HP525 Whipple Charged
 

Anybody thought about it?

The Whipple Charger ad states you can bolt a Whipple Charger specially made for the new HP525 & bolt it on in 6 hours.
It will take the HP525 to 775 hp in an afternoon, not having to modify any of the components of the boat or engine.

Suddenly the XR drive would be the weak link. I understand that thing's good to about 650 hp with a Drive Shower.

Anyway, my service man is a certified Mercury Racing Mechanic & we were discussing perhaps doing this to my 04' 29' Fountain after the warranty goes.
The main issue at this point is the drive options to handle the extra hp.

(I have a lot of guys gunnin' for me in my neck of the woods).

Anybody know of a Whipple Charged HP525 29' Fountain yet??
Thoughts?

I would bet that everyone with a 525 has thoughts along these lines...relatively small investment for such a huge return. As you stated, the problem would be weakness of the drive unit. You may want to consider upgrading to an imco, or the like, if only for reliability. Like many of us, I do not like surprises, especially expensive ones. But the money is often secondary to the downtime. It always seems that a failure happens at the wrong time...just before a poker run, family outing, etc. And the answer from the technicians is always the same, it's the busiest time of year and parts are on back order. All boat manufacturers should include a complete spare power package with each unit sold...yeah sure! Of course if I were you I would do it anyway!

On my twin 6.2s, supercharging would be impractical for many reasons...room being the main. It appears as if the scorpion (377 blue engines) are becoming more reasonable in price and are supposed to deliver a bit more than the stated horsepower and torque. My plan is to replace my stock 6.2s with the scorps when the time comes. We shall see.

Take it easy Mark...

G-

Mark...

I can assure you that I think of little else. I have been told by my "blown boating buddies " to not charge it. Reason;
For almost the same money that it would cost to charge it, you could put an after market engine in with 750 HP that will do the same thing. Except that it will last longer (the claim is that 100 - 150 hrs on blown motor and you need to redo valves etc.). In the end people also don't like buying boats with altered (blown engines). Your value goes down. If you but the new motor, you always have the original to put back in.

I still want to put a blower on my 525?? I am glad I have the season to explore this. Your desire for speed and mine are identical. Looking forward to peoples response to this.....

Steve

I'm with you guys on the issues.

Reliability, resale, downtime, more $ to throw at the drive, etc.

I understand that the Merc Blue motors can handle the Superchargers better due to using Forged vs. Cast pistons & a Roller Valvetrain, etc.
The HP525 needs freshening anyway I hear after 250-300 hours even if it's just springs.

For example the HP575 seems to be reliable with a factory Blower. My dealer runs a 36' Spectre with HP575's. He runs labbed Herrings & has gone 136 mph. This configuration has been bulletproof for 2 hard Poker & Fun Run seasons without a hickup. With the exception of a blown XR drive.

I also need my boat to stay running & reliable because I convinced my wife to get rid of a comfortable Sea Ray for this Fountain, telling her it is nice family boat. Heh.
I cannot imagine paying for this boat all winter & then have it "down with an issue" during the summer. Something to think about.

But I am most interested in any feedback from somebody who has done this or perhaps a review on it from a mag.
I definately don't want to be the test mule...

Something fun to talk about in February....

You told your wife what???? I am laughing so hard that I am crying.... Just kidding....

I think your point on the 575's is a great one. How come they seem to last so long vs. the standard after market stuff. I think thats the point, they must be made differently with probably less boost. I will be watching with you.


Steve

Glad Steve said it first...you told your wife what????

No doubt you also pointed out the abundance of usable storage space, above and below decks as well as the generous amount of headroom in the cabin!!! I too am laughing so hard it hurts, but unlike Steve, I am NOT kidding!!!

Later,

G-

BTW , don't any of us work??

I wasn't kidding either Gary, I was just concerned Mark's wife might have become suspicious and is now reading this thread. I was trying to provide "plausable deniability". But now that thats blown...... How about thye stove, fridge and generator?? The insurance must have gotton swept under the rug as well...

Here's the classic:
When I told the insurance agent that I traded the Sea Ray in for a Fountain, he says...."So Mark, are you still married?"

