DriveGuardian
 

Has anyone used a "DriveGuardian" in place of the bravo coupler? If so, it what setup, and how good is it?

the Saris guys.

Yes, I read that in Speed on the Water Mag. Just checking if anyone else has used it? If its as great as they say in the Magazine, then one would think that everyone that runs bravos with any power in front of them would be using them. I don't believe most articles in magazines, as they are usually very biased in there articles.

I would take stock in what Saris Racing says.

As far as I know Smith Brothers Racing, Boxer racing both OPA teams, Mikes had them on his 42` Fountain... there are multiple other race teams signed up for next year also...
Yes you are correct I also think every overpowered bravo should be running them.:bananalove:
For my bellhousing SSM version set up it was a really tight fit, hopefully that will be solved this winter and then I`ll be running a set.

ah,,Boxer racing may have 1 actual race w/ it..maybe a few fun runs and a river run.Hardly a test.He wasn't known in the past for blowing drives up either.Even when he was faster than he is now.

Thought Mike has 6's on his boat?????

The SSM version now works with top or bottom mount starters and with, or without oil coolers built into the bell housing so you are all set!

GF?

I do have sixes but the combination of 6-blade Herings and Lake Michigan waves resulted in some very expensive drive repair bills...every year. I have two full seasons running DriveGuardian and haven't had an issue since.

GF?

Not saying anything against the drive guardian but just observations on OSO. Everyone posting on it are buddies with the guy who developed it. they seem to steer everyone in to the illusion its all great and it just might be but when everyone commenting on it are from the same town, city, state, area then it gets suspicious.

Saris, well this is the same guy who bragged that he never broke a bravo when he was racing because he did such a great job building them, his statements not mine, and then when he gets the this device he publicly states it will end his bravo failures? Certainly conflicting stories and which do we want to believe? Certainly bsing about one of them. This device should work, what does it cost, what is the maintenance and how long will it last are the only real questions that should be asked and answered

Since that seems directed at me I can answer that, myself and Mike are from the same state certainly not from the same town and we see each couple time a year, usually at a poker run.
I met him 2 years ago and we were just shooting the $hit about his boat and his drives came up. He told me what he developed and I didn`t understand it at first but the more he talked and the more I learned the more exited I became. This soft spoken gentleman talked about this great invention (IMOP) like it was no big deal.
Personally I`ve been exited about it ever since. I know what Mike went thru to build and develop it and I know to what extend he went to to test it but yes you are correct there needs to be some more impartial voices out here .. I`m just a big cheerleader, I think it`s genius :D

Can`t speak for Saris but from what I know he does not break drives but at the end of the season (or earlier)they are pretty much done and before they explode they replace the gears. This year the gears looked good enough to run for another year.

Very exciting product!

Great for rough water and/or high X dimensions where there are quick torque spikes that a human can not react fast enough.

Not going to make an overpowered drive last longer besides the benefits listed above.

Does anyone know how much they cost?

Pretty sure around 2500.

you may never guess again ! :party-smiley-004:

I suppose it's unknown how well it will hold up and how reliable or even effective it will be, but IMO it sounds very promising in theory.

For those that are running too much power through their POS bravo and don't want to spend the $ to replace the drive with something better matched to their engine or boating style, this product seems like it would likely extend the life of the drive. In fact in 'should' extend the life of just about all drives (if set properly) assuming the props are aired occasionally. The question in my mind becomes how willing will people be to drop a $2500/$4000 each (plus pulling engines, installation, etc) on what many would consider an insurance policy. For the guy with 750hp in front of a bravo, he might be better off addressing the root cause by replacing the junk B1/XR with something like a SCX upper. If they aren't willing to spend the money on a better drive, will they spend thousands on a product that might only add a few hours to the longevity of their drive? IDK.

As much as I love the idea of this product, I've never had a problem with breaking any of my sixes so for me to pay $8k in parts alone to do twins in each boat (not to mention pulling the engines), it becomes a tough pill to swallow. If I've had a couple of costly failures already with the proper drive(s) in place, I would absolutely pull the trigger on these as they 'should' do what they are designed to do... Minimize the shock to the drive when the props re-enter the water. But for those that are running bigger power through the wrong drive, I suspect their money might be better spent on replacing the drive with something beefier.

OK I won't.
http://www.marinedesigncorp.com/our-products.html

Which picture is for which application?

Boxer was plagued with engine issues last season so they only ran two races and a couple of poker runs. It is true that they hadn't had any drive failures but they do run a Max Machine upper and IMCO lower. Their issue was that with a 950HP blower motor and 1,100ft-lbs of torque they were having to replace the stock rubber coupler every season after toasting one a couple season back. No matter what you do there will always be a weak link and suppressing the torque spikes reduces the stress on the entire drive system.

Mike

stock coupler failure was on the 26' race boat of nopper marine.and I know all about the drives,,we used to build them for him and they rarely failed,that was on motors that used to let his boat run up to 97mph.as for that 950 and 1100tq,,when did he dyno that engine?

