LIOPA

LMAO...........

pullmytrigger

I have an issue of Hot Boat (which I will try and find) where they do a single engine midcabin shootout.......being all westcoast boats they ALL have that IMCO drive shower.......the crisp photography CLEARLY shows NO water whatsoever coming from that shower in EVERY boat equipped with one (theres like five)...its so obvious its a joke actually.....doug.

onesickpantera

iTrader: (1)

I agree why mess around with anything else?

pullmytrigger

not the issue I was looking for but check out page 49 of the February 2004 issue of Hot Boat with the 25 Eliminator........there is NOTHING coming out of that shower!!!!!.......and the boat is on plane........while your at it check out page 45 with the Dana........doug

Paul Kermis

pull my trigger: I've been watching for pictures of driveshowers not working for a few years now. They are all over the place and in every issue. Jim Wilks from HotBoat Mag did an article back in March of 2000. He found that the pick-up ports used by most shower manufacturers were failing to provide the water to the cooler at higher trim angles. We at simrek came up with a new system and had Jim retest it. He found it to cool the drive oil by 60 degrees at any trim angle. We patented the system so that no one else could steal it.

Smitty: Water at speed over rides gravity. At 30+ MPH you must point it, or direct it at where you want it to go. Most showers with a cover are designed with the back end opened, the water simply bounces over the top of the bearing cap and out the back. Some are even designed to spray down on the top surface, leaving the water to splatter off the cap in all directions with none of it running down the sides. Some do trap the water and redirect it down the sides. My problem with that is, why would you want to preheat the water before it gets to the sides where it will do the most good

Trick: There are a lot of experts out there so I always rely on Physics. I've got two problems with the theory that "cooling the top bearing cap is were it’s most needed”.
Spinning bearings cause friction. Friction causes heat. The faster the bearings spin, the more heat they will produce. The front bearing spins anywhere from 1.36 to 1.82 times faster than the top bearing, (depending on the gear ratios for the drive). So the majority of the heat is coming from front bearing not the top bearing. So it would be best to cool the front of the drive not the top but the front is not very accessible. So you will need to cool the oil which in turn will cool all of the bearings. Cooling the casing including the top cap is the least of your worries.

The top bearing cap is over an inch thick, the sides of the drive get down to as low as 1/8th of an inch thick. It's much easier to wick the temperature off the drive oil thru the 1/8 thick aluminum, than thru a 1 inch thick piece.

The drive oil is by far the most susceptible to degradation from heat. The casing, gears, bearings etc. will only react to temperatures that are much higher than the 300 degrees that will kill the drive oil.
The primary function of a drive cooler is to cool the drive oil inside the drive so that it can continue to lubricate the bearings and keep them spinning, and the easiest way to cool the oil is through the thinnest part of the casing. That's what Physics tells me.

ThirdBird

Well,,,,,,,, cooling the drive lube is the theory.

However, the entire lower end of the drive is in the water all the time. This should disipate the heat in the lube effectively. In my opinion, the only thing a drive shower does is prevent deposit build up on the upper drive housing by preventing the water from "boiling off" and leaving the deposits behind. The actual temperature decrease in the drive oil from a drive shower is squat. I think they're more hype than function. Just my .02 though.

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

As you stated, only part in the water is from the cavitation plate on down. SO, basically most of the drive is out of the water. Then add some high HP in front of them and run it hard and long. A Bravo drive does not recirculate oil as in your motor so you will not get a good heat disipation from the oil in lower torpedo. No hype at all. A proven function that works. Needed???? Not nesessarily though. Tons of boats out there w/o them and no problem. Kinda like changing your motor oil regularly. As long as the level is full, why ever change it?

Paul Kermis

That's not how Formula looks at it. They have been putting my showers on their boats for the last two years.

Squat must be equal to about 60 degrees.

pullmytrigger

Ive blown both drives in my boat within a year of each other(alphas mind you)....... had each drive rebuilt by a different guy........
Ask the first guy why my drive failed......."OVERHEATED"
Ask the second guy why my other drive failed......"HEAT.....DEFINATLY HEAT"

I run Pauls showers on my drives now.......why people would skimp and debate on $120 insurance for something as expensive as a drive is (let alone missed weekends for downtime) is beyond me........people say when they follow me they cant even see my drives for the the masses of water flowing all over the drives........

now as far as the pretty IMCO shower........check out page 65 of this months (Sept 2005) Powerboat.......one of the best photos yet of no water coming from that shower.......honestly, how many photos do you have to see and still think that thing works........correct "theroy" or not .......bottom line........thats as about as far away from being "unable to see the drive for masses of water" as you can get......dont you think..............doug

fastedy

I use the drive as a step to get in my boat, I have never felt heat in my XR even after long runs at WOT, I used to run the Simrek Shower, but failed to put it on when testing, thats when I discovered no heat in the drive, not a recommendation just a discovery, On the other hand, my previous boat with a regular bravo1 would get extremely hot and needed a shower.

Eddie