switching from XR to HT B-max
 

Has any one done this? Is there a lot of work to change over? Any suggestions or hints would help. Thanks

I went from a Bravo to a HT B-Max no nonsense at all direct bolt on. I only wish there were more selection in gear ratio. I would do it agian in a heartbeat. It seams to be bullit proof
My $.02

Havnt done it but I see your going to be putting them on a 36ft cat. My buddy had them on a 37 talon and in two years blew up around 5 or 6. We switched to number sixes and no more problems. It also seems Bmax's slow the boat down quite a bit compared to a regular Bravo. The drive should just bolt on though.

I had some help but it was pretty much bolt on.

Brian, what did you put it on?
Did it slow you down much?
Did you use the bravo gimble?

We have them on our 382 Fastech that is for sale now. It was pretty much just a bolt on. It did slow the boat down abit. However, the plus side is we have not broken since. I should add we are running supercharged 572's.

I bolted mine to the stock gimble. I lost a couple of MPH but it isn't breaking and it's behind about 750 hp procharged 454

Thanks.
How much heaver do you think it is than the bravo?
Does it seem to shift the same?
Did you reprop and what gear did you go with?

sorry about all the questions:angry-smiley-038:

I don't know how much heavier it is but if I recall it is about 180lbs. It shifted very hard at first but shifts normally with hours. I have the 1:30 and had a 1:50 bravo I went from a 32 to a 24 Bravo 83.6 GPS. I'm rebuilding the engine now freshining and adding a couple (it is apart) we'll see next season.

I'm under the impression that B-max only sells there drive with merc 1.36 lower gears or the other steep lower gears because the 1.36 gears have poven to be slightly more durable. I do know they are using merc lower gears,not some extra strong aftermarket version or anything. Has anyone tried re-gearing the drive with merc 15/19 1.50 lower gears? By cryoing then giving the lower gears a multi-step surface treatment that ends with them having a very smooth finish I have gotten the 15/19 1.50 gears to last much longer then they ever did in stock form on my boat with a bravo drive. My understanding is that most boats go slower when switching to a B-max because of the extra friction of the larger upper gears and bearings but what I'm wodering is if some guys are losing speed from the overall gearing and re-propping why not try going back to 15/19 lower gears once the warranty is up,Smitty