I am a firm believer in Cryoing and treating the lower gears,I spent alot of time and effort testing merc lower gears and various finishes/treatments and oils. I was doing this 5 or 6 years ago before I ever heard of other shops doing it, by using the right oil and cryo/iso finishing lower gears I was able to get them to last about 60 hours instead of 10-15 but they are still weak and expendable, Smitty

How much for a set of treated lower gears?

Haven't had any first hand experience with the b-max YET, but after spending several hours on the phone with John, and hearing the improvements he's made since he bought the company from Dean- I'll be investing in one. My boat makes just a touch over 1700hp, and while I understand that there's nothing out there that will be indestructible for my application, I'll be exstatic if I can get more than 2 hours of life, which is what I've been getting out of XR's and other builders gear... I've spoken to a lot of builders, and looked at a lot of product. John has his sh*t together!

+1

Dean had piss poor quality control and IMO, gave up the dream. John has since resurectted it and is on top of his game.

1700HP??????? from one engine?????

While I think the BMAX is a great product and John has vastly improved it, 1700hp is still way too much for it.
1700hp is more than SSM6's are rated for.

hopefully he means 2 engines, 1700hp total.

Otherwise he better have some deep pockets for drive replacements.

Ballpark what do these drives cost?

830 hp/tq on a 10,500lb Apache (dry, no fuel) running mostly the ocean. I've had them them since 2007 and very happy. For the cost, ease of installation and service records I've had, I am very happy.

[youtube]www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExbZfhvYlsA[/youtube]

I was told that is 1 engine. :party-smiley-004:

Well then....The B-Max might get him on plane, but it sure aint gonna keep him there very long.:party-smiley-004: