Scared to go WOT too long
 

Ok, I was taught that you shouldn't run an engine WOT very long when I was a youngster.
Now I have a 24 Python with around 625 hp and I am scared to run it WOT except for short bursts of 20-30 seconds. The motor is 'built' well with all the good parts. I have upgraded the oil cooler. I am running the best oil I can find. Boat is propped for 5500 tops.

I would like to hear from others that run their motors hard. How long will you run wot???????

15 minutes :party-smiley-004:

Only on poker runs

well when we ran Open Class and Supercat we would hold them at 7800 except for the turns and did that for an hour at a time.

It's classified....

Your afr needs to be correct, tolerances correct and timing set right, if the rest is built right with good parts you can run wfo for a lot longer than you would think of course you won't get 200 or 300 hours out of your motor at wfo but thats the price you pay, Smitty

yeah Id say the tune is critical, if your tune is conservative and your AFR's are on the fatter side you should be fine running it WFO, I run my 300x OB motors wide open quite a while on the river when its low traffic.

I have to admit it freaks me out a bit just because you know they are topped out. but if the rev limiters are set right (not at drop dead redline) you should be fine.

Most car companies short shift thier redlines 1000 RPM short of where they can run, Id say if you want you engine to live ID set my limiter pretty similar to that theory. the MFG's know what they are doing.

anytime you run the ragged edge tune or RPM wise your comprimising longevity

I agree with Smitty but what is the difference of runing 3,500 or 5,000 rpms the engine is still under a load.
This has been covered 100 times, search for his thread on oil cooling, it priceless.:drink: And it has pictures.

That's because that's what you tell your son for when they get old enough to drive dad's stuff.

Now that your old enough you can drive it how you want. If you have or get a son, it may be smart to tell them the same thing until old enough to pay for their own stuff.

LOL.

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Any upgraded motor, as mentioned above, make sure your tune is on and get an oil temp guage. Most of us have different opnions on what oil temp to back off speed, mines at 260F-270F. Properly sized oil cooler should not let your oil temp go over 250-260F no matter how hard and long you run.

I'd say you can run it Wide F'n Open for the first 364 days... after that any repairs are yours (with a merc engine anyway.):daz:

Providing you know your tune is good, have great parts, dont care about longevity, and its safe to do so -

Run the snot out of it till you cant control the oil temp anymore.

You said you upgraded the cooler, but didn't say anything about a gauge.

Uncle Dave