What needs to be done to get 500 to 550 hp out of a 496HO? A blower is out of the question. This would be a project for a friend of mine. I am assuming that it would not take to much to accomplish this hp.
Mark

Talk with Arizona Speed and Marine. They have a complete intake system that is suposed to produce 600hp.

I believe Raylar is who you want to talk to.It will take heads etc. but Ray says he can do it.Check old posts for their web siteor Powerboat mag.BOB

Here is a place to check. http://www.raylarengine.com/

Here is a link to another thread that talks about their products. http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=72206

Thank you for the info. simple head change is awesome. Has anyone tried the heads yet?

whipple also has some things you can do also...

Don

By the time you tear down the engine for the head, cam, and piston and manifold change you will be into it for the same as a whipple blower. Why say no to the blower so quickly?

Cobra. not sure yet about putting blowers on the 496 yet. High compression, blowers have not been on these motors long enough for me to feel real good about putting one on. The gentleman that it is for would like to stay right around 500 to 550 horse.
Mark

I am surprised that the 496 Magnum and HO come with cast iron heads. All that extra weight. Raylar http://www.raylarengine.com/ has the solutions from a package deal standpoint for this engine. Alum heads, forged pistons, manifold, cam. It's nice to have the option of going this route or going supercharged. The heads raise the compression from 9:1 to 10:1 by the way which may make the engine need higher octane fuel and less adapt possibly to adding a supercharger later. Although 425 HP is pretty decent in the HO already i think there is more to be had!

http://www.procharger.com/2003newsle...e.systems.html

"Powerboat magazine recently tested the 496 Mag HO, 5 psi Procharger system. In before-and-after testing in a 28’ Eliminator Eagle V-bottom, the radar gun showed a 14 mph gain from the installation of the ProCharger system, running pump gas".

496 Magnums with a Procharger:
3.5 psi boost gives 550 HP
5.0 psi boost gives 590 HP

496 H.O.'s with a Procharger:
3.5 psi boost 580 HP
5.0 psi boost 625 HP

The HO is about $ 3500.00 more than the 496 Magnum. Money better spent put towards a blower and/or heads? You can see in the attachment below that the Procharger is a clean looking system and is intercooled. Considering the 525 EFI @ 500HP is roughly $ 18,000.00 more than a 496 HO it sure is a temptation to get an HO or Magnum and supercharge it. The 525 EFI of course having forged parts is a good candidate for adding a supercharger to as well I would imagine and the Whipple can bring it up to around 800-900HP.

My guess is that if you go 3 psi and get 500 HP you ought be ok in a 496 Magnum and put the approximately "$ 15,000" difference in the bank.


http://www.azspeed-marine.com/whipple.html
Whipple's are $ 6,600.00 ea if you prefer that brand. They say 5-6 psi boost offers "nearly" a 50% HP boost.

I never added a supercharger myself but would love some personal experience stories on the feasibility and durability of "adding" a supercharger to an engine that is already at 9:1 compression and does not have forged parts. I see a lot of "factory" supercharger applications using engines with lower compression ratios down to 7.5:1. Is engine life affected?

http://www.hotboat.com/test_data/index.cfm
A cool site with lots of engine/boat combo tests. Fun to compare claimed speeds and actuals.

Ive been contemplating this for 2 years now ....I'm done 3.5 lbs Prochargers are going on my 353 fas-tech 496 ho...spoke to a couple guys running the 5 lb kits for 2 seasons now no problems reported and these guys run them hard.

Looked at Whipple's but you can only run them in 7-10 min spurts wide open (I like to hammer down at times longer than that in Poker runs)

Really interested in the aluminum heads from Raylar but I don't believe they will be ready for this season and I would like to hear some results and feed back before I invest that way( especially without a intake to help the heads out..Arizona speed intake 4k plus 2.4k for heads more than the Prochargers)
3.5 kits run about 4300.00 per engine and 580 hp is not bad for that kind of money still ahead from the cost of the blue motors.. even if you drop a motor 9k to replace (not what you want to do but considering the blue motor price not bad)you are still ahead...5 lb kit is only about another 800.00 per engine..
3.5 kit no ECM changes needed either..
On Formulas you need to notch the port side outer stringer Formula engineers said it would still warranty the boat no major problem seen,


You can think this one out forever , I'm done let you know mid June how she runs...