Apologies let me clarify, I acknowledged that he hadn't had a drive failure. The engine and drive information was based on a post from Boxer in the "MDC Drive Guardian Update - One Year Later" thread on 11-16-2014. As I said, he had a rubber coupler issue in the past and has been replacing them every season as a precaution.

"We installed a Drive Guardian in a 30 foot Sutphen with a 950 HP blower engine. Max torque was 1100 ft. lbs. We completed two races,two poker runs and several trips to Marthas Vineyard. The drive is max machine upper with an IMCO lower. Saris pulled his drives apart last week . We are checking ours this week."

Mike

Motor hasn't been dyno'd but based off the build and that it pushes the 30/31 sutphen well past 90 mph is say it's safe to say he's over 900hp. It is a non intercooled 10-71 blower on it, so prob not over 1000.

come on,that boats never seen 90mph,,hell it couldn't take shawn's when it was running on 15 cylinders.he barely hit 89mph that day.

When? I was in it going 86 with the small motor 2 seasons ago. He walked away from Pete, and ran right up to Walter and I without a problem.

Really ???? Surely you know what a bravo coupler looks like, after all the bravo posts you comment on. I'm surprised by this question.

Since i know the owner is a member on here it was a polite way to let him know it might be benificial to update the website with more info.

And I'll be the first to admit I'm not quite sure which DG would fit in my glad with crash boxes and #5's.....I enjoying learning and teaching on this site.

I for one am very excited to have another innovator in the marine industry, and hope they continue to grow. The drive guardian in the correct applications with the correct expectations is a true innovation.

I had the same question, be nice to see some pics of them installed also

The one that looks like a clutch disc with a spring hub.

For as long as I been on oso, I've read hundreds of threads listening to bravo drive owners complain about broken drives. Hundreds more threads on trying to find ways to eliminate failures. Drive showers, cryo treating, magical gear lubes, billet caps, and so on.

Then when a company comes out with a product, with some supporting data that shows the extreme torque spikes and shock loads the drive train sees, develops a product that can eliminate those stresses, guys doubt it. Too expensive, too hard to install, won't work, etc.

I agree that it would be great to see more of these out in the field , to get some more feedback. But to me, this product looks a lot more promising as to fix failures than some special lube or dropping 20-30g for some scx setups.

Being a gear head kinda guy, the concept makes total sense in my head. Now just gotta get more out there on the market for some more results .

Ernie runs real well,as far as breaking bravos, I personally towed him into New Bedford ramp, a couple of years ago, when he ruined a bravo!

I think this is going to be a great component for us Bravo guys, and If I keep my pressent boat I will buy a set from Mike, I have a high X dim, with some degree of H/P and Torque,( breaking Gears at regular intervals) It would have to be a huge help in my application. We will see how things shake out this spring, I repair the drives myself so not as costly as it could be, and I have a good stock of gears in my basement, but the Drive Gaurdian may save me the greif of getting out the wrenchs.

I think with a bravo drive regular maintenance and planned inspections will still be necessary, but with the drive guardian I think shaft breakage and gear destruction will be minimized or eliminated, solving the "who's gonna tow me in" problem lol

We blew one drive racing in Class 5, which was a 650hp/XR setup.
We have had good luck with our drive program because we have an extremely aggressive maintenance program. Every three races the drives come apart and are gone through. We never posted it would end our bravo failures, we never said we had failures. Our hope was to lengthen the time between rebuilds.This season, we waited 5 races before touching them (we did do oil changes every race), and they look better after 5 then they did after 3 without the Drive Guardian. Mission accomplished. If my story is conflicting, I apologize but please do not accuse the Saris Racing Team of BSing anyone. It's not what we're about.

Ill also point out along with Team Saris teams who have been succesful using the Drive Guardian or other MDC products include Spirit of Qatar, Smith Brothers Racing, Cat Can Do, and for next year Team Velocity, Team Rufstr and a few more.

We ran the entire 2014 race season with a DriveGuardian installed on our 26' Joker with a 540ci engine that makes over 600 hp. After the Detroit event, we took the drive apart and did not find the twisted vertical shaft or chipped gears that we have had in the past running a stock Mercury coupler. I'm not going to sit here and promise no one ever is going to have a failure while running a DriveGuardian, but we are extremely pleased with the results and will be running with one again this season. Even if Mike was a buddy of mine, I wouldn't run one and jeopardize a race if I didn't have full confidence in the product.

Rich

Smith Brothers/CRC 611

Go Rich go!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=3&theater

Boxer class 5 Sutphen is equipped with one as well.

Holy crap that`s one hell of a ride! 7,000rpm and it looks like the throttle man isn`t working the throttles much... just let her eat!

She's built to take it!

Looks like a great product. I will be looking into installing with my new motors. I only wish the price was a little less marine......where can I get the specs on slip points