Prochargers
 

Hi I was thinking about putting a pair of prochargers on my fountain . I was wondering if anyone has anything good or bad to say about them, they will be installed on a pair of 454 mag efi/mpi . Was also wondering what kind of performance gains i could expect ?

Don't do it. If you want a faster boat buy a faster boat. The newer boats are much faster with stock power.

Blown 454s in a 29? Thats insane. I would save the coin and upgrade to a 32-35. Much more hull and way safer at higher speeds. Not to mention the reliability of your setup could be a nusance. my .02


Raf

Fountain what???.......is it a 29??:confused:

Yes it is a 1997 29 fever.

Bad idea - you will loosen those motors up to the point where they will be worthless and kill whatever resale value you have right now. Sell yours and buy a newer faster boat.

From what I know the procharger system for that motor is proven. I would not be scared at all to put them on. PM ScrarabJ on the board. He has had several sets of prochargers and has had great luck. He is currently running them on a 39' Nortech and running around 120mph I think. Indy27 also has one on his 27 fountain. He did the install himself with no issues. That boat has a single 502mpi I believe. What speeds are you seeing now? You should see at least a 15mph gain.

The boat has a best run of 83 on gps but will run 79 all day long.

Dude! Your boat is already Fast. Why mess with the reliability. Blower motors in that boat are going to make it unsafe. Period. You need more hull.

PM board member Roger Augsley? I bought some props from him a couple of years ago, and he had a 29 that ran right around 100.

If you are going the supercharger route go whipple.
The prochargers make power but are loud around the docks, and have an ugly set up system.
Just my 2 cents

A friend of mine has two prochargers on some 500's in a spectre , has been very reliable, no problems in 3 seasons on the water, the 454 mag mpi kit is a good kit, most problems boil down to the person who installed it, not the kit itself. you will pick up 11 to 13 mph with a prop change

I have a Stage II ProCharger on a 502 mpi in my 27 Fountain (soon to be for sale) that was installed in 2001 that has run great with no problems ands have Whippled 500 efi's in a 35.
Both are great systems, You can probably find a set of used ProChargers for less than a set of Whipples though. As long as your motors are healthy and you dont abuse the power it will be reliable. As far as not having enough hull for the power that is BS, my 27 runs 90 on gps and is ROCK SOLID! Not everyone wants to spend the money on a brand new faster boat either so do whatever works for you. Thats my two cents for what its worth.

Indy........you've been on here forever and I never knew you had two boats.......that so rocks!! :D :cool:

Thats how Indy27 rolls...

Dont forget my 27 is soon to be for sale........thats what I have been telling my wife these days! :evilb:

Im Alabama, isn't your wife also your brother? :eek:

I dont know about you Oklahomo guys but we frown against things like that down here:eek:

post pics......

I beg to differ. I owned a 29 with twin 502's it has to much weight and power for a 29 Fountain. It didn't take much at all too get the boat out of the water and on its side. I can post pics of my girls scares from being thrown from the passenger seat across my throttles. Fountain quit offering the 29 with twin big blocks for a reason. Not saying your 27 with a single set up is bad. I am only talkng about the 29 with big blocks.


Tom

Tom,
What type of water conditions are we talking about? I dont run my boats hard unless the water is right, I have been tossed around in lot of boats but I guarantee you a 29 will perform perfectly in good water with big power, its all about knowing when and where to use the power in my opinion.

Indy27 I agree with you 100% . Treat the boat with respect and things would be just fine. I hope LOL

I don't want to come across like an A Hole. I only want to share my personnal experiences. I agree when and where.

When I owned the 93 29' I mostly boated on Lake Conroe. A small lake that is 90% bulcated. 2 to 3's with a 5 to 6 worked in their. Other words not a smooth lake on Sunday, but not offshore either. If you didn't have the tabs down when running hard, the boat would get sloppy.

3 times in the three years I owned the boat she got real airborn and laned on her side. The same thing happened to a buddy of mine in his 29 and he got thrown through the plexyglass.

My opion I would not make any twin big block 29 any faster than it already is.

I am not afaid of speed by any means my 42 will go well into the 90's but it doesn't want too fly with its azz dragin:D

I do respect everyones opinions that is why I asked . I just wanted to get a little more out of it and that seemed like the best way .

I agree with ttbone93 and indy27. I boat on the great lakes which is considered by most to be offshore. They are still large bodies of water that get real snotty. For the lakes handeling might be a different issue. The when and where is the big thing. Boats can go as fast as you are comfortable driving them. If you are comfortable driving a 29 at close to 100mph or better then let a rip.


Raf

GiTRDONE

251, Congrats on the new ride. You the guy that had the dark blue/white 251 ? You running on Owasco or Cayuga with that ?

Correctly installed and tuned Prochargers would be fine if on motors in good shape. How many hours on them ?

That hull with twin big blocks sure is tail-heavy.

Just do it. You know when to use the power and speed, and when to not. Any boat can get dangerous, and most all of ours have extra danger built in with excessive speeds capable at the push of a stick. The boat isnt going to tear apart, and is more than capable of higher speeds in good water. I dont think we are talking about 2000hp in a 29 here. Git-r-done.

Hey Kell O . Yes I was the one with the 251 on Owasco. We have ridden snowmobile together also.We need to get together this summer and do some boating. Get a hold of me. Glenn

Think long and hard before you undertake any kind of blowers.I've run prochargers for about twelve years and you will definately see your boat get a lot faster,with improved cruise and fuel mileage. You will also see your drives break more frequently, due to the added torque. In salt water you have to watch the procharger intercoolers like a hawk ( they will rot and blow water into your motor if you don't catch it.) I've built my own copernikel coolers and knock on wood 4 years old and still dry. I would not install any blower with out Dyno tuning the set up, if you lean out in the boat kiss your motor good bye. The fuel ratio has to be right on or you will foul plugs constantly(to rich) or lean out ( blow torch your pistons). The fellow who said get newer hull gave the best advise in the long run providing it meets your budget. I have an early 35 executioner with 700 hps does 90 and a Fountain supervee with 525's when propped for top end will do 112. 700's are procharged 525's are stock. big difference in the new hulls and the reliability in the 525's is incredible. We got 950 out of 540's w/ prochargers but they were very volitile, ae. bad fuel would kill them amongst a list of other things. Long story longer, there is a lot to be said for a boat that runs 80 and starts all the time and doesn't break to often.

Good Luck,
Louie

Thanks Louie now you gave me more to think about . LOL

No problem, the faster we made the boat the more the engine hatch was up lol. Wives don't like too fast or too slow as in idling back in on one motor. I've got the motors out right now and JC is building them, I'll let you know what kinda HP we get. This set ran 3 yrs. summers in NY winters in Fla. intracoastel and 30 mph speed limits are also another heart ache for blower motors, lugged them to death.

LOUIE
Give us some more info on your procharger setup!
Thanks

Excellent advise - all we can hope for is that grasshopper will follow it.

LOL I am Kane I will help you. I miss that show David Carradine is a legend. I'll keep in touch gonna kick the 502's up a knotch. bore and stroke them,maybe get 750hp.:D

I sure hope Indy27 is still my friend.:(

any Fountain owner is a freind of mine Tom!:drink: Except for maybe jryan:eek: Just kidding Josh...:chimp:

Feel the love! :D

:evilb: :evilb: