Which ever way you go I would use stud's instead of the bolt's that come with any of the kit's . I found the bolt's to be way to short . Just my .02

We offer the Just Wicked Crossfire Tube Style Shower and the All New Hardin Marine Cast Stainless Steel Top Cap Style, both with great results.
http://www.cpperformance.com/detail.aspx?ID=8982
http://www.cpperformance.com/detail.aspx?ID=9641

Ok....this may sound like a stupid questions.....but is the Chaulk on the drive a sign that the drive is running hot? Too Hot? If you do notice "chaulk" should you change your drive oil soon? Thanks!

Not a stupid question. The chalk indicates high temps. If you make long runs and dont have extra cooling, they will chalk up. When you drain your oil does it look black instead of the color it was when you filled it. That is another indication of heat.
When the lube gets hot, it doesn't work properly. We run these drives at 200-270* and the lube should be 150*, so all the cooling you can get helps.
I have setup an external cooling and filter setup on some customers drives and it works well. I have a new drive I built ready to go on my boat with a new motor and it will have the external cooling and filtering. I will have more data on it next summer..
Hope that answers your question.. I would definitely look into a good shower.. I have been using the Simrik up to this point, but they are not making showers to fit Bravo's with shorties. So I have not been selling them to customers. That Wicked One that CP has, looks like a good unit. For some reason I cant see the pics on the details site they point you to. I would like to take a closer look at it.
I have seen the Simrik's brackets break off.

Hope that helps.
Dick

This was an underlying question that I had when I posted the original thread. I was concerned as to how much damage is created during these conditions. As I indicated I noticed chaulking after only about 10 hours of operation and the boat already had 160 hours on the clock when I bought it. I changed the drive oil and it looked as green as the replacement oil with no odor of being "burned". I'm not sure as to how long ago it had been since being replaced though due to recently buying it. Most of the showers suggested so far have been of the "tube type" design. I like the looks of the "cap style" that CPPerformance has listed but am wondering if they are as good since not too many people have them. Also the prices are great compared to some of the others I've found. Mr Gagdets answered with some good info but how do you know if there was any previous damage? Would it show up during every drive oil change?

Typically if there is damage, you should see metal on the magnet. The fuzz can come from the pinion bearings loosing the preload and the thrust washer spins creating the fine metal dust.. If there are any flakes then it is time to take alook inside, a sign of more serious problems.
If you keep the outside of the drive cool, with as much water as you can, then the oil inside is still hot but not runaway hot.
Friend of mine with 36' Apache, blower (Vortec) motors and XR's had one of his Simreks break off. He saw 50* difference between the two drives, but he could still run them to 270* and have to dunk them to cool them.. He is a serious boater and runs it hard. He has since gone to Imco SCX's and has not seen over 160* temps on the drives.. He would regularly break the XR's.
Inside the newer XR's they powder coat them. I see it flake off and I suspect it is due to heat.. but I am not sure. Some have it bubbling off and others are intack.. So look for flakes of black power coating also.
Hope this helps.
Dick

You asked about the cap type or tube type. All that matters is the amount of water that hits the side of the drive. That is where the housing is the thinest and should wick out the heat. But keeping the whole drive cool is a good heat sink. The more water the better.. And the water flow has to be consistant. If it quits at any point then it heats up fast. I had a friend come along side me at 50mph and take alook. He said there was all kinds of water flying all over. But we did not check it at higher speeds.
Seems Wicked Marine has done some serious testing.. In the real world it all comes down to constant water flow on the drive without causing any issues. I build a shower once and I had the pickup too deep and could not get the bow up. Water quit flowing and air entered the prop stream. Took the shower off and I could hold the bow up.
Internal cooling is the best way to go, but it is expensive. It is hard to find drive temp guages anymore, but they are valuable.. That way you can see what the oil temp is and determine if what ever shower you have is effective..

Dick

I'm Running the Wicked Crossfire works Great.
http://justwickedmarine.com/

Has any one tested the Billet Marine's top cap/shower? Looks like the way to go with some studs

http://billetmarine.com/driveshower.htm

That's the one I have - Works great so far. Mine is sit up differently. I will try and take some pics.