I love the idea of this engine you have designed and look forward to seeing some comparisons in boats with stock BBC power!

Question Raylar, have you done any fuel consuption testing or comparison with stock BBC and this LSM550 ?

Yes Jeff we have done a lot of testing on both the 496 and our LSM550 and in those tests we measure the BSFC of both engines. In the HO525 - 496 for example the BSFC of the engine at 4000 rpms at about peak torque is .495 BSFC which is very good considering a stock 496HO at the same rpm is using about .525 BSFC. When we measure the Raylar LSM550 at the 4100 rpm point of peak torque we find a BSFC of about .440 which is about 18% better in terms of fuel used versus horsepower and torque made.
With the weight of this engine at nearly 50% less than the 496HO you can see that the improved BSFC (fuel consumption per horsepower) and weight savings will translate to less fuel being used in any performance boating application. With the high cost of gasoline this is going to be the future of most marine high performance engines obviously, Great Power on Less Fuel!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Efficiency !
 

Yes Jeff we have done a lot of testing on both the 496 and our LSM550 and in those tests we measure the BSFC of both engines. In the HO525 - 496 for example the BSFC of the engine at 4000 rpms at about peak torque is .495 BSFC which is very good considering a stock 496HO at the same rpm is using about .525 BSFC. When we measure the Raylar LSM550 at the 4100 rpm point of peak torque we find a BSFC of about .440 which is about 18% better in terms of fuel used versus horsepower and torque made.
With the weight of this engine at nearly 50% less than the 496HO you can see that the improved BSFC (fuel consumption per horsepower) and weight savings will translate to less fuel being used in any performance boating application. With the high cost of gasoline this is going to be the future of most marine high performance engines obviously, Great Power on Less Fuel!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Ray and Larry,

Thanks for the post!

Please do not take my orginal thoughts as a slight on the development you two are doing with your "production" product. My current job is Director of Engineering and so I'm intimately familiar with the R&D, engineering, testing, validation, and production required to deliver a robust product to market. In my past, I've been the lead engineer and program manager on more than a few new vehicle launches so what you two are doing (development process, not product details) is something I have a deep appreciation and understanding of.

My questions and line of thinking were not to displace or compete with a finished product like Raylar, Merc or Volvo, rather what options are available to the guy, lie me, who likes to pull their own wrenches (my boat is my hobby and I never want to make it a business). Without getting into the reasons why (social/political/environmental/etc), I'd like to use less gas but still be able to enjoy my hobby and even upgrade to a larger boat. I boat exclusively on lakes and never rivers or the ocean, my boats in the forseable future will be trailered so that changes some of the reliablity requirements of my engines vs the requirement of a production product from a respected manufacturer (i.e. Raylar).

So, how can one make a boat more fuel efficient? I think you outlined that answer nicely and I think your LS550 is the right product at the right time. It's a combo of engine BSFC and weight reduction for a given hull. Outdrives (think Blackhawks on the Scarab P-29) can also make a big difference. For me, doing the math on such changes is fun and entertaining. Sounds boring to most, but I readily admit I'm an engineer at heart...let the jokes/teasing begin.

But, like I said, boating for me is as much about playing with the engineering of my boat as it is being on the water. So, that's the basis of my questions - what are the +'s and -'s of moving from the fully iron Merc engines to the fully aluminum LS's?

Again, as always, thank you for your posts - I always find them very insightful to read!

-EC

Ray, those are some impressive numbers! Back in April this year you wrote in a post that 6 LSM550's were being built to fill orders. Any performance results to share? Boy, it would be great to see a test report in one of the performance boat mags on, say..., a 292 Fastech!:D I know, I know... why don't I just buck-up... Well, it's not in the cards right now, but I am very interested in this swap. Didn't I see somewhere a 292 advertised somewhere overseas with the LSM550's installed?? Thanks for any info you can provide on real-world performance numbers.

I think one of the LSM550 should be put in the new 288S from Sunsation. We see what that boat can do with a 496HO, now it time to step it up even more with that LSM550 !

Probably this one: http://www.boatshop24.com/web/en/suc...totalcount=157

Would be interesting to hear real world experience with the LSM550's ?

Yes there are several Raylar LSM550's going into boats in the next few weeks so some real world results will be forthcoming. The orders for these new engines have been slower in coming than we would have liked, but the industry is shrinking right now and new boat orders are almost flat with many builders, Mercury is dropping prices on engine packages to keep the plant working and a lot of boaters thinking repower just don't have the bucks!
We feel fortunate at this point that we sold a few LSM550's and they will be on the water soon.
I will and I am sure the owners will keep you updated as we know the results will be fantastic!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Yep, that's it.

Thanks Ray. We'll stay tuned!:drink: