Att 382 owners-CMI mufflers and P-5's
 

This is my setup 525's, Boxes, Corsa's replaced by CMI's, and Hydromotive P-5's labbed by Hydromotive.:)

After much testing, I am very happy with the performance. 79- 81 fully loaded, 82-84 light, GPS in salt water.

These props are 28" pitch, When they were labbed we gained speed but lost rpm:confused:

Should have gotten labbed 27's. RPM light is just short of 5200. Loaded it's +- 5000 on digital tacks.

John B

Interesting that you lost rpm after labbing!?! I'm turning 645 H.P. in the same setup (382 with boxes), so I may have some interest in the 28's if you decide to go to 27's in the future. Right now I'm dropping a lot of $$$ enlarging my storage building to fit the 382, so it would be a little while, but keep me in mind.

Thanks,

Chris

How much speed difference between the P-5's and Bravo's?

Labbed 31 Bravo's turned just under 5400 at 83+- light. Labbed 28 P-5's run 5180 at the same speed, they ran 5220 before labbing at about 1 to 2 mph slower. The P-5 run fastest at one trim notch less than the Bravos.

John B

John B
 

Thanks

I am a new member to the 382 FASTECH family, a 1998 with HP 500's and no boxes. I ran the boat once at the end of the last season, but didn't record any performance numbers yet. I do live close to Hydromotive and hope to talk Tom into letting me try a couple set of P-5's. It seems all of us have a slightly different set up, but I will post my results in the spring. This will be our third formula, with many hours behind the wheel of the conventional bottom boats, but I'am looking for suggestions on how to trim the stepped bottom. Thank's in advance for any input. Jeff

Matt @ Throttle Up believes that the P-5's will put too much stress on the old style Bravo's with small prop-shafts in a boat this heavy. He strongly recommended against me trying some in my '99. He is sending me some Hydro 4-blades to try. I'll post results.

ApachePete
What is you set up, boxes, props, motors? I just have a set of un- labbed 28 Bravo's, if the p-5's are too much stress maybe the bravo's are the way to go. I would like to carry a spare set of props and if I can improve the slip numbers with a different style I would keep the bravo's for spares.

Sounds to me that if you gained speed yet lost rpm you definitly eliminated considerable prop "slippage".

WAGS
 

No boxes, HP 500EFI's, labbed 28" Bravos and labbed 30" Bravos. Same top speed, better cruise with the 30's.


Started with unlabbed 28's. Picked up 1-2 MPH with Mer labbing.

ApachePete
Thanks for the feedback. What speed are you getting at 3500 rpm with the 28" and the 30" Bravo's and how is the top end speed? I wonder if we have the same "x" dim? Jeff

28's @ 3500 =50

30's = 54

I am looking forward to doing some prop testing starting this weekend:D

National Marine is finished with the bird, and should have it back to me by Friday.

I was running 72@4800 prior to installing the boxes. This was on non-labbed 28" Bravo's.

I will post my results when I return from the lake this weekend.

Corey

ApachePete,
Thanks for the feed back.
Lonestar382,
Looking forward to seeing your results. Good luck with your new purchase. Jeff

Hydro 4-Blades
 

I just tested 28's from Matt. Quite interesting.

Top speed picked up 2 MPH over both the labbed Merc 28 and 30.

Top RPM dropped from 5,100 with merc 28's to 4,800 with the Hyrdo's.

At 3,500 RPM's, the Hydro's ran 54 (same as the Merc 30's), up from 50 with labbed 28's.

So I like 'em very much. Better than any of the Bravo-1's I've tried, and considerably less expensive without labbing. And much thicker than my labbed props, so hopefully more durable.

I haven't talked to Matt yet: he may have an opinion about the PRM's.

By the way, when I picked up the props from him this AM at the 10th Street ramp in SRQ, the following were testing:

New WHM 40 Skater: gorgeous, has Y-pipes and as a result is very quiet. They came with 2 semi's. Bill and Pepe tested for 5 hours, always with full-time air. Sure doesn't look comfortable, but smart.

New Gone Again and Again 36 Skater with IMCO drives. Also beautiful, and also YELLOW.

Fury 38 Phantom with Vortechs and IMCO drives. Matt was driving as they tested props.

New 30 Yellow & Black Phantom (#10).

Looks like Spring has sprung.

:confused:

Okay, I talked with the Service Manager at National Marine about the boat today, and this is the specs I received.

69.3 mph at 5350 rpm on 26" Bravo1's. I asked that he reinstall the 28" B1's that were already there.
Remember before the boxes I was running 72 at 4800 on 28" B1's.
I don't understand how installing boxes made me lose 2mph:confused: :rolleyes:

I was then told by him that the boxes will actually slow a boat down:( Any help on this will be greatly appreciated.

They are finished with the boat, but all their drivers are on the road. Last I heard I should be on the lake by Thursday...we'll see:rolleyes:

let me know where I should start and what I need to do.

Thanks
Corey

ApachePete
Are they the Quad IV X props, the bow lifting with the curved trailing edge props? Do they have diffuser rings? I have a pair of Quad IV intimidators 26" from my 311 that I will try and post the results. In your opinion does the 382 need bow lift or stern lift?

Lonestar382,

It sounds like you are having more slip with the 26's - the boxes raise the X-dimension slightly. You also don't know the condition of the 26"s they used, and remember ... they run in fresh water, too!. I wouldn't panic until you run the boat yourself with your props under your normal conditions. If it helps you, I am turning 84 m.p.h. @ 5400 r.p.m. on my 382 with boxes and non-labbed 28 bravo's with nosecones (props turning in). In the end, I think labbed 28 bravo's may be right on the money for you. Others with more experience playing with props on the 382 will probably have more insight.

