I Need More Speed...any Suggestions?
 

I just bought a 1990 Baja Sport 226. 330hp 454, bravo1. I got it from the original owner and this boat is in excellent condition. Ive only water tested it before I bought. It'd do about 55mph on the gps. It has a 23p 3 blade prop. I wnat the the boat to do 70, maybe 65 is more realistic. Can I change the prop without losing too much hole shot. What engine mods can I do to get the speed I want. I'm pretty sure the carb is original but it says magnum?

Any suggestions? Thanks

probably to get 65 mph a new engine (bigger block), or rebuild with blower. You need 15-20 hp for every 1 mph gained up to a certain point then you hit the wall on hull efficiency. There are a lot of threads on here about what can and can't be done to a 330 hp and/or magnum hopping it up.

Congrats, and welcome to OSO. If the carb flame arrestor says 454 Magnum, those motors were rated at 365 HP, not 330, if my memory serves me. The magnum motor is alot more suited to power mods. Those are great looking boats, I had a neighbor in in Kansas, that had 1 back in the late 80's, and it was a sharp looking boat. It's going to take some $$ to get to 65mph. Start with some different props, like a 4blade 22-24" bravo1 Good lcuk.
Dean

Prop work is always considered the cheapest way to find some speed.

SCAPE, call Scott Reichow at Mercury Racing. He runs the prop area. He's helped me a lot over the years. If props can help you, he will know; if not, he will tell you: 920-924-2037.

Here is a little hp info on the 1990 lineup.

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'm getting a little over ambitious with the speed. I'll try some prop changes and maybe a tune & carb work/replace. If I get 60+ I'll be satisfied for a couple summers and get into some bigger.

Thanks

540 -2 shortie

I had posted in the other "5mph" thread, that with all the new lubricants (synthetic) on the market, specifically the NEO products they are claiming a 1-3 mph gain depending if you run just their drive oil or their engine and drive oil.

After talking to the owner of NEO and The Bravo Shop (2 seperate people) over the weekend at Desert Storm, I found the logic and technology to be right on. The oils were designed for F1 racing and the trickel down to other sports has worked out very well for them.

I have found out this is the best kept secret in the racing community, the people using it have an edge and they use it as that. (Amazing what you can find out when you start checking into what you have been told) I am ordereing up for our boat as well, will let everyone know our actual results. They are stating it will increase drive life by 50% this is due to the increased cooling capacity in the viscosity of the oil and you only have to change the oil half as much. And with the less heat, less drag, it will increase your top end as well! This will make it by far the best performance enhancer for the money in the market.

Certainly worth the try for a few hunred dollars total, less if you have fewer motors... (I have 3)

Yeah sure, tell me how that works out. :D

Best bet for more speed is to put a real good coat of the best speed wax you can find on all of your credit cards.