Procharger users
 

I'm getting ready to overhaul my boat and have been reading some of the other threads on these. my boat is 36' with twin 502mpi. I realize prochargers make great power at 4000 plus RPM but with going up from a 24 pitch prop to a 28 pitch how will that effect lower speeds and will this have a negative impact on my drive trying to spin a larger prop at lower speeds with out the power. How will it be getting on plane with a bigger prop and no power until 4000 RPM. I believe a whipple has power at all RPM's and is better at lower speeds but also has a habbit of blowing up bravo 1's. I'm currently doing 65 at 4800rpm and would like to hit 80. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I love my prochargers and the only negative is the added hp (whipple, N/A, Procharger, Hardin Marine twin turbo, etc) shortens the life of any bravo based drive. Does not matter how you achieve the power they all break other parts. A stock 502 will also have its life shortened and will need to be upgraded internally. Personally it will prob be a smarter investment to buy a different boat that already goes faster then to upgrade yours, but I understand how its hard to replace your huge cockpit. Once of the features I love about my boat. If you really love your boat you will need to consider a drive upgrade, engine build, and superchargers. All of that will cost more then the boat is worth like it sits, and will add no value. But again, if you personally enjoy it then for sure build it!

It is possible to run prochargers on good condition stock engines with low boost and have fun and prob hit 80 without to many problems.

I feel no "lag" or "lack" of low end power with my prochargers. The engines are always alive and ready to go. Easy to plane, insane midrange, great top end.

Here is my boat. http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/b...utlaw-fun.html

Your right about buying a faster boat but I spend every weekend on the boat with wife and kids and love the space. The 36 is rock solid but to slow for those weekends with my friends. I'm looking at m-3 procharger, new headers, motor refresh in stock form, aeromotive fuel regulator, new fuel lines, 28 pitch props (not sure which ones) , adding hydrolic
steering and a ECU flash from someone. Did I forget anything?

Thanks

Spare drives and parts :lolhit: and dont forget areomotive fuel pumps and if your going to rebuild the motors I would beef up the internals why you are at it.

You will have lots of power to get on plane . Pro Charger's make power all the way through the RPM band not just at 4000 and up . And as stated any increase in power is going to be harder on the outdrive but a little common sense will go a long way in keeping the drives in 1 peace. My advice is do lot's of research , I have run a blow threw M1 @7lbs. for years with no trouble and only broke 1 outdrive .

I am useing a Vortec system that is also a centrifical supercharger. I have nothing but good things to say about the system for the 502mpi. I would recomend changing the Valve springs and head gaskets if you have any kind of hours of it.

What kind of base motor do you have and did you beef it up. I've read that the stock 502 is more than able to handle the power.

I was interested in the vortech charger but couldn't find anyone who sells them anymore for the 502mpi setup with the ecu program. Vortech doesn't even list it on their site.
Any info would be great, I live in New Hampshire and wouldn't mind going to far for one.

502/Vortec with TONS of power to get on plane. Gets on plane with less than 2000 rpm with 5 blade.

Bravo drive gets treated very gently.

http://www.vortechmarine.com/

They work great, but will destroy your drives.... Just sayin, too much torque and power even if you drive them easy. When you get up to the higher RPM's the the HP and Torque come together, somethings going to give.

Running about 900hp with a pro charger through a bravo 1 xr. 2 years and 90 hrs later with 0 problems so far. That is with a five blade prop also.

What seems to be the best drive package at a reasonable price? At least the bravo 1"s are cheap to replace or rebuild.

What prop do you use? Thoughts on maximus

Did you beef up the motors and how was the ECU from vortech, everyone says the one from procharger is no good.

Thanks

Keep your drives and buy 1 or 2 matching spares. When they break swap out the spare and have the broken one rebuilt, then repeat, and repeat, and repeat some more!

Or upgrade drives to (theres no perfect drive, especially for a low price)

Arneson and SCX offer the best Bang for the buck IMO

The SCX-4 prob will end up costing as much or more then the Arneson with no gain in your application by the time you add a extension box, hydraulic steering, Stainless Gimbal ring, Helmet, Wilson Custom Marine blueprinted lower etc etc

B-Max is just as much as the SCX but still uses bravo lower gears. Johns customer service is great though.

X-Power seems to have a great product but at 35k each

Started as HP500's made a cam change and headers. They dynoed at 750hp & 825 ft.lbs. of torque. I run 34p 4 blade prop's and have only broke 1 set of XR upper gears. I priced out putting SCX drives on and the helmet kit is $983 the scx upper is $8629 and the coupler is $135 . I already run Imco lowers. There are a few guys on here that know what they are doing when it comes to EFI pro charger deals and I'm sure that they could fix you up . One thing I can tell you is that pro charger themself are totaly useless when it comes to setup info .

Reggie lay off the pipe :bong::bong:

What seems to be the week link, the upper or lower unit?

Upper xr gears , merc had a major issue with them that they decided to do nothing about . You either got a good one or a bad one . If you got a bad one you got to try again for a fee of corse.

