i think what ur looking at is the sc lower bolted to a scx upper

I'm more curious about them being surface drives versus whether they will hold up. Please keep us updated. Thanks!

Thomas how is your project coming along?

How about the gimble rings , is anybody using the imco and are those stronger or are they merc units ?

You must use the Imco ring in my opinion. It is much beefier. I would take zero chances on the ring.

I think the beefier imco gimbal ring is required when using the -4 drive the stock way too weak,the stainless one from x-power would probably also work running the drive on the surface is always tough on the lower gears only time will tell if they can handle it for a good amount of hrs,also with any new unit it is going to take some testing to figure out the sweet spot for the x-dimension and prop diameter for best results,set up right this drive looks like it is going to be a winner

Slow but steady. I'm redoing the cabin now because Eddie's shop was full. I hope to get my power installed with the new rigging sometime next month, then it's a matter of deciding on drives.

How's your motor project going?

Sorry for the Hi jack but slow and steady here too. I hope to have 2 engines on the dyno in 10 days

It does seem to be a nice product, it would have been nice if it was on the market when I was upgrading in 06/07'. To each their own however, I just can't imagine spending all that cash with a tail-light warranty.

I talked with Imco and they are shipping the new -4 now, so the people that had them pre-ordered should have them by now. I ask about delivery on new orders and he said they could ship in about 1 week.

So, let's hear some -4 feedback from someone that is actually using them!!

konrads

^^^^^ I had the same experience with IMCO when I called, asked them if the SC would work for my application and the guys just said "no"... umm ok then:whistle:

No warranty at all not even for defective parts and $hit customer service? No Thanx

I just got a coupler from them and they sent me a rusty one.

Konrads are not rated for higher HP motors, if I remember correctly, they're only rated to 700HP. Not to mention you have to use a transmission.

Yeah, from the little research I have done they did not impress me enough to continue on. Just saw they had a sale and got excited for a min, till I saw the prices were still to high! (besides on the TRS conversion) Now the customer service at Konrad has to be better than IMCO! :lolhit:

Hopefully this new SCX-4 turns out to be a sweet drive! I definitely can not wait to hear more test reviews. Even if its not first on MY list, its still cool to hear other peoples builds.

I sure wish there was a reasonable alternitive, I feel Imco has us big power bravo guys by the balls......

There's always BMax!

Yes that is looking better every day!

Now Bmax customer service is awesome.

I agree, Imco is just like a bank or lawyer, we need them more then they need us! its been depressing me all winter trying to decide what drive is worth buying!

Yes, BMAX is a good option for some, the customer service is top notch, the upper is bulletproof, but the lower is about equal to an Imco SC IMO. But I am sure B-Max has some new things coming in a couple years.

Keeps leading me back to the Arneson, or the X-power (if x-power would come off cloud nine with his price!)

Unless a miracle happens and the new SCX-4 starts having amazing reviews.....driving me nutz waiting to see!

I guess we're in the exact same boat (pun intended), I have basically 2months to make a decision and the most logical choice is a drive that has only been available to the public for 3 weeks! The x-drive would be my choice if it wasn't double the cost of the Imco's. Maybe if we pool our $$'s and bought 4 x-drives they would come down to Imco pricing, but I highly doubt they would.:rolleyes:

Funny you bring that up. Ryan9154, Jason, and I have already tried that. They both run Black Thunders with 750+hp.

The "discounted price" on 6 was a joke.....

I am about to give up and just buy standard SCX upper and lower, run less expensive props, and enjoy being on the water!

I just don't get that, who do they sell these things to? You can re-rig to 6's or Arnesons for way less $$$ than they want for their drives. I would think on 6 of those things that they would come down a fair amount just to get a few boats out there running them. I don't recall ever seeing a boat rigged with them.

I hear you on the standard SCX's, in hindsight, I wish I had of bought some of the lightly used SCX's that were for sale late last year for close to .50 on the dollar, slapped them on and live with whatever speed I got out of them.

I only know of two boats out running that are actually rigged with them. 1 is the 711 skater I think running small blocks. Then there is a crazy decked out spectre.

I stand corrected, above, and also found a 2003 38 Cig with X-Drives in the classifieds, link is below. That thing has 120K worth of drives, no wonder it doesn't have a price in the ad.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o43448-en.html

I think that boat was traded in to Nortech. The ad list T Sobo as the contact. That is Terry from Nortech..

No matter what the other drives out there offer, to me all paths point to imco scx for the best bang for the buck with a bolt on set up. they deserve big kudos for making a drive that can live behind 1000hp with a cone clutch. Any one that is going to look for an ironclad warranty for something this high performance is barking up the wrong tree. If I decide to supercharge my Tiger, the imco and lowers done by Wilson is the ticket for me. but that's just my opinion. :D

I have to agree with Offshoredrillin!
I have always found Imco to be fair about covering things that were under their control.
I have never had a problem with their customer service!
And I have started down that path Offshoredrillin mentioned. I will see where it takes me. So far it has been very exciting to use the package I put together, but I only have a few short trips on it. Waiting on warmer weather to get some experience with it.
Just my .02... :D

Dick

I am very interested to some real reviews on the scx 4; could be the perfect ticket for the Glad but geez when is someone actually going to run some?

Offshoredrillin. When you say best bang for the buck, would you mind explaining why it is that way for you, compared to the ASD#7M's? Complete price, speed gain/loss ect. I'm curious to why, since the price of the ASD#7M and a complete IMCO with box and steering is rather close, but you don't get the speed increase with the IMCO. Many have lost speed going to the SCX. Is it a matter of installation problems or the like in your application? If the #6 style prop price is the problem, you can get an ASD#7M that will run Bravo style props. As you said, it's a matter of opinion and preference, just curious.

Best bang for the buck at least to me means getting the best value and product for the amount you spend, I'll address each point of your seperatly, please keep in mind that this is just how i am looking at it and not detracting from any of the drives mentioned as they are all nice.

ASD, depending on how the boat is built from the manufacturer, the asd drives from what i have read need rocker built in to the hull as they are a true surfacing drive. if your hull and bilge are not set up for this type drive then along with the costs of the drives you will have to do considerable changes to modify the boat to fit, not a bolt on and go application. Rik has posted that the asd only sticks out 4 inches further than another drive on an extension box. I don't have boxes on my boat so the asd is 16 inches further out than my XR's, not conducive to my type of boating. pricing listed on here for new would be between 45-55k for the pair. not including any structural bilge and bottom work to make the drive fit the boat. total gonna be about 70k not including props

Xpower- like the imco, it is relatively a bolt on drive, also like the imco it needs new helmet and gimbal ring, however price is again the issue, 30k per side is for drive only not the gimbal and helmet, although on a couple boats, still not tons of testing or unbiased data to make me want to drop that amount of money. no bottom mods needed for drive so say conservatively 60k to switch not including props

Imco- looking at different people that have the complete drive listed price in 1.5 ratio is around 13.5k, helmet is 900, gimbal ring is about 1k, depending on shaft you can run same prop as before, so 16k per side. comes in -2 standard and if you add in having lowers blueprinted add 4 k total, you are looking at 20k plus spacers if needed, so say 32-35k not including props.

Ther have been a few boats that i have seen and read about with no noticeable speed loss switching to imco scx, one top gun here in MD done by MDG was what convinced me, so to me the numbers lean to IMCO.

Thank you for the explanation.

One thing. What I understand from Rik, is that usually most boats does not need hull mods, that includes notched transoms. Are the issues with rocker something he has talked with you about specificly for your application? I can't help but thinking, a surface drive is a surface drive, the hull does not know what's spinning the prop. So wouldn't the same be the issue with #6, Indy or X-Power drives compared to the ASD#7M and the other ASDs?

You are correct the boat doesnt know, however if the boat was set up with no rocker in order to get water to the surfacing prop at speed. Its the same as guys putting blackhawks on boats with no rocker. i have never spoken with rik on it personally but i have followed his posts intently as i do really like arnesons and would love to have them on a poker run boat one day.

Man guys I have a 27' Daytona with 1100hp easy runs over 130mph with a XR drive and a 1.35 gear and a worked 34" bblades Brave one prop. Love to see what this boat would do with the new drive and a big surface prop!!! Any offers great test boat!!!
:) :)

I have to ask, what is the aversion to BMax? They have a Poker Run version that has a more hydrodynamic lower unit. I'm just asking because I know I will need to do something myself pretty soon. I got a quote from them last season and I think they were about $15k. If there is something we should know about please tell us. Other than BMax, I'm looking hard at All American Drive Service, they will at least warranty their work.

I remember a pretty long and detailed thread about X drive from a member here who put it on his boat...single engine I believe. Lots of info but most of not positive and X drive support horrible.
Can`t find it now maybe some politics involved and it got removed..

It wasnt on this site, it was on another forum that I read it. I believe it was Kap who tested it and did a big write up on it.

BMax is a great drive, but even the poker run version uses xr lower gears. Yes the gears might be set up better but they still are the weak link. All American Drive sounds good but a warranty is only good as long as the company is in business. Mr Gadagets also builds good drives down in Holland MI.

The main point of this thread is about the SCX-4, which has larger upper and lower gears which are stronger. Its a surface drive which gains speed, and allows more prop choices. The Bmax is not a good comparison to the SCX-4. It is a good Comparison to the regular SCX. In that case the winner would be personal preference. :drink:

My opinion, if you don't have issues breaking lower units now then the BMax is the most cost effective choice of all the drives. 1 yr warranty as well and easiest to install since it does not require a bell change. I kept blowing IMCO Extreme SC uppers so the BMax solved that problem for me.

I agree, the -4 isn't a good comparison to the BMax. There are people running the SCX with SC lowers, that's a direct comparison.

There's also documented loss of speed from both drives. I lost only a few mph when I made the swap but that may have been from the gear ratio change and not necessarily the drive. BMax also offers a 1.50 ratio which was unavailable when I purchased my drives.

Other than the previous owner, I don't know either... Perhaps it's looks? The IMCO has the BMax beat in the looks department, I'll admit that but the BMax is a stout drive and has been in the field much longer.

I've been running 838 hp / 834 tq thru these drives in a resin bucket Apache since 2007.