382 with Prochargers
 

Started this several weeks ago,time frame was longer than anticipated. New 02 382,no boxes,Hp500 efi'sWell known shop to install 8# boost prochargers. Stock the boat GPS's at 75,with a little engine time 76/77with28" props.Ran it today,34 1/2 props,4 people on board,full fuel tank,87.8 GPS hitting rev limiter hard.Have to decide now on 1.36 gears or bigger props(hard to do)I think we may see 90 GPs on this big heavy boat .I sure wish we had these motors in a 353. MagicFloat

It's nowhere near over. These props are not really that good,just the largest I had instock,not Merc labbed just a lot of pitch from a local guy,my stock 32's were not near enough. The boat owner is a really neat guy that just wants a big comfortable boat,wanted 85mph, we are going to surpise him if the creek don't rise and the drives don't blow. Will keep ya'll posted,genset goes in next week.

Keep the faith,Troutly, this boat has a 5 year warranty

(Somewhat off-topic): How come the owner didn't order the factory generator? Speed sounds neat, though - the hull definitely gets happy over 70 mph.

It was a stock boat that Formula had already finished. I bought it just for stock. I would have ordered the genset if I had ordered from scratch.

Robert, those are some impressive numbers for that size boat. It sounds as though there is even more to be had :). Those drives are another thing :eek: LOL

Looks like your deal went through on the 38 PQ? I don't see it listed anymore.

Take Care
Jeff

You will probably lose a couple mph with that gen install:(

Where did you mount the innercoolers, are they congesting up the engine compartment?

Pictures, we want pictures:) :)

Intercoolers are in front of the engines,plenty of room in a 382,the installation looks great,done by Hesco in Bham,they painted all the parts Merc Racing blue. I'll try to get some photos this evening.

Hey Robert
 

Any further progress dialing it in?
What did the total cost of the upgrade come to?

Still working,ordered a pair of 34 Labs from Merc Racing this morning,wasn't happy with the 34's built from 30's by a local prop shop.Hesco in Bham charged the customer $20000 for everthing, they did a proffesional job, everything is flawless. I wouln't hesitate to use them again,they are pro's at this,not the cheapest but the best around here and relly care about their work,called several times to check and coming back when the new props come.

Thanks.

Please keep us posted.

Be careful with the 34 labs from Mercury. Teague Custom Marine has had poor experience with them and will not use them on v -hulls. Call Teague for indepth details. (661) 295-7000

Saw the pics, very nice job. :D :D

Hotwater,you were right, the 34 labs are awful,fether the throttle to get on plane,bangin the rev limiter at 85mph,my old props and the stock 32's were both better.Oh well back to square 1

Magicfloat,

Why dont you take the stock 32's and turn them into lab 34,s

The lab 34 from Merc. are trouble, but there is nothing wrong with taking a 32 and cranking it up to a lab 34. If this is where you think the pitch needs to be.

Keep in mind that sometimes a lab finished prop may turn the same RPM as stock prop 2" pitch less

On my 38 I ran stock 28 props @ 5100 then put on a set of 30 labs and increased my speed but still retained 5100 RPM

Good Luck :D

Good idea,Hotwater,I'll call Dennis at Merc Racing and see what he thinks. I think you are on the right track here,thanks. Robert

Hmmm....
 

Can you see 1.36:1's in your clients future?

Dennis told there have been a few problems with 34 labs, he wants them back to see what is wrong, is going to rework them at no charge. He's a great guy to deal with and really knows his stuff. Nobody could expect to get better service than from Dennis Cavanaugh at Mercury Racing Props.

382 W/ProChargers
 

Robert, have you made any progress dialing it in?

Dennis is building me a pairof 34 labs from stock 32's,I think they will work fine. Customer has the boat now,it's doing great with the 34's built from stock 30's.We will try the new props soon. The main thing is the owner wasn't looking for ultimate speed,just a big comfortable boat to cruise to Bimini and back with good reliable horsepower when he needs it. I think Hesco's Procharger installation has provided that. I highly recommend Lee and Jeff at Hesco in Birmingham. Not cheap,but good.Kind of like Formula.You get what you pay for.

Thanks for the update.

Are the drives holding up OK?

The owner understands the possible drive issues and intends to be very careful with them,about 25 hours only so far,no problems.In spite of all the negative comments with such an application I really believeii f he takes it easy as he understands the limitations that the drives will live.I guess the only bad thing is that this is an issue that shouldn't be an issue,Mercruiser should be able to build a Bravo drive that can handle today's available horsepower.I can only imagine if Carl Kiekhaefer was still alive what his reaction would be to possible drive failures that shoudn't happen.He would tell his engineers to fix it or be fired,and they would fix it. Things are diferent today,the engineers say buy #6 drives,Carl would have fired them.

Could Merc's approach have anything to do with the fact that Fred was the developer on the 6 drive? In fact, it's because of it that he's the pres of Merc HiPerf today. Perhaps a little bias there?

ApachePete: Bingo!! You win the cookie. Think about this, too - #6's are about 15 years old. Think there's been any new technology since then? (Other than Weismann forcing Merc to go to dry-sump by doing it first.)

Time for an update, he has pumped in more boost and a few other mods and claims 98 on GPS. I'm going to run it Sat and see. Problem now is he is now running 36 Merc labs( built from 36's). andwith so much pitch it very hard to get on plane cause of cavitation. I suggested 1.36 gears and smaller props. Am I on the right track?

Try a set of 32 or 33 pitch 5 blades with the diffuser rings or roll a bunch of cup into the 36's. I had the same problem with my 36's.

Just talked to my 382 customer, he just bought a 400SS from me w/500efi's that I will get in late July. He plans to ProCharge it when it comes in and wants me to sell the 382 for him. He has maybe $240,000 in it, it could be bought very reasonably,he normally dumps his stuff cheap. If anyone is interested,give me a call.

That guy sounds like a nut!!!! Too much money! :D The 400SS is a nice boat!

He is a really,really nice guy that recently made a lot of money in the synfuel business. The money he is making hasn't changed him at all,that's why I like the guy. He just became my neighbor,bought 3 adjoining lake homes right down from me for himself and family.Big profits ruin a lot of people,he hasn't changed a bit. He only drinks beer, so he has to be a good guy:):)

That is GOOD news to hear. I'm happy for him! Very cool!