Vortech marine website.

My scarab with procharged 502's gets on plane easy with the bigger props. Cruising speed is 60-64 and top speed is 86. My only ***** is you can hardly hear the blowers. I would love some straight cut gears!

Most blower noise comes from the belt. If you really want to hear it try a 3 1/2 inch wide 1/2 in. pitch belt ,that's some old school for you . They will hear you coming in the next county :ernaehrung004:

I have been running M4 Pro Chargers on my 2006 33 Eliminator Daytona with twin fuel injected 1000 hp motors, Imco SCT drives with 6 blade 35p props for 6 yrs. Sheared off a few prop shafts over the years but they hold up pretty well. 125 hrs on motors and drives.

Looks great, any problems with the procharger?

no problems with pro chargers or belts

Thanks for the feed back.

Does anyone know if you have to throw the ecu, fuel pump and regulator out from vortech like you do with procharger.
I looking for the better out of the box system. Vortech claims you can also keep the stock thermostat for the cool fuel, procharger you have to change it.

"Does anyone know if you have to throw the ecu, fuel pump and regulator out from vortech like you do with procharger.
I looking for the better out of the box system. Vortech claims you can also keep the stock thermostat for the cool fuel, procharger you have to change it."



You first have to have some sort of idea on what power its going to make.... from there, you base the injector size, fuel pump, lines, reg, off that power number. Then find someone (that knows what there are doing and stands behind their work) that can tune the MEFI system....... or get a FAST XFI or BigStuff3 system and have that tuned

Thats doing it the correct way

It doesn't matter whether Vortecs or Prochargers head unit is pumping your air into the motor, when you get rid of the thermostat and run the motor around 100 degrees vs 140 you are able to run more timing and more boost and subsequently make MORE hp from same cu inches and octane so this is a GOOD thing. As far as "throwing away" Prochargers ECU, never heard that they supplied a ecu?? The best way and ONLY way to have a well tuned efi suprchargerd motor is to have it tuned on your actual motor, this can be done on the water but it needs to be done, Smitty

I used the stock procharger M-3 set up on a 25 Eliminator Eagle except that I ran the fuel return from the rails back to the fuel tank instead of it returning right in front of the Aeromotive fuel pump.
My conclusion:
I liked the procharger feel of power and became a fan of the centrifugals.
I had a light boat and I can tell you that if you look at people's posts, it is those that have heavy boats who break the bravos. People with light boats seem to be able to get away with it.
The way of increasing the fuel to the engine with the boost sensitive fuel pressure regulator on the stock ECM is not the right way to do it. I think that the lighter your boat the less this makes a difference. Like was mentioned before in some good posts you absolutely need a custom ecm tune. You will need a bung in the exhaust for the sensor while tuning. I'm not saying that the stock system won't work because it did for me, but it would be money well spent to have the ECM custom tuned then you can forget about reading plugs and know that the A/F ratio is right in all RPM/Load ranges.
Internally new cometic head gaskets, and valve train upgrade is the right thing to do.
Mounting the intercooler is typically a big compromise in esthetics.
The stock oil cooler is marginal on the HP level you will be at.
Hydraulic steering is a must.
Up grading your guage package to include fuel pressure and water pressure is a must.
If you do it right it will be a nice package. If you don't you have to depend on luck.

Your system has to be one of the nicest set ups I have seen for a pro charger. Although the gimbals could be the weak link on Lake Michigan. See you this summer.

I'm on my second boat with Prochargers, M-4's 1100+ hp, no problems. I don't know where the story of them being hard on drives came from, my Baja had XZ never blew one. I like the way the power comes on.

Thanks,
Yes, the gimbals are a weak link. Broke one a year back at over 100+ mph,it was not pretty. Drive was only left attached by the tie bar, made for a long day. Schumaker Performance is one of the few engine builders I know that builds a great fuel injected pro charger motor.

I guess i don't understand the ecu part, the vortech comes with a programmed ecu and a map sensor. This replaces the existing ecu correct? If so is it any good?

Thanks

A custom tune is necessary because A/F ratio does change with load and atmospheric differences. All reputable custom builders come tune the ECM's in the boat. I know mine changed from the dyno to the boat quite a bit. I'm sure Vortech runs theres to err of rich for safety. If it turns out rich in your boat you will have a black transom and all the sequelae of unburned fuel. It may be okay.........maybe not it's nice to know that it is right. In the scheme of the cost of the project this will not be pricey.

CNC nice set up..........

I was out there running with you when you broke the gimbal. That certainly was a mess. I have to agree on the Schumaker setup.

Thanks for all the help.

[QUOTE=SkiDoc;3843279]
The way of increasing the fuel to the engine with the boost sensitive fuel pressure regulator on the stock ECM is not the right way to do it.QUOTE]

+1

I was out there that day too, way behind you guys! I remember hearing what happened with the broken gimbal ring, Id have definitely needed a new pair of underpants if it was me...:eekdrop:

Glad it all worked out though...See you guys this summer...

Summer cannot come soon enough for me.