Thanks for the tip Reddog,

I guess I just need to cool it until I can get my hands back on the boat. I told them to put the 28's back on when it returns, and from what you said and I feel, it was the right thing to do. I guess I need to get in touch with throttle-up and get their advice.

Corey

Lonestar382,

It will be interesting to see an "apples to apples" comparison in your situation. That would be using the same props in the same water/load conditions that you ran with before the boxes and after with boxes.

I would not even consider the numbers National gave you ... could be different fuel load, different ambient air temps, different wind/wave conditions, too much trim (you will loose speed if even slightly overtrimmed with boxes).

When I first ran my 382, I had some slightly dinged-up "labbed" 28's that came on the boat. They slipped bad below 3000 rpm, had crappy mid-range, and WOT was only 80 m.p.h. @ just over 5000 r.p.m. When I traded to my unlabbed but mint 28's, I gained almost 400 r.p.m. and 4-5 m.p.h.

Who knows what condition the 26's were really in. Don't sweat it until you run it yourself ... look at the numbers John B posted with the Hydros. I think you will be happy in the end!

Wags
 

They are the Quad IV X. No difuser ring.

As far as bow or stern lift, I haven't a clue.

Lonestar,

You should call Formula 260 724 9111 (Darryl Johnson), and ask if the motors are raised when the boxes are installed. If they are you may want to consider a higher x dimension on your boat. This would be shorter drives, like 2'' shorter, and use drive spacers if you have planning problems. They can help you determine this from their testing.

Reddog,

What motors do you have in your 382?

Thanks, John B

thanks for the tip John.
I was wondering that myself. Would installing the XR Sportmaster lowers help me out any at all?

Now, about this X dimension topic, could someone please describe what this refers to and how to measure, change it.

I know I sound stupid, but if I don't ask, I'll never know.:rolleyes:

Corey

Corey,

X dimension is the distance between your planing bottom and the prop shaft when your drive is level with the bottom. The higher the prop shaft (smaller x dimension) the less drag and therefore more speed you will have. Unfortunately as you go up the ability to plane off, without slip, is reduced. Compromise! The extension box, set back, allows water to get to the prop so you can plane off with a higher drive height. If you just put the extension box on without a drive height increase you will lose speed!

So you go back and up with this procedure, then you gain speed.

I would guess your prop shaft should be 3.5 to 4.5 inches below the actual boat bottom, not the step, to achieve the best results.

Sport masters, due to their design, will actually slow you down if you stick with the same, stock, length. The short ones will help however the Imco's are better for top end performance.

Why don't you measure yours and let us know what it is?

John B

thanks a bunch, that is the first time someone has ever explained it to me. The boat is on the road right now and should be here Friday. I plan on spending all weekend on the boat going over everything so I will definitetely get back with you on the Xdimension.

Let me make sure I have this right, I measure the vertical distance of the prop shaft to the planning portion of the hull while trimmed neutral?

Sorry I'm going back to elementary on this, just learning as I go.

thanks again
Corey

Corey,

That's right. When Formula installs Stellings boxes at the factory they raise the drive about 2 inches higher than the others. This is were the gain in speed comes from, not by having the drive further back at the same height.

John B

John B,

I'm running 510 c.i. Sterlings turning 645 H.P. @ 5800 r.p.m. on the dyno. I think there is more speed available with some massaging of the props and higher r.p.m., but I really don't want to turn the motors/drives that hard.

Ed at Sterling wants me to crank the r.p.m. up a bit to get more out of the motors, but it's like I explained to him ... the harder you use your body, the sooner you will need to come back and see me (I'm a physician). He had to laugh and couldn't disagree with me!:D

Well I had the boat in the water today for a few minutes and here is what I have seen thus far. When the boat left it had 28" Bravo1's and ran 72@4800rpm.

today I was able to grap 70.6@5400rpm on...24"Bravo1's.

I am going to install a set of 26"wheels tommorrow and pray that the weather clears up long enough to try them out.

I talked with Sterndrive Spec today about IMCO shorties, and was a little blown away by the price. Hopefully I can find someone who can give me something for my stock lowers to help the cost a little.

Corey

Corey, At 5400 you may be up against the rev limiters. What motors do you have?

JB

Lonestar382,

Still would like to see what you run with the original 28 Bravo's. I think you will find something around 5000 r.p.m. and 74-75 m.p.h.

Corey, The Stellings can be installed at three different heights, one inch apart. Where did they locate your boxes? You should check this with them.
JB

I will definitely do that. Does that mean that I should be able to raise them if they were installed lower???

I would definitely try for that. How hard a task would this be?

Thanks again for all your help, I will talk with them tomorrow and find out how they were installed.

Corey

Hey Lonestar, Boxes won't give to much more speed than without, but it helps the boat get on plane faster with any more throttle. Props get a cleaner bite further back and hold the nose up higher at wot. Try running prop turning in. Just swap them and put in reverse to go foward for a test. If you have 500efis in your 382 you should be at around 72 to 76 on gps maybe more depending on conditions. Labs 30 would be a good start. On your stelling boxes they should be bolted up in the middle hole to the transom. To see this u will have to remove a inspection port on the box and look inside. Hope this helps. Steve

thanks Steve,
The boxes are set on the middle hole currently, and I am thinking of raising them up one notch. labbed 30's:eek:

I am running labbed 24's and am hitting 72@5400. I plan on installing a set of 26's as soon as I can get ahold of them.

I am probably going to try and raise the settings on the boxes after this season and see if that gives me any help on top end.

thanks for your help, and I will let you know what I come up with.

Corey