89 TopGun Question
 

Bought an 89T/G last year and ran it some this summer getting used to it. 502's (Don't know HP) CMI Exhaust and TRS Drives. I am turning 23 Mirage Plus props at 52-5300. Everybody telling me to go to 4 blade wheels but I have been hearing disturbing things about use on TRS drives? My drives are like new and I have 2 Almost new spares. If I were to build 2 new engines to 650-700HP keep my TRS Drives,What propeller would I then use???

I like a Mirage Plus on Top Guns with TRS's. You acan run a Hydromotive Quad 4 as well. Just have to be on your game when she leaves and re-enters the water. The lower gears are what usually goes. If you are 650-700HP at the flywheel with new power you are right at the max for a TRS.

Post some pics of your ride.

I have 26p bravo props with my hawk 525s & trs.

I know a few guys with trs top guns, I've run with both mirage plus and bravo1 props. Mirage plus run very well with a little more room for error over the 4 blades. But I think at the 650-700hp level your going to need 28 bravo1's and nose cones. Slip goes up a lot above 78 without them.

I am not sure I would run the 4 blade unless you need them, I just repowered my Mistress, 600 a side, I am gonna try 24 Bravo1's to see what it does, but expect to be at 25 Mirage plus @5200 where my engines make power..

Right on the money! Agreed 100%

Wonder how I learned all that???? ;) lol

When I had my Top Gun with TRS (700's) I could not get any life out of the TRS when runing 4 blades. The right hand lower pinion gear would spit the teeth out at the root. 3 blades got a little more life but still went through 6 drives during the 2003 season.

No wonder you became a test subject for Konrad! You are hard on some drives! Haha

TRS need to go with any hp over 550 to 600 .

My old Boat (Smokin Gun) has 700HP 572's.....TRS drives 28P 4 blades....not 1 drive problem. Knock on wood.

My 1985 Mistress that I had made 675HP Put on about 95 Hours before I had a drive problem, then put on the Konrads and sold the boat

Then What can Konrads take??

I think TRS are stronger then people think....

The one thing I can say is Konrad's SUCK ! They SUCK , THEY SUCK . They are probably ok to use under 600hp but after mine broke I did my research and found six other OSO members that broke Konrads with only 800hp and low hours . One guy busted his with 8hrs on it and they charged him $7500 for the repair . Their service SUCKS and they straight up lied to me and said they would fix it for $4700 then it went up to almost $10000 . And before anyone come on this thread and starts BoHoing I've got all my text , PM's and emails saved so I can back up everything I'm telling you .. Further more the finish on the Konrads is the worst in the industry . At 3 years old it had the worst corrosion of anything I owned and when I ask them about it they said that it was because I lived at the beach . Well it sits next to my TRS of 15 years that still looks new , Three outboards sitting at my house that haven't corroded not to mention nothing else on the same boat corroded . Only the KONRAD !
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY ! You want a tranny/outdrive combo Find a #4 or #5 . You wanna keep it simple light and fast and still be able to run 1000HP , Put a Imco SCX on the back .
If you want the links to all the other threads that have Konrad horror stories I shot you a PM ..

I would bet my left nut , and that my favorite one that a TRS will last and hold up better then a Konrad . And guess what ? when you break it , $500-1000 and your back in the water not $10K and the mercy of Konrad ..

As mentioned above, I went through 6 TRS drives @ 750 hp during the 2003 season. Installed a pair of Konrad drives Feb '04 and never looked back. Sold the boat in 2010 and it's still going strong. Never been apart. Pretty happy here. -My new Cigarette has XR Sportmasters, I go through 2-3 drives a season...

My Konrads lived three years behind 850hp... Same Konrads now pluged into 925hp have been running like a swiss watch!! About 10 hours and one poker run cruising at 80-90mph in an old straight bottom gun!

I don't know if it just me, but I don't hear much discussion come into play about replacement with Arneson drives when one of these expensive & and not so worth it
drives doesn't live up to a fraction of what it's supposed to be worth............ for all the guys in the big HP club I've never heard complaints about Arnesons not holding
up to the rigors of big power in front of it..........but I always hear (or have heard) the stereotypical, "too expensive, too long and docking issues "........myth????

Just for clarification on Konrads. My Konrad 540’s are the strongest version they make, HD uppers and lowers, Large U-Joints etc. They are the SSM3A Replacements - Konrad PRS III

Myth... Everyone that owns them and has posted on OSO has stated as much. Docking and maneuvering is better to same with the Arnesons vs. Bravos.

With twins ! But what about us Po boys with Singles ? When I was switching my drive I considered Areson but the lack of turning at the dock had me worried .

Rough water, fast speeds, heavy boats and large pitch props kill drives.

There is no magic HP number in my opinion for a drive to break. The guys who owns TRS drives with 700HP engines in a 30FT boat and uses it on a small inland lake, can probably have many years of trouble free operation.

The guy who has a 38 Top gun with 700HP engines, and boats in rough ocean or Great Lakes water, and try's to run the boat like it's the "apache offshore challenge" racing thru 6' seas, you'll be lucky to get a season out of them.

My main reason for selling my old 40FT Formula with TRS, was #1 the drives were blowing, and #2 the hull wasn't up to what I wanted to do. I wanted to RUN a boat in rougher water, and not drive like a little old lady.

My SSM IV's have over 200 hours on them. Since I've owned the boat, I've been pretty hard on the them the past 70 hours. 800HP blower engines past two seasons. Before that it was 650HP blower engines. Lots of running hard, airing out, and throttling. Last time I was out it was 75-80MPH thru some decent water aired out and just havin a blast. I could never do that with my TRS Formula. I plan to send them in this winter for a checkup. Point is, it is SO much more fun having a boat with some stronger drives. :coolcowboy:

WOW, What a wide variety of opinions on this TRS Thing. Looks like there is no set course for this,I will have mine gone through this winter.............Next Question, Where is the best place to send them???