Just curious - doing a little Friday afternoon prop-kicking, and it seems that most of the 312's out there have relatively mild power. Lots of 454 mpi's at 310 hp each, saw one with 454 Mags, no 502s, no HP500's. Is there a reason there aren't more of these boats with bigger power? Also, I've heard and read that this hull has a porpoise at around 40 mph, and that nothing cures it (at least, that's what Boating said in their last test) - any comments?

Having owned a 312 for the past three years (I just sold it!) that was equipped with 454 Mags(385hp) I can honestly say I never experienced any porpoising. There are plenty of 312's out there with the 454 Mags and 502's. There are more of them available with the 454 MPI's as they were offered in the SE package to keep the boat within a certain price range. FORMULA has never offered the boat with anything larger than 502's or 496 MagHO's. Some people have put Prochargers and Whipples on 312's and have indicated the hull chine walks a bit between 82-85mph but over 85 it settles down. I really enjoyed our 312, however, it is not a boat that I would build big horsepower for.

Porpoise on a 312? No,never under any conditions. We had one w/454 Mags and Prochargers,low boost.90 mph,no problems. Most of you know Formula is very conservative on power but the boats they build can handle a lot more than what they offer from the factory. I respect their position and know that big horsepower works nice from the 271 up to the 382 if that's what you want.

The only porpoising I've heard of is when the water is extreemly flattttt,,,,,,,,glass and trimmed out too far. To remidy just put a touch of trim with the tabs and all is well. If ya know what I mean?
As far as power??????? MOPOWER is mounting a pair of 540's in a 272. We'll have to see if we can wipe the smile off his face with a bulldozer in the spring. Maybe he can help

Also check with BLOWNFORMULA for 312 operational problems.!!!!!!!
If anyone has worked the kinks out of a 312 .......that's where I would go for help

He has a friend on Lake George who put HP500's in a 312. I think that he had a hard time using ALL the power, though - got pretty fast and pretty hairy, although he was still playing with props and direction of rotatioon the last I heard...

Procharged 454 MAG EFI's as was stated by others 85 mph no sweat..... the "dance" @ 82 or so is very mild & does not EVEN come close to being as scary as my 252SS was with 650 blown hp in it! Hit 75-78 mph in it and watch out..... slam you on the deck hard & fast sometimes. even with full hydraulic steering.

The newer 312/272/292 is offered with Bennet tabs rather than the Kiekhauffer 280's. Do the upgrade, it helps carry the nose better. No porpoise, ever. It is hard ( like most) to keep on plane at 27-2800 rpm tho'!! (Who runs there?) I do in the dark with other boats out and no lights on, After the 4th of July fireworks display, I headed home & I nearly creamed two old folks pontoon boats with no stern or deck lights! Then nearly center punched another one sitting in mid-channel, no power & no lights. People are such idiots sometimes.