macjazzy

What is the real world speed difference between these 2 engines in a 353?

It seems like there isn't a substantial jump in speed in the 353 til you get to the 600hp mark.

So are the 525's worth the price jump over a comparably equipped boat with 500's?

Perfect Storm

This is an easy comparison for me to make because my 353 has the 525EFI's and good friend of mine that I boat with a lot has a 353 with the 500EFI's. There isn't a HUGE difference in performance, but even though the 500EFI's are great motors, IMO the 525's are worth the extra $$$ if you can afford them. The 500EFI is rated at about 470HP at the prop and the 525EFI is 525HP at the prop, so you are only talking about a 55HP difference X2. The REAL world difference is that I can still hit 80MPH with a full tank of gas and 4 people on my boat and he can't!

The cost of upgrading from a 353 FasTech with 500EFI's to a 353 with 525EFI's? ... probably about 15-20k

The feeling you have when you're out in the River on a Sunny Sunday afternoon and you walk by your friend's 353...? PRICELESS!

looseconnection

If you can afford both senerio:
But cant you bump up the power in a 500EFI to greater than 525 with the extra 15-20k and have fresh power? May even have a little left over to do some updating of the interior since a 500 boat is likely to be a few years older?

FANTAZ28

What years did they offer the 500? and what years were the 525s? I think the big difference will be the X Dimension they did in the later years.

macjazzy

Perfect Storm, can you reliably hit 80? I was under the impression that the 353/525 combo was a close but not quite 80mph set up.

If you can hit 80 with 4 people and full tank of fuel, that is pretty impressive.

I realize they were still dialing it in, but the Illmor boat with the new 570hp motors, only did 78 in the test I read.

VoodooRob

We just went thru the 500 vs 525 comparison and ended up purchasing a 2005 353 with 525s , ITS and XRs. I weighed the pros and cons and it came down to this for us:
-The ease of resale down the road
-Cabin, controls and , graphics are current updated style.
- I did not have to do any upgrades or fix or repair a thing.
The argument can be made to purchase a 353 with 500s and then refresh/build them, then do the drives, then do the interior, cabin, and everything at the helm. This will get you the same or better performance to the 525s depending on the pocketbook. As a recent purchaser who spent over a year on this process I can say that you will never get the return on the time and money you would put into the 500 project getting it to perform and look like the 525 boat. Buyers like myself are going to lean to a stock 525 equipped boat that is stock versus a 500 upgrade when pricing is scaled accordingly.
The 500s are perfectly capable and solid, I would not hesitate to own the setup. Buy it to enjoy it, if modifying it understand you are adding zero value.

macjazzy

VoodooRob, what speeds are you seeing with your boat? By that, I mean on an average day, not, once when the current was with you, wind at your back, 1/2 gallon of fuel, and a 80lb chick driving.

Just kidding, but it seems there are a lot of people that will use that magic number when they get asked "how fast" while in reality, it hit that number once and every other day it does 3-5 or more less than that magic number.

I personally am much more interested in what a boat will run in August, with 4 people, 1/2 tank of fuel and full cooler. Because that is closer to how I spend most of my time boating.

billpor930

There are other things to consider in this comparison besides the engines. From a Formula perspective, 525's typically came with xr drives, and often other props than the Bravo 1's that most 500's had. The cmi exhausts on the 525's don't seem to last as long as those on the 500's. I replaced my originals (500efi's) CMI's last year (pm), they were 11 years old and never leaked. The owner of the marina where I bought my boat had the same boat as mine but 1 year newer and over 600 hours on the clock on original cmi's and engines (500 efi's). My engines only have 260 hrs but no issues. I replaced the valve springs last year - preventative maintenance. My boat will hit 80 gps in salt water. If the only difference in two boats were the engines, I wouldn't spend any more for the 525's. The drive diff though, between the xr's and std bravos, might be important to someone who runs their boat hard from a stop. I haven't seen a problem with the std bravo drives with bravo 1 props and some restraint when getting on plane. If you want to use a more efficient mid-range prop than the bravo 1's, they will put a bit more stress on the drives, and the xr will handle that better. -Bill

VoodooRob

Sorry but I cannot comment on the top speed, We are picking up the boat from the dealer next Saturday April 13! The dealer I am buying from sold the boat new so they have the info from the first run. The boat ran 84 with 2 people and 3/4 tank of fuel. Seems good enough for me, it matches all the homework I have done. Seems like there is on avg of additional 7mph of 500 EFI over 496HO and avg of 5 MPH of 525 EFI over 500 EFI. The few 600 SCI I have read about seem to be right around the 90 mark, maybe an owner will chime in. I feel you can't go wrong with any of the blue motors in the 353. Definitely worth the extra $ if its in the budget.

Perfect Storm

You will have NO problem with the 525's hitting 80 MPH in August, with 4 people, 1/2 tank of fuel and a full cooler. Our Buffalo Poker Runs are in August and I leave the boathouse with 4 people, a full tank of gas, a full cooler AND a full fridge and I never have a problem hitting 80 MPH during the run. I'm running 33P Labbed Bravo 1 props.