Well guys I am in the sales industry so I sold my wife...
But in fairness the Fountain is a safer family boat than this Sea Ray I had. We have a beach cabin so we don't overnight really or vacation on board. I had this 24' open bow Sea Ray with a EFI 5.7 litre. We had a Carver cruiser prior & I dumped that for the bow rider since we used the cabin all the time when the kids were born. I told her we needed a nice offshore style boat for the safety of the family in the open water.............Heh.....
I sold the wife on the Fountain by stating that we no longer would be taking water in the bow, she has a place to pee, she can get the kids out of the sun, so on & so forth.

It was a cakewalk up until I wanted to upgrade the 496HO to the HP525.......But I got it done.

Bet you could sell the Pope a double bed!!

Yes, the 525 HP is a much stronger motor that will undoubtadly last many years longer than a 496 HO. You get what you pay for ..... why not spend a small amount more on yourself........ Shouldn't you get anything out of this............... after all you work hard.............................................. on and on................

Mark, your my kind a guy - This is what I sounded like with my first wife......:D

procharge that thing,you only live once. :D :D :D :D steve got your pm. billy and i didnt go . he had to go to a horse show with the wife:( :(

29 Fever Whippled 500efi
 

My 2000 29 Fever, is Whippled on a stock 500efi. 100 hours on the whipple with no major issues (had 70 hours when whipple installed). Bit the bullet when the whipple went on, and went Imco Xtreme upper and XR internals on the lower. The drive is still alive as well. I am definitely not easy on it, but I do ease it out of the hole, and naturally pull back on the stick when she's aired out. If I have one gripe it is that I only picked up 10-11 mph. I know the drive took a little HP away, but probably need to do some prop dialing, labbing etc. Have dealt with Dustin Whipple on some issues, and he is easy to work with, and offers good advice. Overall, I am happy with the outcome.

Thanks for the input 502KC!!

Finally info from someone who has done it.

Does Dustin Whipple tell you how much more HP you got out of your 500 EFI? Did you need other stuff (Fuel line enhancements, injectors, EFI modules)? Was it clear what you needed, do they provide written info? I have heard stories of guys buying some of, but not all of what they need and then having the motor blow...

I have a buddy running a Baja with a spec'd 830 HP Blower Sop Motor using a stock Brave I Performance. Three years of easy starts and not throttling up through turns and all is well.

Your welcome...
 

I was tossing around the idea of doing it myself, but ended up having a shop do it. I had alot of custom rigging done, like adding a strainer, larger fuel filter, all braided fuel and cooling hoses.

But, yes everything you need to do the job is provided. You have to send your computer to Whipple so they can reprogram it. Dustin emailed me the install instructions when I was contemplating the system. Shoot him an email, and maybe he can do the same.

As far as HP, the 500efi kit advertised 730. Never dyno'd so I really don't know???

Well guys, here we go. No, not me but a boat that runs in my local circle.

39 Velocity with twin HP525's.

My Fountain/Velocity/Spectre/Nordic dealer is certified Mercury Racing so this will be interesting how this works, for you guys on the fence, including me..

They took this stock HP525/XR drive application, bolted shortys on the outdrives & got 87 mph.

Now the owner just ordered a pair of Whipple Chargers for the HP525s. Man they look killer. They are bolting them on this weekend & I will report back on the stats, the increase in speed, fuel, install time, etc.

They are hoping for trips on the GPS.

I just got the Vortech for my 500EFI. At first it looked like there was a million pieces but everything was in clearly labeld bags. I put the sub systmes together and it wasn't hard at all. I don't expect any real problems with the install.

The only thing the manual says that I can't do at home is cap upper water inlet on the header.

I just need to get the boat out of storage and start to work.

The installation manual is available on their web site. They have been very good on support so far.

I am going to do the head gaskets and valve spings when I get going.

I'll try and post pictures when I get started.

F

FC-
Post the pics, that would be great.
I am sure you will have no problem because you are a true craftsman anyway.

FC,

Refresh me here...the Vortec unit is the most compact of the popular superchargers, yes? Also, are you going to pull the engine for the install? I know everyone will be VERY interested in seeing the progress and finished product as PP says, you are a true craftsman! Good luck and what type of increases do you think you will net...the Vortec is a 5.0psi unit?

Gary

How fast was was it running before the shorties were bolted on?

SL,
I'll find that detail out & get back to you.

They told me today it ran 83 mph before the shortys & now 87. They did mention that the handling improved greatly.

Thanks PurePower,

I want to go to 2" shorties and 5 balde props on my 42 Lightning.
I've heard from others also that I should pickup around 4mph.

Dennis