Raylar???
 

I was reading a thread in the General Discussion from 2004/2005 about Raylar.

Since that time, what has transpired with the kits for the 496 Mag HO?

I am repowering my 342 Baja with new 496 mag Ho's and am wondering about Raylar claims of increased HP with the aluminum heads and intake. The kits which includes heads, intake, cam and rockers claim to boost the 496 to 525 HP. Even without installing a cam, they claim to boost the 425 HP motor to 505 HP.

I have been cruising in a 40' Carver and am new to the Baja world and any type of performance engines. Therefore, I do not know about Raylar's reputation or anything. I just found them googling. Any input out there? Thanks

A number of posts/threads have appeared here on OSO. I have no experience with them but from the general opinions I hear on this board is that he is for real and the products he promotes are as advertised.

I also believe he seels the 496's with the kits already installed for you, or sold on an exchange basis.

Raylar kits no question mark!
 

Daqcraig:

Raylar does not make claims when we advertise or sell our kits and engines for the 496 engines. WE DELIVER!! There are now way over a hundred Raylar kit users all over the world , some with over 300 hours on their Raylar kits and engines over the last three years. Call our toll free number (866) 496-8181 to discuss if you like and then we could give you some phone numbers and names of customers who would be happy to discuss their performance with Raylar packages. We can also fax you some dyno reports from independant shops who have tested our kit results without our participation or influence.

Best Regards,

Ray @ Raylar

raylar
 

I am having new engines installed so naturally I would be apprehensive about voiding the warranty. I am concerned about the durability of the engine (going from 425 HP to 525 HP) since I would be using the same rods, crank, pistons, etc.

I already have 7.4 MPIs with bravo one drives in a 1998 Baja 342. Hours are 230 and motors are strong. I had compression ran on them three weeks ago. The boat has a 23P stainless 3 blade prop. WOT is about 4300 RPM and top GPS speed is 56 MPH with 180 gallons of fuel in the tank. I would assume it might go slightly faster with 25 gallons in the tank, don't know though.

I am about to install two 496 mag HOs along with new Bravo one X drives. The guy I am buying the motors from may not want his name mentioned in this forum so I will only say he is a former Mercruiser Engineer with patents under his belt. He suggested I try a 27 or 28P prop when we repower. What would be interesting would be to see how these engines perform over the 7.4 MPIs. Lastly, it would be nice to document just how much improvement could be made by installing the Raylar heads, intake, cam.

Then we would have three documented scenarios. The same boat with three setups. 7.4L MPI, 496 mag HO, and 496 Mag HO with the Raylar kit. Ray, that would make a good selling point for your product to have that documented. I am wondering what kind of top end GPS we can get out of the boat with the new motors. Any guess?

Here we go again?
 

Dacraig:

I know it seems in your world like you might be one of first that has ever considered or undertaken the repowering of his boat. Trust me , you're not! If you are or have bought brand new 496HO's from Mercury and they are warrantied now, then for good reasons, do not modify them in any way which would void your warranty! Do not install our kits or parts if this is your case unless you want to forego the warranties!
You have made the choice to have your boat repowered with 425HP engines versus the approximatly 315 to 350HP 7.4liters you are removing. the added horsepower and torque this will give you is good and measurable, but don't let anybody kid you or deceive you into believing a big heavy Baja 342 with twin stock 496's is going to perform like a rocket or acheive performance levels of those same Baja's with lets say HP525 power, it ain't gonna happen, no matter how much prop and so called tweaks you undertake. If you need new power for repower, then pick your power level within your budget, put them in and enjoy your boat. Don't frustrate yourself with the thoughts and hopes that you are going to be able to get your boat performing with twin 425HP like a boat that has lets say twin 525HP. For the period of time your warrantys are in place you have what you bought, no more , no less. If in the future we can help you increase those power levels, then contact us and we would be thrilled to have you as one of our happy customers. As for comparison scenarios, we already have nearly a hundred before and after docummented results of what our power increases have done for all types and brands of perfromance boats. Thank you for the suggestion, but as you may find out, its been done before!

Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

I am doing my research....
 

Sorry you seem frustrated with my questions. Problem is I have three boats already. One is a huge yacht, Carver. I have modified a Waverunner with more money than the thing costs in the first place to squeeze and additonal 10 MPH out of it. Blew the heads off the thing listening to the wrong people. Finally got it right. So, I have been around the block a time or two.

I definately want to squeeze 500 HP out of the 496 mag HO. Just want to make sure I am doing it the right way. Thanks for your patience. BTW, I wasn't really interested in waiting until the warranty expires on the new engines. Reliability is the issue with me.

Hey Ray, how about shipping a couple of these kits to Full Throttle Marine so I can use my boat again? :D

For the most reliable power upgrade option on my 496, my research led me to Raylar. I'm not crazy about superchargers on an otherwise stock 496. However, after a season or two with the Raylar...I see new internal parts and then a Procharger. :D Baby steps my friend!

I talked to the Raylar guys at the Miami Boat Show. They really seem to know thier stuff. We have lots of experience finding the right design trade-offs necessary for building reliable high performance marine engines from 500-1200HP. These guys were saying all the right stuff when I talked to them. If you're looking to buy a complete package, they should definately be on your short list.

Just thinking outloud...Daqcraig, why not buy Blue motors to start out with?

Blue motors
 

Good Question.

Because Blue motors are alot of Money upfront and the life span isnt there.

There are few new boat buyers who are ordering their new boats with 496mags, upgrading the drives and then installing our 525HP Bck103 kits on the motors and saving fairly large sums of money over blue motors. Those with big budgets don't have to take advantage of this option but those buyer seem to be fewer nowdays.

Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Nice to hear! You must be a busy guy.

DaCraig,

Raylar has a very good rep here, I think he may have cautioned you on your expectations as they seemed ambitious/optimistic.

The Baja hull is a pretty simple performance hull, relatively sizeable boat, it's going to take a lot of power improvements to see significant gains.

If "Someone in the know" told you that if you can spin your 23's now, only to 4300 and that with the HO's you should try 27 or 28 pitch I'd question how much they "knew". I'd call Baja and see if they had any tests/specs with this type power in that boat so you begin this project eyes wide open. Good luck with your project and welcome to performance boating:drink:

I'd say 26's is a realistic # for props with that HP and weight of boat. I know several 342's with 502's that are only spinning labbed 26's and acheiving 70mph on GPS.

I wouldn't say Baja's are a simple performance boat, but they aren't the top of the line either. Of course I didn't pay in the 6 figures for mine either.:D