BS top magazine speeds part II
 

As some might recall I called out a particular magazine and boat a few months back on posting...we'll call it "Optimistic" speeds for a particular set-up.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: Well feeling the need again I have to pick on a different one this time around. ;) On page 62 of this months PB mag you'll see an "identical" boat to mine that's claimed to have ran 113.7 mph for testing on 811hp through a Bmax drive..which takes more power to turn (as compared to a standard Bravo like mine.)

My motor makes 900 hp and somewhere around 1050 to 1100 when I spray a 175hp shot of NOS to it. Funny thing is, the exact same hull with a high "X" standard bravo can "ONLY" muster 108-109 mph on radar ON THE SQUEEZE. So I called around today to see where my set-up was wrong, since I'm much slower than the exact same hull with the teague motor even though I have 250+hp on it. ;) To my suprise no one could figue this discrepency out. :confused

Could someone please help explain this? It seems many in the "real world" performance boating industry are just as preplexed as I am on this.;) :rolleyes: :D

That wasn't...no that couldn't have been who I think it was driving was it?

Hmm, lets see. Teague motor, and who was driving the boat in that power boat test? I hate to say it but the BS printed in those magazines has ruined their credibility with me. I feel some of the tests are reliable, and some just are out there and it is hard to not to take every number printed with a grain of salt. Word to the weary. If you build a motor for a hull and use magazine tests as the basis for how much HP you need to get the speeds they are reporting, then don't be surprised if your boat is 10 MPH slower than expected. At those speeds it takes approx 200 HP to get 10 MPH so if you add that to your motor plan you will get close. I normally don't feel negatively about a white lie here and there, but since I have owned a radar gun I have seen how large some of these lies can be and that is just plain irresponsible. Just my .02.

To be somewhat fair, some of the tests are actually quite believable...I just can't figue out what makes them report "unbelievable" #'s from time to time. Either the reported HP and TQ figures are very, very, very conservative or they can find 15+ mph in the set-up.;) I do know HB has underreported HP by at least 175hp in one instance because I talked to the owner of a particular boat featured in the magazine a couple of years ago.:eek:

Weigh your boat when you get it and weigh it after a year. Picking up 10% would be very easy. First, we all bring "things" on board that add up. Second, EVERY manufacturer has some degree of porosity in the glass...frp, krp whatever. Depending on coring, it gains weight fast. If the boat happens to fly perfectly when light, it certainly won't with an extra 400 pounds. Just my $.02 that people don't think about when they are looking at magazine speeds.

Ted

Ted

Great point on the weight factor, I thought that might be some of the difference as well. My hull weighed dead on 4,000# full of fuel, the same as the subject boat. With 10-15 gallons onboard, then adding back in my bodyweight the boat weighs roughly 3750#. Probably about the same weight of the featured boat in test format. So with a 250+hp advantage over the test boat I really am at a loss on how I can still be that much slower. :rolleyes:

I think
 

many of the engines are unerrated hp-wise in some of those tests. Remember the PB test with six different cats. Most of the motors claimed to be around 650hp. They were 502 and 540s with 8-71s and megablowers and intercoolers. Either they are only pushing 3lbs boost or mis-represented. I sure don't need an 8-71 to make 650 hp with a 540.

I still don't think that would make up the difference in the cases you pointed out though, like Wette said, it take a lot of hp to make those gain at those speeds...

:confused: :confused:

Well again, the fastest day on your boat is most always when they are out of the box. Very minor things make big differences. Props come to mind.

The factory sends a team of experts to make that boat look good. They test it and then hand it over to the magazine. It is hard to rig and test the way they do.

If you have Mercury stuff anywhere take it to the Lake...i'd be happy to set it up for you...just don't go 2 weeks before races. You can test something new every 1/2 hour...you'll learn a lot.

Ted

Team Carrera,

How have you been? Slide by the shop and I will show you a few things on speed and set up. There are a lot of little things you can do to gain speed that a manufacturer in the know may do before a boat test. There are certainly also massive differences in the tolerences and ways engine manufacturers rate their horsepower. I would have to say, after putting things to the test, that it is a lot more likely that the HP ratings are off.

Chris Reindl
513.706-3199

Well said Chris! The best way to compare boat to boat is with bone stock Merc power. It is nice to see the capabilities of our favorite boats, but there is to much "smoke and mirrors" making it hard to really get a handle on what HP takes to get those speeds. Stock 500 EFI comparisons tell more of a story. Take those speeds and figure approximately 100 HP per 5 MPH and you will know about where you need to be to get the speeds you desire. Give or take a little for set up issues of course.;)

Hey Chris;

I'll take you up on your offer to help with set-up sometime. I did talk with the owner of Carrera Boats yesterday and several other owners to get their insight as to where I might be going wrong. My guess was propeller choice since I already have a very high X. I thought about the dyno HP figures as well, and realize that the motor probably makes 5-7% less power with CMI tube tops and the accesories all hooked up. One reason I don't feel I'm too far off in this assumption is I spoke with one owner that has a procharged 622 that runs 112 with a B-max with boost set to produce 1150hp and 128 mph with 1450hp on 116 octane His motor spent a month getting dialed in on the dyno (fuel injected). I spoke with another owner in the past with 775hp that ran 95mph with a standard X but 2" short shaft. But I agree, if that Teague motor is making 1100+hp then I do believe the speed. :cool: