write up and I'm just hoping this drive does not go south on us. Guess what it did GREAT no problems at all. When we get back home I drain it again and all looks good. We tow up to Smith Mountain Lake four days later for the poker run and the drive is the last thing on my mind. Two friends drive up to ride with us and we are all smiles, the poker run starts, the helicopter is all over us, the boat is running great when without warning the upper gear set stripped clean and the motor was in the rev limiter! Moral of the story is you "NEVER" get lucky or dodge a bullet with an outdrive. If there is a problem go ahead and fix it before it breaks and costs you even more plus lost boating time. The funny part of this is it happend right in front of our condo where the truck and trailer were parked. We idled over, loaded up and had a GREAT time and got super coverage on the DVD and saved a lot of fuel.

Drive #3 - Charleston South Carolina
It was our annual spring trip to Charleston with my best frienf Jeff "Steeloutlawed". Jeff had his boat there but we elected to take the 36 that morning for a cruise to Beaufort, SC. We had six people on board and the trip South was wonderful. Actually Jeff drove the 36 down and I navigated. We had a wonderful lunch and met some friends that boated up from Savannah. On the way back I'm driving and we are cruising the ICW at about 55 MPH and something just is not right. The beautiful sound of the engines were being interupted by something. I looked at the gauges and all was fine, the boat was runing good but there was a noise that was not right. The wife saw me drop my head down under the wind screen and she walked up to ask if something was wrong. I asked her to go down in the cuddy and listen for anything that does not sound right. She came back up and sais she could hear a grinding noise. By this time I had convienced myself that I had a u-joint going bad. You also have to understand that if you have not traveled this area of the ICW there is NOTHING there. So with the boat running and with it getting late in the day with a good 20 miles left to go I held the throttles steady and hoped for the best. When we arrived back in Charleston and I was forced to come off plan we knew right away we had a problem and that problem turned out to be three broken teeth off a top gear set and we were VERY lucky we made it back before she let go. That was an EXPENSIVE repair.

Now you know the rest of the story!

This is why outdrives really don't bother me much anymore you just have to budget for them if you want to play!

Happy New Year

Bravo X's should be fine you just got to drive reasonably, twin applications put much less strain on than single, and most ratings are done for a single application. That being said, I think Doc said the upper gears are the weak link, and he is correct. If you can get into blue motors for what the #'s and sell your 496's that seems the best way to go. However, RAYLAR is a great package, we had great success with him,

Its just an idea, but Whipple is making an application for 496's now??

Best of luck

WILL

Will,

I would second that on the Whipple but only if I had it professionally installed my someone like Mark Boos at Presicion Marine.

What kits did you guys install or have experience with?

Thanks
Doc

Redbud35:

Nice talking with you on the phone the other day.

Are the Raylar 496 -525HP kits the way to go on your 35 Outlaw, YOU BET!
Why, because with your 496's equipped with our kits and lets say you also add the Dana Exhaust header manifolds you will be at 565HP per engine! and you will still be running 87 octane fuel and your insurance company will still be insuring 496 engines not Racing engines from Mercury.
Lets say you Baja is a 73-74 mph boat now. You are adding 280 HP not even taking into account 300 ft/lbs more torque!
I would suspect your boat will use about 20-22horsepower for every mile per hour increase in speed at these levels of overall speed. This should translate to about 12 to 14 mph increase in speed for the boat with the right re-propping.
From Raylar's experiences with customers boats I would predict your boat will see 85-87 mph when completed with correct propping. This should cost you about $11,500 per motor and you can't even come close to that replacing the engines with something else.
If you really want to have your boat in the mid 80's and you don't want to spend more than $23K or run 91 octane fuel and possibly pay more for insurance, then this is a "NO Brainer".
Call me when ever you like and we can discuss the package complete with the Dana exhaust kits .
The only thing you'll have a problem with is the BIG GRIN you'll have on your face this boating season and in the future after you make this upgrade!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Ray,

That is a very nice reply and makes a lot of sense. I would definately consider your package if I was upgrading a 496 motor. My only concern is with your comments regarding insurance. Most insurance companies ask the top speed of your boat and if you are not honest with that number you are going in a danger zone that most cannot afford to be in. I'm dealing with that issue right now since we repowered and once I see where we end up I will most likely be shopping for a new insurance carrier. Not sure I would go there if I were in your shoes with all the hungry lawyers around today.

You guys do a nice job and seem to have all the details ironed out to make the upgrade easy.

Happy New Year

Mark

Ray,
You are making his decision very hard. The insurane point is very true. That could rasie your rates by 1-2k a year....Well if you let your insurance know.

Irish also has a great point. Depends on the buyer. I know its not in Redbuds mind right now. Lets say your selling . Is someone going to pay lets just use 150k for a boat with blue 525's or Raylar 525's.

Most peeps would want the blue's. Then again it comes to down to insurance. Its pretty easy to insure the 35OL with ho's. 525's jack it up some. Well your not in FLorida so that may be a moot point. Florida is in a league of its own on insurance...I know on that one....


Redbud ....Wish you the best on either choice. Alot of folks will be following this thread. I see this asked all the time but no one has taken the next step.......including me My boat maybe worth 130k as is......I could drop 20k in it and maybe it will be still worth 130k or 135k... But its suppose to be about fun and enjoying the boat....not what $$ you can make on it.

Redbud I am assuming you are just looking inyo the 496 top end upgrade? Heads,cam ,instake? Not the fully forged setups???

I have my insurance with Allstate. I'm having my Raylar kit installed as I write. I just upgraded my insurance to make sure I was covered and they have no problem with HP....just top speed. Topspeed is limited to 90! I ain't gonna be doin 90 anytime soon. I have $500,000 liability,$70,000 coverage on the boat,$3,000 coverage on the trailer, and $1,000 breakdown coverage. If the boat is lost they pay me $70,000....no ajuster haggling. I am paying $518 per year in Georgia! I do have 2 houses and 4 vehicles insured with them as well so yes...there is a good discount.