Once again thanks for the wealth information ...

Please don't misquote Raylar's prices for our 496 -525hp kits. If you are adding a kit on a stock 496HO, no ECM reprogramming is required and I have customers all over the planet that get them installed including the cost of the kit for about $9-10K all day long not $14K per motor. Lets get the facts accurate here for fellow OSO'ers and I cetainly understand any boater who chooses to upgrade his boat engine in other ways than a Raylar upgrade.
What are the choices for a boater who has stock 496 merc in his boat,
1. Take out the engine and sell it used for maybe $8K, then pay $35K for a Merc HP525, thats a net adder with engine and install cost of about $29-30K .
2. Install a supercharger kit on a stock 496 that must run 91 octane fuel and hope the stock pistons don't let go and grenade the entire 496 engine at an installed cost of about $10K.
3. Install a Raylar 525HP kit on the stock 496 at a cost of about $9-10K, be able to still run 87 -89 octane and have an engine that do and will run well over 500hours troublefree.

Could this be the real reason Raylar upgrades are so popular on Merc and Volvo 496 engines?

Seems like a "no brainer to me"

If you are ordering a new boat and you have the budget for an HP525 Mercury Racing package and your insurance company does not care if its listed as a racing engine, then by all means go ahead and get one, they are great motors, resale is strong and they will perform reliably for a long time with proper service.

Raylar is not here to bend peoples arm , Raylar is here to offer a nice affordable, reliable option for boaters with or about to be with Mercruiser 496 power.

Just the facts.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

My post originally said the 525's are the way to go. But I know someone who got 2 496Ho's complete with Raylar upgrades and the price was 19,000 out the door complete. I just threw it out there as an option.

Ray,

Certainly not taking anything away from your kit, I think it's a great kit, the best on the market. Your numbers (9-10K) installed are right in-line with mine.

In my post, I said "do it right", meaning exhaust too. This is where the additional $$ comes in. 14K is not out of line with what one can spend, as a matter of fact, it's what one can expect to spend if their going to do headers at the same time.

If one so chooses, and upgrades to the 106 kit, now we're talking forged internals and a re-program on the ecm.

I don't want anyone to make a decision based on my comments. Do your homework, figure out what the best option for you and your boating needs are and make the decision that best suites your needs. If the cost of a new boat and then an additional 28K to spice it up is what floats someones boat, I'm all for it.

If it was me....I would order the boat with 496's and XR's. Then after I ran the batchit out of those motors I would put ray's kits on. I am a firm believer in the raylar 600 and ho525 kits. They really make the power that ray claims. With the 496's your still doing over 80 and with the ssr package they are nicely dressed up from the factory.

Didn't do exhaust?

He sold the stock exhaust and picked up some used exhaust, I forgot about that. There would be a little coin involved for 2 sets of headers for the raylar kits. I am a big fan of the blue motors, just wanted to give the options.

I was faced with the same situation when ordering my Fountain. I chose the 496's with XR's with the idea of an upgrade path in the future if I wanted. To date, I have had 2 seasons of zero problem boating. The 496's are so easy to run, feed, maintain, and INSURE. Not to mention the $35K I kept in my pocket by not checking blue motors on the order sheet. That buys a lot of gas and a nice aluminum Myco.

In my setup I have a WOT of about 80mph and since this is my first performance stepped bottom boat, it suits me fine. And I was able to swing inexpensive 5 year warranties. So, my boating season is relatively stress free from a powertrain standpoint.

When it is time I'll either upgrade, repower, or sell the boat. A couple of Raylar kits in purple might just be the ticket, if I keep it. If I sell it, I have mild merc power under the hatch on a stellar hull, which will be very attractive to someone wanting to step up or repower themselves. Or if I have money to burn I can drop in a couple of 525's and my XR's are ready for the abuse!

Decisions, decisions!