Rocky, I don't mean to come across as harsh or a smartas but if you want to add significant acceleration and put a smile on your face you need to add significant power and there is no cheap way to do that. If you don't want to pop for a 525 an older 500 will work well for less money. If you SC the 496 you will get the same results but give up reliability. Don't worry about hurting the value of that boat. A blue motor will definitely not degrade it. Anyway welcome to Donzi and congrats on a beautiful boat. Take the time to learn to drive it safely as these are driver's boats but an absolute joy to drive once you get some seat time.

Oh, and don't worry about hitting that big wave. I drive mine at speed on Lakes Huron, Erie and St. Clair all the time. They can handle big water and you will develop confidence in the hull and your driving ability.

Alright, thanks. I think I'm going to go buy a 525. And I've just never driven a Donzi before, so maybe it will be fine going that fast. Once again thanks for the advice. And one last question, how much is a brand new 496 worth? I'd like to sell it for some money towards the 525.

Nice Boat. Good luck. I really like the 22 classic. Enjoy it with the 496HO, you can always upgrade power in the future.

It's all up to you. I think a low hour 496 would bring 8k absolute tops. I paid 20k for a low hour 525. Like stated, the 496 is by no means slow and may be all you need. For me it got me close to the thrill zone but not quite there. If you've never driven a Donzi Classic before you are in for a surprise! Go easy and learn to use the tabs and trim as the boat will be very responsive to even small adjustments. The guys on Donzi.net would love to hear about your boat BTW and there is a ton of info and experience there. I am Carl C there. Not trying to steer you from this site. They are both good.

are you running a 496ho or a std 496 the 525 or an aftermarket engine would be the way to go,sell the 496 or keep it and put it back in when you go to sell it,we installed a 540-600hp in a 22 donzi ran great was a lot of fun to drive

496HO. And yes, I'm definitely going to install a 525. Just not sure if I'm going to do it this year or next year... Gotta think about it

For point of reference I recenlty sold a 2007 496 HO from a new, dealer left over 2007 Advantage with 50 test hours on it. I sold it for $9500 and probably could have gotten a bit more were I not selling it to someone I knew. At $9500 I had multiple buyers. If it has the majority of the new engine warranty left I would start out at $10,500 and see what offers you get.

must go faster!

Haha, definitely jtr2kwl!

Will look at putting it up for around 10,500.

Good luck with that! I sold mine for around $8,000 with CMI headers! To swap to a 525 you will need about $20 for a low hour engine. You will need about 2k for new exhaust diverters if you want to keep the Q&Q (which will only be good at idle or very low speeds now). The exhaust tips will need to be relocated and holes filled and transom painted. You will need a new wiring harness, AGI box and computer reflash to get the gauges all working and you will most likely break the Bravo 1X so budget money for a ZR upper. Just a dose of reality my friend! I have almost $100,000 into my 22 Classic including the initial cost of the boat.