Thinking about a procharger....
 

I've got a 1997 Donzi 22ZX with a carb 454 Mag and Bravo 1. I've been toying with getting an M1SC but have some concerns about putting that supercharger on the boat.

Do you guys think it might be too much power for such a small boat? Also, I was reading in the procharger literature that the installs need a Holley carb. Does this mean that the stock carb has to be swapped out? Last question is should I be concerned about putting that on a boat that has over 300 hours on it?

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

I would think any problems would trickle down to the operator ... If you know you have more power its up to you to operate accordingly. At 300hrs you would be wise to freshen up the motors but I am think you could get by for a while .... Again ... its up to the Operator .. m

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

A friend of mine dropped an HP500 in that very same boat and it handles GREAT at 78 mph...Drives like a Cadillac.....


Doug

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

I had a 22-foot Crownline bowrider with a 600+hp Whipplecharged 502! :eek:

Like everyone said, it's up to the captain how you drive it. You don't have to go WOT on every run. It's just nice knowing the power is there for a 10 to 15 second "race". :D

IMHO... Look at Whipple before you buy the Procharger.

Good luck! :cool:

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

It would be wise to freshen the engine first. If you dont you are going to be doing the install with additional expense later. I would look at other options for a blower... whipple, vortech, or a small roots.

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

The procharger literature makes them sound much better than the other superchargers (as to be expected). What would make the others more desireable for my application?

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

1) Refresh the engine (rings, bearings, valve job).
2) Upgrade head gaskets, rod bolts and exhaust valves (if they are not Inconel).
3) Install a bigger cam. Think about porting the heads, especially exhaust.
4) Service the drive.
5) Buy a Holley carb (modified by Nickerson) and Dart intake (single plane)
6) Upgrade the exhaust manifolds.

Now you're ready to decide on superchargers.

Small roots - ~525 HP
Small roots with intercooler - ~600 HP
Procharger M1 - ~650 HP
Rtech - ~740 HP

You will also need a complete fuel system upgrade at the higher HP levels. For short bursts the engine and oil cooling will be OK; for sustained power you will need to upgrade engine and oil cooling capacity. In a light boat with reasonable throttle action the drive will live; get crazy and you will be buying an XR drive or other aftermarket Bravo upgrade.

Don't be misled by marketing that suggests supercharging is an easy, plug and play proposition. Good luck. If it were my boat I would hook up with a marine engine builder who had experience with this type of modification.

Tom

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

It is a good idea, but listen to what Tomcat and others are saying. Go to Donzi.net and post the question. It has been done a number of times with the 22ZX.

Procharger is not turnkey as advertised. I would recommend having someone that has been down that road before do the work. On MPI applications you may end up needing a reprogram, possibly injectors and other goodies. In the carb situation I hear that it is good to have a pro tune your carb. The kits have been changed over the years and the instructions have not been appropriately updated (at least on the 502 MPI).

I would have been up the creek if I not been dealing with some experienced operators. My mechanic showed me some of the details in the directions while we were mailing things back and forth to ATI. Lots of mistakes.

Now that it is almost done (still dealing with props and stuff) the power increase is great. All-in-all I am satisfied.

You should do your homework on all of the systems. Expecially if you plan to do it yourself. Some are more turn key than others. The price difference vs other pains might not be that different in the long run.

If you go Procharger, then buy it from a reputable dealer. You may need them to deal with ATI if the order does not exactly come out right. I used Lakeside Restorations and Jamie was a huge help.

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

From what i have heard, Prochargers are the Bayliner of superchargers.Be carefull.

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

SCOPE THE MOTOR YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID .

BUY A WHIPPLE PERIOD :evilb: :drink:

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

I get tired of hearing about how bad prochargers are (between that and the politics that's why I had left this site)
most people that make these statements only have experience with some fly by night operation installing them or a backyard mechanic.

bottom line:if you don't have it professionally installed and you blow it up you have nobody to blame but yourself!

as far as the most complete kit with the most increase in speed. procharger is been the best and I've done them all.

so enough with the procharger bashing....installation is everything!

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

YOU SAID YOU LEFT THIS SITE?

I WOULD PIT A WHIPPLE AGAINST A PRO CHARGER ANY DAY

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

Whipple or Vortech is what I would use. I have heard too many negative things about Prochargers, all from people very knowlegeable and in the performance marine industry.

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

I'm with you JOJO. Knowing what you're doing is what counts. Vortech isn't even close to what PC can do.

Whipple on the other hand. I have no bad comments to say about Whipple. Dustin's a great guy with excellent customer service, and evidently has a great product. I've sat and talked/emailed him and he was kind enough to answer any question I ever had and I didn't even own his product.

Pro Charger can give you all you need if you want to go centrifugal.
In my opinion there is only two desicions you need to make:
1 how much do you want to spend
2 what are your expectations of performance and power.

Both can accomplish #2 easily, it's #1 that seems to be most of our limiting factors.

DAVE

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

That is kind of harsh. The actual product is bomb proof. Lots of folks are turning out some serious hp with them. It is just that the installation requires some experience. Heck, short of installing an exhaust manifold most mods require some experience.

Another thing to think about is that the 504 intercooler is huge. That is good extra protection.

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

PROCHARGER IS A BOMB WAITING TO GO OFF! :evilb:

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

Don,t worry, I have already notified the bomb squad.

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

ive had a procharger on my boat for 3 yrs, M3 540 bbc 800hp,it was installed by a p/c dealer, i have not had any problems, 74 hrs ,and i run the hell out of it . as mentioned above , i think it all comes down to professional installation.just my 2 cents

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

I copied this from donzi net.

Jamie has been a big to help to me also. He sold me my 22ZX later in 2003, and installed a procharger over that winter. The boat went from about 60 to mid 70s any day of the week. have run 2 full seasons with that setup now, and the boat runs great. (you see it in his ads)

The Jamie he is refering to owns Lakeside Restorations. He has an ad here on Oso. I believe his screen name is Donzi33 or something like that. You can go to www.donzi.net , do search under procharger and get some info.

I like the procharger so you can keep from having to install a scoop.

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

We are a ProCharger dealer in Ohio. I have used many different superchargers and the ProCharger is very effecient. They work very well with EFI systems. They make alot of power and we have even installed a few on customers work trucks and they fly! Not a bad way to go. Whipple also is an excellent choice!

Dean Gellner
Gellner Engineering Marine Power

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

I agree with you, most people that have anything negative to say about them have NEVER had any kind of supercharger on ANYTHING. I will say if your a complete novice prochargers tech support is marginal but the actual blower is well built,mine has over 300 hours on it. Yes,dustin at whipple comes on this site and gives advice which elevates his status over most other supercharger companies but most the time he is mainly defending the fact he couldn't fill orders do to supplier problems. The 504 inch innercooler procharger uses is impossible to match unless you get a custom built one,Smitty

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

Bayliner of superchargers? A bomb waiting to go off? Great advice!!! :rolleyes:

Like anything else high-performance set-up is key. Articfriends knows his chit when it comes to superchargers!

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

Worked at a dealership for years that installed several dozen of them( Pro-Chargers); both HP carbs & MPI's. Ifyou can say anything negative at all, it would be that the install instructions kind of led one to believe that you could do it in your driveway on Saturday, and go 10 to 12 mph faster on Sunday. If you pulled the motor and did the required plumbing carefully, they were as reliable as any other blower package. I've also seen their big centrifugal blowers make HUGE hp on big cube motors.
Hugh

Re: Thinking about a procharger....
 

when properly installed my friends have both whipples and prochargers..and the only thing they break is drives...no problems at all with the super charger