Are Bravo I's enough?
 

I am repowering my 32 fountain this winter with 540's. Im going from 415hp a side to 600hp a side. will the stock 1996bravo's be able to handle the extra power? I dont jump on it out of the hole and boat on a smooth lake where i'm hardly ever out of the water

run them until they break u will run faster with the spiral gears but dont spent a lot of $ on repairs upgrade as you go and rebuild one of the bravos nice to have a spare drive also if u get above 85 u will find to pic up speed and control the boat u need sports masters or imco or pointed cones on the lowers I use ofshore performance donnie carter is great ! he has ben more than fair to several of my friends in tennessee.

I would like to upgrade to xr's, but cant seem to find a ecomonical way to do that. The motors kind of ate up my budget!

they won't last 10 hours, if that. the xr's will help, and if they are babied you might get a 40 hour season out of them

My 1996 bravo's lasted 200 hours & never broke . My xr's broke after 50 !!!!!!!!!! Wish I kept the bravo's , just my .02 :ernaehrung004:

I say run them .
If they brake one day ,,just upgrade the stuff with IMCO parts.

Your wallet is connected to your throttle hand. Easy on the sticks. Run the bravos. You can always call Dean at the Bravo Shop.

I agree with all run them until they break and they will. I also called Dean and love my B-Max 2 years and no problems. 720 HP aand 727 tourque.

You should be fine, just be easy on the throttle, and PULL BACK PRIOR TO REENTRY,:ernaehrung004:

I think you'll be fine as long as long as you're easy on the sticks out of the hole and are time it right when you get some air. It probably wouldn't be bad idea to have a spare on hand, just in case. Its a lot easier to find cheap Bravo's when you don't need one than when you absolutely need one.

thanks for the input. I thought about at changing the gear ratio to help also. any thoughts on going to a set of 1.36 gears?

1.36 is like the 5th gear in a car...,depends on if you look for speed or getting out of the hole.
?????????????

I've got 500 hours on my bravos with blowers. You'll be fine if you're not the drag racer type.

I'm looking for top end. thats impressive, 500hours on a cat with blowers. having 2 has to help

I am doing the same thing. I am rebuilding my 502’s and adding prochargers. I expect to be in the 700hp range. I have Bravo-1s and have been debating on upgrading. I also have a 1.5 ratio and have been thinking of going to 1.36. With my engines stock I pulled a 30p Bravo 4 blade and if my research is correct should put me in a 35-36p. I am worried about getting this thing moving. Currently, I really have to feather the throttles to get up to speed. After on plane, it is perfect. I kinda expect with a 35p to just sit there due to cavitation. Any thoughts???

Well,in that case ,,,,,yes i would go to a 1:36 !

what are the details on the boat ?

Top end,
I'm also running B1's. I'm running twin 800's on my 28ft cat. I
purchased the boat the way it is, so that is why I'm sticking with the
B1 setup. The drives have been built by Max Machine works, with upgraded steel "floors" ,and shafts, but still have the B1 gears. I run 1.36 gears with 36P bravo props. The drives have been very reliable, even when running them up to the rev limiter at 6000rpm. I did have one problem last year, a top cap broke. I switched to the XR style ribbed ,which I would suggest to you (cheap upgrade). With the bigger props, I do take it easy getting on plane, and am sure to not wing the motors when catching air, or open the throttles 100% at low speeds.


Darrell.

It is a 41' Velocity with a notched transom and around 8500lbs. With the stock carb 502's it ran 82mph (GPS). My goal is to break the century mark, but if I get in the mid-upper 90's i would be happy. :evilb:

I was turning 27 hydromotives with the stock power. 82 out of the 41 velocity is impressive with stock 502's. I was only getting 78 out of my 32

Bravo 1's are never enough!!! and anyone who says they are just doesnt want to or cant afford (like me) bravo XR's.

Instead you can do like i am doing and die a slow painful death, as of June 08 ive blown 2 bravo ones, with 500EFI's bored out to mild 540's. I'm very throttle concience of the B1's too, they just wont hold up forever,

the 2 i blew had 500 hrs on them
wish i could afford XR's

well if you would sell me those bird emblems maybe you could afford XR's ......:D

Boomer,
with 500hrs on them, they were probably loose! Preloads on the tapered bearings goes away and the gears kind of float around causing havoc. They will break, but I have seen people use them in situations that they shouldnt live.
Alot of factors come into play, driver, setup, temp, boat weight, size, power, and quality of parts at time of manufacture..
Just my .02
Dick

the 2 i blew had 500 hrs on them
wish i could afford XR's[/QUOTE]

You mean they don't last for ever ? Go figure . :rolleyes:

One thing I should add, I do have them pulled and inspected every year. Other than that, fresh lube every 20 hrs.




Darrell.

forgot to mention both had been rebuilt at 300 hours, or so i was told

offthefront i figured you got them already, call me and we will hook up, im running over to the boat house on blanding this morning if thats is by you we can meet up,

904-497-3214 Steve