02 35' w/575's prop question
 

Just purchased a 2002 35' Lightning with 575's. All stock with 153 hours. Came factory with 34p. Have factory sheet. Reggie got 96mph on hot day no chop. I had it to 98mph 75 degree day with 1' chop gps. To say this boat is tricky to get on plane with the 34's is an understatement. Just awful. Put on labbed 32p. Very good to plane. 94mph 75 degrees 1' chop. Of course I am trying to make 100 mark. Do you prop Guru's think I can get there with Maximus props or do I need to raise x deminsion? Thanks in advance.

Herings would get you to the 100 mark. Raising the x would make it fly.

Listen to the man! Congrats on new boat... Was this one out of Kentucky?

Thanx for response Reggie. Where do I start on pitch with Herrings? What is the best way to raise the x? What do you think I can expect with either and/or both. Yes this is the boat from Louisville, Ky. The owner was telling the truth. The boat is as new.

Found my Performance Report. The X Dimension is 34"C x 18 1/4 x D.

1.35 lower gears & 28 pitch props will work too.

The x needs to go up & a set of 31 or 33 herings.

Ok. 2" imco 1.50 lowers and 31 or 33 herrings. 5 blade or 6? Good starting point? Thanks again for advice.

I have experienced all of that with my set up. I had standard lowers went to -2 imcos then -3 imcos had hydromotive 4 blades went to hyro 5's. Now running 31 p 6 blade herings @ 19 1/2 total x. From my experience at your x dimension, you're not going to go any faster with more blades. A labbed Bravo 1 prop is very close to a hering in performance when it is totally submerged with an x dimension like yours. 5 and 6 blades only come into play when your x dimension is above 19. I have a set of 30 pitch 6 blade herings and a set of 35 bravo 1 labbed props for sale. The worse props i have tried were the 5 blade maximus.

What gear ratio and what lower do you have? Are your rev limiters stock?
Allen

1.5 stock bravo and rev limiters are stock.

I believe before I bought a set of props I would set down with and do some math with one of the online prop calculators.
Allen

I believe I will take Reggie's advice. I am in the market for some -2" lowers either bravo or imco's. I will probably buy props from hering so they can work with me until goal is reached. Thanx Guys.

Also I believe I need to raise rev limiter and add smaller pulley to get benifits from lowers and larger props. Do you guys recommend AZSM package or is there another set up?

Take whos ever advise you want. These are some cold hard facts though. With 1.5 gears and 31 pitch propellers and a 5250 rev limiter to get too 100 MPH you will have to have less than 3% slip.

Here is a little more advise. If you get your slip less than 10% with a 18" or 20" x dimension, do not expect drives to last long.
Allen

rcamp,
Got your pm. Tried to reply but after trying to send it sayd you are not set up to recive messages. PM me your phone number, a convient time to call and what time zone your are in and i will do my best to call you.
Allen

Many would not recommend AZSM.
I did their 575 upgrades to my 03 35 and had great results and excellent reliability. Also had Darren Mayer teflon strip the blowers during bearing replacement and picked up .5 lb boost at same rpm.
My X was also 18 1/4, I added nosecones to stock lowers, 1.5 ratio, Merc Labbed 32 Maximus, new owner that purchased from Shogren confirmed the boat at 103 GPS. Purchased some -2 Imcos but never tried them, traded for a #6 boat before I really overpowered the XR's.
Loved this boat and the way it handled, planed, and would RUN !

Thanks Kelley.
I really only want to break a 100 mph. I have read most of your posts about your old boat and was hoping you would chime in. Your new boat is BEAST! I actually contacted Shogren about your old boat. But I took to long to pull the trigger.
So nosecones, AZSM, and 32 Maximus should do the trick. Seems most economical route. I have 156 hrs. on boat. Think it's time to have the blowers gone through? Reggie thinks a set of Herings would do it and Allen is being helpful.
Taking the boat to Lake George, Fl. over Thanksgiving and want to take my brothers for a real ride.

I would listen to Allen, as he has more experience than I, but my old boat ran great with the slight mods listed. Was called a sandbagger many times and had lots of inspection of intake and head bolts as the doubters believed I had been inside the motors.

If your blowers have the sealed bearings at rear, yes I would get them done this winter. I sent mine with 170 hrs and one rotor was slightly out of time, first sign of bearing wear and caught before any damage. Highly recommend Darren Mayer Performance for that job, and go for the teflon stripping of rotors.

Have fun and be safe !

Call Mark at Precision for the 575 upgrades. He did mine, and they idle and perform great. My dad has the AZSM on his, and they are very rich at various RPM ranges.

Thanks Guys.
Talked to Allen yesterday. What a wealth of information. Very knowlegeble and nice guy. He confirmed Kelly O's advice to reach my goal. Kelly what rpm were you turning the 32's to reach 103 mph? Also where were tabs and drives?

5600 RPM, on limiters after upgrade.
Tabs neutral, seems like they were about three.
Drives around 4, depending on chop; flat water if you over-trim it will start chining, more forgiving and more speed with some nice chop.
Fuel load and number of passengers as well as air temperature/humidity will factor in also.

Thanks Guys. Gotta love this site and the people on it.