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What really sparked my interest was the Dana Flow Torque exhausts. Anyone familiar?
https://www.marineindustrieswest.com...id=3670#gal1-1 |
Originally Posted by smokediver
(Post 4883633)
Great build ! Thank you for sharing. Headers look nice , work great , but imco and stainless Gen 3 won’t crack . I believe stainless marine offers a 5 year warranty..
Thanks, yeah, I've definitely heard of CMI's cracking but not sure of the typical lifespan of a set of headers. The Stainless Marine exhaust just don't seem to breathe as well. I'd really like to hear from someone with the Dana Flow Torque exhaust, they seem to be my runner up. |
Originally Posted by c0ncEpT
(Post 4883640)
Awesome build. Looking forward to the end results.
I emailed Larry once wanting to know the recommended service interval was on his 525HO kit as I was looking at a boat that had them installed. His response was something like "buy my book. The answer is in there". He could have typed less and answered my question. Totally turned off from ever buying anything from him by that. Service interval on what? In my experience, or maybe assumption, Larry is running a business for what it seems to be, on the most part by himself. The shop seems busy and his knowledge seems to be in high demand. The marine engine is just one aspect of his business and the Corvette Shop the other. The Corvette Shop possibly being the majority of his business. Many times I've called and he is away from the phone with his hands in something, emails always worked best, and the more I worked with him, the more I realized why. At times.....most times, Larry's emails would come in after business hours and on Sundays when the shop was closed up and he could catch up. Like I said, I kinda had the same issue at first and it seems Larry is doing his best to disseminate the junk emails and calls from every yahoo on the internet from his legitimate customers. It's probably not what you want to hear, but this is a required task of someone managing a small business. Do I think Larry wanted to hold my hand during this entire build? NO! But I can assure you anything I needed Larry did come through with. And the more I was informed, the more of his book I read, the less dumb my questions got, and the easier it was for Larry to work with me. So my advice after the fact, would be the same as Larry's, if you want to work with a Merc 496 or 8.1.....read his book. He already told you everything he knows about it...it's in his book. 85% of the time I wasted at first with Larry was answered in his book when I finally read it. I can admit, I felt stupid for asking Larry some questions afterwards. The more knowledgeable I got on the motor, the more I realized how dumb some of my initial questions were. Now, this doesn't invalidate your point, as a business owner this should be taken as legitimate constructive criticism, but once again the second I was an actual customer and not just another yahoo on the internet looking for free advice, Larry was there 100%. Another great resource for the 496 is the 496HO Facebook page, lots of knowledgeable people on there as well, and much more specific to the Marine use of the engine. Lots of questions people ask on that page, such as part numbers or torque specs, or Raylar performance questions, could also be avoided on the FB group if they also just bough the book! 🤣 It seems like a sales pitch now, but for 30 bucks it really is worth its weight in gold if you are a DIY guy working on a 496. |
Originally Posted by Jamescmei
(Post 4883652)
Service interval on what? In my experience, or maybe assumption, Larry is running a business for what it seems to be, on the most part by himself. The shop seems busy and his knowledge seems to be in high demand. The marine engine is just one aspect of his business and the Corvette Shop the other. The Corvette Shop possibly being the majority of his business. Many times I've called and he is away from the phone with his hands in something, emails always worked best, and the more I worked with him, the more I realized why.
At times.....most times, Larry's emails would come in after business hours and on Sundays when the shop was closed up and he could catch up. Like I said, I kinda had the same issue at first and it seems Larry is doing his best to disseminate the junk emails and calls from every yahoo on the internet from his legitimate customers. It's probably not what you want to hear, but this is a required task of someone managing a small business. Do I think Larry wanted to hold my hand during this entire build? NO! But I can assure you anything I needed Larry did come through with. And the more I was informed, the more of his book I read, the less dumb my questions got, and the easier it was for Larry to work with me. So my advice after the fact, would be the same as Larry's, if you want to work with a Merc 496 or 8.1.....read his book. He already told you everything he knows about it...it's in his book. 85% of the time I wasted at first with Larry was answered in his book when I finally read it. I can admit, I felt stupid for asking Larry some questions afterwards. The more knowledgeable I got on the motor, the more I realized how dumb some of my initial questions were. Now, this doesn't invalidate your point, as a business owner this should be taken as legitimate constructive criticism, but once again the second I was an actual customer and not just another yahoo on the internet looking for free advice, Larry was there 100%. Another great resource for the 496 is the 496HO Facebook page, lots of knowledgeable people on there as well, and much more specific to the Marine use of the engine. Lots of questions people ask on that page, such as part numbers or torque specs, or Raylar performance questions, could also be avoided on the FB group if they also just bough the book! 🤣 It seems like a sales pitch now, but for 30 bucks it really is worth its weight in gold if you are a DIY guy working on a 496. https://www.amazon.com/Chevrolet-8-1.../dp/1931128413 He could have easily answered the question about his specific kit in less words than it took to try to sell me his book. Make all the excuses for him that you want but that's not how you instil confidence into someone looking for support on a product that you sell. |
Concept, That is a good question you asked Larry. I took the "service interval" meaning you wanted to know how often to change the oil!
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Nice build Jimi! I too am looking at what aftermarket exhaust to run. I was leaning towards the Dana System as we have verified propshaft dyno numbers vs typical dyno room "run them dry" false HP gain figures.
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I dealt with Larry too back in late '15 when I needed to rebuild my 496 and was looking at converting it from a stock MAG to at least an HO + using one of his cams, roller-tipped rockers, Whipple flash, etc. Had pretty much the same experience as Concept. Ended up not using any of his parts. His book must not have been out yet (?) as he didn't try to sell me that.
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What happen to Ray in Raylar? Is it just Lar now?
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Ray left the company and took the bank account with him is what I was told. It wasn't a good deal, Larry was left picking up the pieces.
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Great thread! Engine and VR 1 look awesome!
Curious what rpm your running a stock bravo 28p? I would say a labbed 30p bravo 1 would be a runner. I can only pull mine to 4800-4900 yet it's almost as fast as my 28 bravo. |
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