Looking for some upgrades for the Mercury 496
 

I just got a brand new 2009 009 classic 22, and I'm looking to get some upgrades for the engine. I already am going to get a CMI exhaust for it, and I'm not interested in a supercharger/turbocharger quite yet. I want to break in the engine first. Any suggestions?

Forget the exhaust. Buy an Imco shorty.....

Strike that. The 009 has the raised X. The CMI Sporttubes did NOTHING for my 22 Classic 496 HO except make me $4,600 poorer.

nice choice!run it std for a while surely-warranty??75 mph is pretty rapid in a 22.did you get the one at legend marine?if you want the headers i think the dana ones would be my choice but i doubt you will notice much difference in performance just sound.post up some pics!!

Yes, the Legend Marine one. I'm not that interested in a higher top speed, as going that fast on the light 22 would be crazy on an even slightly rough day. I'm interested in acceleration. I'll post some pics in a moment.

If anyone wants to see it, here's a link with a ton of pics. By the way this is number 5 of the 18 made. http://www.legendmarinegroup.com/web...ition_id=10425

that boat was a steal-couldnt believe it was still about at $49k-did you get the trailer too?nice package.rare too.almost a shelby bar the shifter and seats but a heap cheaper!

Rocky, that hull is stable and safe over 100 mph. There are quite a few of us running well into the 80s. Headers won't do it though.

Yes I got the trailer too.

I'm completely aware that it is stable, my only concern is hitting a big wave while going fast and losing control. The lake I boat on can be very bumpy at times. Anyway, back to the performance upgrades. Anything else I can do?

raylar.

I boat on the Great Lakes.......Performance? Yeah. Lose the 496 and drop in a 525:eek:. You could SC the 496 or go with Raylar. Better off losing the 496 IMO.
http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/x...-in-Bay002.jpg

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.

Rocky, You live in the area ????? I use my 22 on Lewisville and yes the weekends are hell with all the cruiser traffic I usually go during the week .... I live near Legend and have seen that boat a thousand times, congrats !!!!!!!!

Actually I boat up in NY.

Got It ..... Have fun great looking boat !!!!!!!!

Thanks, HotSpare.

Why go thru all the agravation of changing to a 525 when you can super charge the 496 for 7-8 grand?? For me the sound of the blower screaming is far more intence.. With 5-6 lbs of boost you should be making 625-650 hp.
Alot less work and funds left over to buy the drive when the X explodes.

Check out Fullthrottlemarine.com's whipple charger for the 496. I will have one sitting and waiting for install in Aug. 2012 when warranty is up.

I have been owned and driven Donzi's for years. One of mine is blown. It works great for my situation. I would take a 525 in a 22 classic over a boosted 496 ANY day. I can list a whole number of reasons.

No offense but that is just CRAZY money to throw at a 22 foot boat!!
Here's a 2002 38 foot Daytona for $78,000 and a full cabin which I would much rather have for alot less money.
--Again, Im just saying what I would have done if I wanted more speed rather than upgrading the power.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o38110-en.html

You know one thing leads to another. I couldn't find a used 22 Classic that I liked. I found a new one on Pier 57's web site that I really liked a lot. I called Frankie there and got a good deal that included delivery and pick-up and trade-in credit of my old Hydrostream. They also did the financing through my bank. I loved the boat but 73-74 mph just wasn't quite enough for me. After a lot of talking to people I decided to lose the 496 and pick up a low hour used 525 that I found through this site. I reinforced the boat and dropped in the motor and the exhaust tips didn't line up so there went a few more thousand bucks to move the tips and spray the transom and replace the Y pipes for ones that would work with the 525 and let me keep the Q&Q. Of course I needed to reprop so had Brett hook me up with one of his Bravo 1s. The second time out with the new power I blew the Bravo X upper so on went a brand new XR upper that I found on this site. I got an Imco -2" lower on Donzi.net. Then almost 4k for the Zeiger steering and lots of little things like sea strainer, wiring harness, gps, pitot, etc and before you know it I'm close to 100k!! Some guys have even more into these boats :). It's crazy money for sure but I deserve it! :drink:

Its amazing how things add up!

Rocky good luck with your boat. They are great boats, you will have lots of fun with it. Definately a drivers boat, but loads of fun after you get some seat time. I have a '95 blackhawk that I wish I could keep, but just bought a bigger boat and cant justify having 2 boats.
Enjoy!

I have to agree, with a whipple you're looking at 657 hp! and of course superchargers sound great

http://www.whipplesuperchargers.com/...sp?ProdID=1149

Thanks, Got Cigs. I'm assuming you traded in that Donzi for a Cigarette?

jtr2kwl you complicate things... I was going to do the 525 but now that you say 657hp, I might re-think. 525 is more reliable, but Whipple supercharger gives me a lot more horse and sound better. And are less expensive. Complicating is a good thing though, sometimes you can find a better answer through rethinking.

I still have it, its posted on craigslist... gonna miss it when it sells though.

If I may interject, my personal opinion to up grade, would be a 525. Its reliable and fast. I wouldnt run out and put an exhaust on your 496 either, the money your gonna spend wont give you much performance wise. I put Gils on mine, ran a little smoother and maybe little better mid range, but not worth the money.
Run it and have fun, do the upgrades next winter.:drink:

For the price of a 525, you can have a fully forged, built 496 with a SC making 650hp with great reliability. Acceleration is insane, we've done an install on one before.

I wouldn't necessarily say a 525 is more reliable, but just think, it would certainly be less of a hastle and cheaper to put a whipple on it. Besides, you know that with the 525, you're gonna want to supercharge it anyways, and then you'll be pushing it! will require new drives as well!

496 plus whipple!

----Do yourself a favor before you get rid of your 496, and call Tyler Crockett. He has done a huge amount of development work on unsupercharged 496s and his answers to your questions will get you all amped up. I guarantee it!!!!.......Bill S

+1....mine is there now....granted it is getting the Raylar BCK-106 kit with forged internals. If your wanting a blue engine he has a fresh re bulit 500EFI making 509HP on the dyno for $14K...add a used set of CMI E-tops he has and $16K.....he also showed me is "used parts" room....he must have 6-8 525EFI intakes and enough parts to build you anything you want....just call him.

Raylar
 

I just had a raylar 106 kit installed on mine it dynoed just south of 600 hp and 600 tq not bad numbers, I will post water numbers late next week or the following week, just waiting for some tails I agree with third child did the same didn't notice much if anything.... they sure are pretty

A Whipple will definitely get what you're looking for. The 525 may not actually improve low speed acceleration that much over the 496, it just really comes on at higher rpm, also it will require a higher pitch prop. However, I would not do a Whipple without forged internals. Save the cost of the headers.

Bob Lloyd
Full Throttle Marine

Ok this is what I'm going to end up doing:
-new forged internals to handle the supercharger
-a Whipple
-if I still have money left, a Raylar kit.
Sounds awesome.