stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Hi guys!

I have a 1984 stinger 260 with twin 350-275 hp engine, running roughly 58 mp/h.

Any body runs 454? or 502's?

What speed are you guys getting, with how much HP???

I may go bigger engine but don't know how big I should go!

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Hi Jeff,

I'm not sure how fast that hull was designed to go, but I'll bet not faster than 70.

I have twin SBCs (stockish 260hps) I have Cobra drives and 23P Rapture props. (1987 Stinger 260)

I see 52 or 53 on my GPS in "good" (slight chop, no big waves) water with a half tank or less.

Glassdave has fresh 350s on a 85 Scorpion with Alphas and I think he sees the high fifties. Maybe 60.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

yep, i have twin smallblocks warmed up just a bit. they are probably around 3oohp and the best i have seen is 60.9 on gps. i have alphas spinning 23p quicksilvers. thinking about switching to vortech heads and airgap manifolds. right now im over proped and only see about 4500rpm wot. with just a bit more HP i think i can make better use of my props. :cool:


there is another member on OSO whos name slips me right now but he has an 85 with big blocks and brovos and is going in the low 70's.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Consider putting 383 strokers in it, I own a stinger 260 with facotry 260s but I looked at one with 383 strokers & Alpha SS drives that radared at 84 mph. 26P props. I should have bought it but I was a little worried about having to replace the drives too soon but the Bravo 1s would hold up.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

I would love to hear how that hull handled at 84mph.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

I'm looking at an 89 Stinger w/350's and Cobra drives. Seller claims 62. Not sure how it is propped. Am i getting bad info?

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

I have an 87 26stinger with 350s and Cobra drives.

I think he is being a little optimistic.

Maybe his motors have been "warmed up" and he has the perfect props.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Hey 26 stinger... is there an ad or something?

I would love to check the boat out since it is so similar to mine.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

So what is the best I could hope for? As far as I know the motors are not hopped up. Can I at least see 60 without too much trouble?

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

hate to say it but i would be surprised if it went 62. maybe on pitot speedo but not actual gps numbers. i would guess 57/58. thats still pretty good though. for whats its worth my boat isn't what i would call fast but i love it. plenty of room for long weekends, performance i can live with and it doesn't eat me alive with broken parts. if you are interested in something like this i am hoping to move into a 31 sonic later this year and mine will be for sale. fresh paint/interior/engines would like to get in the 14/15k range out of it.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

I can live with that. Think with some re-propping I could get 60? Would y'all recommend different pitch or bigger diameter? What are the benefits/drawbacks to doing either? Has anyone tried the teflon coat on their hull running surface? I'm new to the performance boat (not new to boating at all but this is my first twin) thing and need all the pointers I can get. I appreciate everyone's feedback!

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

you will love having twins. and this is a great boat to get started with. mine has 23 inch quicksilvers they are a great prop for this hull that give a fair amount of bow lift although this a bit to much prop if your motors are stock. i would go with 21's or 22's. it is really difficult to squeeze any more speed out of these hulls short of going to bigger power. i freshened up mine and tossed on stainless risers/cams/intakes and got it over 60. if i choose to do any more to this boat it will be a set of cast iron vortech heads. great bang for the buck there. should pick up 30 or 40 hp a side with that addition. one other thing get Dennis Moores book on small block performance marine engines. he visits this site every once in awhile in the tech section and is the guru of the 350 chev for boating.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Another difference is that Dave has counterrotating Alphas.

The OMCs would be both right hand screws.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

I had a friend who used to have a 26 Stinger 350's and alphas. He bought two 454 mags to put into the boat, and they didn't fit. I remember him saying that they are 3 inches wider that the SBC and he didn't have the room. He ended up re-selling the BBC's and i bought one of them. Then he worked his SBC's. ran around 60.

So you may want to check some measurements before buying BBC's.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

actually mine are both right hand drives. i hear the swich to counters is a good move though. may hafta look into that as well. just not sure how much more i want to do to a boat that i am going to sell at some point though :cool:

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

I stand corrected sir. :D

I don't know why I thought you had counterrotating.
Maybe because you are so cool? :D

So you are beating me on pure horsepower then.
Bastage. :drink:

Yeah... I would leave them alone if you are moving up to the 31 soon.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

:D . . . unfortunatly i can never seem to leave anything alone :rolleyes:

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

This actually has counter rotating OMC Cobra's. If I understand correctly, the counter rotation will actually help with the top end??? Also, what about a tie bar for the drives? Haven't seen any on cobra's before. What gives? You guys are giving me some great advice! Keep it coming!

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

I was under the impression that there was no such thing as a counterrotating Cobra.

An awesome outdrive expert told me that if I wanted counterrotating and I had Cobras, the easiest thing to do was to switch to Volvo Sx drives. Same transom assy. Bolts right up.

Who knows, maybe I just became edjumacated.

Also... mine had brackets for a tie bar but no tie bar.

OSO Member Wildthing Taz had one I think... but I didn't pull the trigger on it.

The direction of the counterrotation effects what happens to the boat.
If I remember, "spinning inwards" creates stern lift. And vice versa.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Gotcha. Yeh these are counter rotating outward(right goes right left goes left). Can you basically swap sides with the drives? Is the inward spin how Fountaing utilizes their transom pad?

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Hey Stinger..

You just taught me something. Thanks. I have Cobras and I had no idea that there were some out there that were reverse geared.

My guess is that it is being done in the drive, rather than that you have a left hand motor, although they do make reverse rotation motors, too.

Don't take my word without talking to somebody smarter, :D but if they really are reversed in the drive then your engine would have no idea which one it is spinning. One would think you can switch em.

The thing about the Volvos is that they will spin either way. They are switchable while still in place. (just gotta change the props side to side.)

Here's mine (if you haven't seen it. I post this pic everywhere)

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Oh, maybe you can't see pics. Sorry.

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

ok now the ratio. 1:1.65. is the motor turning 1 for every 1.65 turns of the prop or vice versa????

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Hey Guys,
I put together a stinger with a pair of 355Hp ZZ4 crate motors Alpha Drives with a counter. Boat ran 75 mph all day long.Great combo but Alphas are th week link.

Jim

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

used to have a 87 26 stinger with a singel 510cub inch 540 hp with a bravo 1 spining a miage 23 boat ran about 60

Re: stinger 260 engine vs speed
 

Blown small blocks and bravos will getya into the 80's

260 Stinger For Sale
 

I'M married with a 10 month old baby. Wife says it must go. Anyone interested can call 607 435 5035 and leave a message. I am not sure what to ask, if anyone has suggestions let me know. Both engines have about 260 hours and its in mint condition. Thanks,
Leo

Gentlemen,
These boats with Merc 260's run between 55 and 58 when running right. They are a great layout, look, ride and value for the money.
If you want to go faster buy another boat!
Don't waste your money on motors, the drives will not handle it, the hull is not fast (non step) and she is heavy.
Love her and leave her alone!
Spend your money on making her look great and sound great (stereo).
Faster not an option.
Just an opinion but I sell boats for a living, sold these when they were new and have a brother that has a 1985 Limited with a Radar Arch for his personal ride. He has put several hundred hours on this boat and loves it! We have had this discussion many times.
VeeCat in Dallas