Mitch:

I have 502 efi magnums in my 35 fountain, with 1.36 gears. I run 23p mirage plus props. I get a little less bite getting up on plane, but I don't hammer the throttles either, so I don't have any problems getting up on top. My midrange is very good. My top end is higher than other 35's with 1.5 gears.

The original thinking when the dealer ordered the boat was to provide an allowance for a supercharger. With 1.5's it was thought he might run out of prop choices. With 1.36's there is plenty of room for prop selection to get the rpm's correct. I never added the superchargers because I wanted to be sure I could turn the key every weekend and have the engines run. They haven't failed me yet.

All this may be meaningless due to the differences in your hull and mine.

Tom

Thanks Mega, I am keeping the 1:36s for that reason, hope to increase hp over time. I will try Dynos 23s and see what is uo

I had a chance tonight to air it out. I saw 5200 rpm and 83 and climbing I backed down at 83. It got there in a hurry too. I think the 25s are good for now, maybe 23s when the temps go up.

Sounds, damn near, perfect to me

Mitch, your boat sounds great! With early Bravo's, the floor of the 1.5 gears was thin and prone to breaking. Some people switched to 1.36's because they were thicker and stronger. On a boat your size, Mirage Plus's are great for top end. The 4 blades will usually give better cruise speed. How fast is your boat at 3500 rpm? Have fun! We'll see you on the west side this summer.

Bill 272 what kind of speeds are you seeing with the 500hps in your 336?

If you want 1.50's, will drive there, pick up your boat, swap the drives and props for you, friend needs 1.36 really bad.

Dyno, you are really grasping for straws now I bet this is the biggest power, I called him and he swapped the gears for strenght and speed. I am going to keep them the way they are. It is a little fast at idle but I will get used to it.

I saw 72 GPS last year. One engine was in need of a refresh too. I called Formula and they said they claimed it to be a 74 MPH boat, so I was pretty close to what they expect even with a blown head gasket on one cylinder, 1 cam lobe wiped out, tired springs, etc. One engine was new when we bought it last year around this time, and the other had 400 hrs and still had factory seals on it. I should be getting that back this week or next.

AFter riding in it, and hearing that you hit 83 at 5200 rpm's, I wouldn't change a thing Mitch. The 1:36's are stronger gears, and in rough water, with the boat coming out of the water and such, you're better off with those gears.