454 mag EFI, how to add 5 mph?
 

Hey Guy's n Gal's. I have a 232 baja w/a 454 mag EFI. its bone stock and the boat runs 66-67 GPS w/2 people, 1/2 tank and a 25 pitch mirage plus non-labbed prop @ 4800 RPM. thats on a good day, typically it runs 4600-4700 rpms. Either way, id like a solid 70 mph boat (a new boat is out of the question for this coming year). I have been reading about mods, and cant come to a conclusion of what is possible on the EFI motor. what can i do for an extra 5 mph? I was thinking flame arrestor, fuel press regulator, and an ECU flash. possibly some GLM manifolds, which i have read about, but havent been able to get any solid info on. Lastly i could lab the prop, but if anyone knows the chain, it wont last too long...Would all this get me 5 mph? Headers are out of the question as i cant justify spending 2k on this boat as id like a new(er) one in 2010. thanks for the input!

Nitrous

Get a better tow rig

Procharger. Then take the procharger off when you sell it and use it on the next boat or sell it separately and you will recoup most of the money.

Exhaust is the worst bang for the buck on a stock marine engine. a close 2nd is everything else you listed.

The only reason why I would buy exhaust on a stock or near stock engine is to reduce some weight and have a longer lasting product. other than that, dollar for dollar, exhaust is a crappy mod.

I did this to my old Boat!!!!

http://www.crockettmarineengines.com/products.html

Ck the bottom of your boat for a hook.

You're not going to add 5 mph without major mods. You need to add about 75-100 hp to gain 5 mph. Figure $1000 per mph you want to gain.

Buy a used m-1 procharger set-up for 1500$ off E-bay,reflash your ecu and spend the rest on props,sell the procharger when you get rid of the boat,Smitty

Raylar

Does Raylar sell a kit for the 454 mag mpi? I haven't heard of one,Smitty

I also did this to our boat. You should gain 5-7mph with this package, you may need a different prop. Good luck.

On Baja's it takes an additional 20 hp for every mph you want to go faster. So as someone already stated, you need an additional 100 hp. Fastest way is put some boost into the motor. You can do this without going into the motor. Otherwise you would need head work, new cam and exhaust manifolds and a reflash.

PM me for more info. I run on the chain also.

Smitty

Shouldn't your rpms be a little higher? Say 5000-5200? Have your prop labbed specifically for your boat's needs and to the right rpm. You'd be supprized at the gain.

thats what im thinking if he can only turn 4700 and its on rev then its a 330 hp

Get the bottom of the boat flat make sure you don't have any hooks in it, make sure the outdrive is in good shape no big chips in it. get a better prop. Make sure the motor is running as good as it can. Your RPM's seem to low try bumping up the timming a little, don't waste you $$$ on any gas with an oct. higher than the recomended 87-89 most likely. Take all the crap out of the boat that you don't need.

Thats all the stuff that sould be done first then start spending $$$ . You may want to put a shorter lower unit on too if the X dim is low on you boat you will get more out of a shorter drive than 2k in the motor.

If it's a 330 hp and not a mag at 365 or 385 be happy with what you have and don't twist it pass 4800 rpm.

No, it is the mag. It may be too much prop for the motor. these boats come with the 23 pitch and i have a 25. I have hit 4900 revs once this year with 1/4 tank and 1 person only, no cooler. it was right about 67-68 mph...but id like a true 70 mph. I guess the procharger is the way to go it seems, Everything else seems to be just wasted money.

Best way to get 5mph for under 2k.
1.)Take less people with you.
2.)Gut your cuddy and throw it all away. Any no-essential parts can be easily removed with a saw-z-all and discarded.

My .02
Nick :grinser010:

call bblades and get the right prop going on it first off i picked up about 4 mph cheapest mph upgrade you can get in my book

are you sure thats 67mph on a gps in a 232?
I'm just asking because I have a friend with a 1998 232 and his nowhere near that

yup, got no reason to lie. true GPS speed, not from the speedo. with 4 people, cooler, etc...im slower, probably 61, 62 or so...

Hey thats great,sorry if you took it the wrong way!
Maybe he just cant drive,his lucky to get 59-60 out of his.

Prop it correctly and you will probably get what your looking for without any other changes. If I could get what I was looking for with a labbed prop only, I wouldn't spend 10 cents on MPI modifications until the engine needed to be opened up for other reasons. If you are worried about ruining a labbed prop, only use it when you are concerned about hitting 70 and use a stock prop when going to questionable areas.

Chain Runner,
We were sitting where you are now two years ago. My thoughts looking back would be to do nothing and get your new(er) boat in 2010 or get ready to spend some money on your 232. To go fast safely and reliable cost $$$! We wanted 5mph and ended up spending 17K!!! We are still spending money on the motor and looking for more power. The 17K includes full hydraulic steering and performance tabs. You will probably need these with your 70 plus mph 23. Be careful what you wish for!

No offense taken whatsoever. I do find it laughable how people selling these boats, even with just the 454 mpi say they are 70 mph boats...just not true, lol.

I am thinking going procharger now. If i can pick up one for around 2k it would defenitly be worth it and i could move it to a newer boat in a couple years if needed. Procharger expects about a 15 mph gain per their website on my length and motor. thats 80 mph!!! I'm thinking thats almost too fast for saftey, any thoughts? I hear a lot about chinewalking and that's defenitley something i dont want to deal with. I realize with the procharger i would need a new prop and possibly external steering. I have dual ram tabs so i might be ok there. Any thoughts on the chinewalking?

smitty i would PM you but i cant find the button to do it with?

get the procharger...order a brochure from them, theres owner reports saying that they get 20-25MPH gains on any boat.

Trade it in...alot safer.
http://www.teamshogren.com/pre-owned...ft-scarab.html

Yeah right.........until it blows up

My advice is do some simple bolt on mods like a K&N Arrestor and some 496 take off exhaust. That and lab the prop. Anything else will make the boat harder to sell later.

Call George at Marine Performance Products, he is a ProCharger distributor in Fox Lake. He can give you alot of info. 630-240-5401.

I agree with Griff. If you install a Procharger the resale value of your boat will drop substantially. The speed and power gains you are asking from this engine are steep. The 454MAG is a great motor but it was never designed to pump out 600HP by bolting on an air pump. Your hull, drive, tabs and current steering setup were not designed for this application either. Just remember a quick fix to your speed problem may just cause you a lot more problems.:grinser010:
IMHO

Yeah, i have seen that scarab at Shogren, i work about 1/2 mile from them so i cruise on by to see what they have every now and then. Nice boat, but, too much for me right now. they have a nice 25 outlaw also, but it has less cockpit room than i have now, but a lot more cabin obviously. Seems like making the boat faster is going to destroy its resale, and i really dont want to do that before selling it hopefully next year. With all this feedback im now considering leaving well enough, alone.

Bend the needle on your factory speedo, take of the winshield and you will feel like your doing 75!!
Seriously, it's not worth it if you are going to upgrade in the next season or two.

shortened alpha drives with bravo oil...
surprised no one mentioned it yet

In this economy I really like this speed modification strategy. How do recommend pulling the glass face off of the speedometer?:evilb: