XR vs XZ
 

anyway just wandering what the good and bad is of the XZ drives, lookin at a 38 cig with 500s and XZ drives and dont know anything about them

Wild

Re: XR vs ZR
 

XR vs XZ, xr has the stronger straight cut gears in the upper.

Re: XR vs ZR
 

so the XZ is the weeker drive??????
should i stay away from them??????????

Re: XR vs ZR
 

I don't know that much about the XZ, I believe you can put the XR gears in them, CP Performance sells the gears, last I checked they were $585 per set. I'm sure there are others on here that know way more about drives than me. Friends of mine run the XZ s without any problems.

Re: XR vs ZR
 

they are both upgrades over the standard bravo and in my opinion the reality of the situation is that the HP500 is pushing the limits of any of the Bravo series drives. this is not to say hat they won't hold up but they will treet you how you treet them. If you got the money to play hard and fix em alot go for it otherwise either take it easy or uprgade them to something like the B-Max drive.

Re: XR vs ZR
 

The B-max upper is stronger but as far as I know they still use the merc lower gears.

Re: XR vs ZR
 

as far as I know you are rught but most bravo failures are either a shattered upper gearset or a broken or twisted driveshaft. there is also the ever popular mash it in gear at high RPM and wonder why it wont come out as your mash the dock. :D

Re: XR vs ZR
 

ZR's are extinct. Merc only made them for a short period of time.

Re: XR vs ZR
 

ttt, more help please

Re: XR vs ZR
 

You mean the "XZ" are extinct, not "XR".

On my 2002 model with 500 EFI's the XZ's came standard.

They are 100 % the same unit as the "ZR" except for spiral cut gears instead of straight cut gears as mentioned above.

I would not consider them bad, they just will not handle as much horsepower to them as the XR which was designed to be mated to the 575 SC.

They quit making the XZ a little over a year ago and made the XR the standard drive for the blue motors.

As mentioned, you can easily convert the XZ into an XR.

Good Luck

Re: XR vs ZR
 

i have heard of more trouble out of the xr gears than i have the xz's

Re: XR vs ZR
 

Me too. and the helical cut gears of the XZ seem to last longer as long as it's a relatively mild combo.

From what I've seen up here, the XR gear set is toast at @100 hrs.

Re: XR vs ZR
 

i know a few guys including myself running the xz's with 800 plus hp and they are holding up great i put 375 hours on mine before any problems the shifter bolt backed out and went thru the gears locking the drive in forward not really a gear issue

Re: XR vs ZR
 

I have 3 seasons on my XR with the Max Machine top cap and no upper gear problems. I'm way over Merc's recommended hp.

Re: XR vs ZR
 

My .02... If you have enough power to break the XZ gears, which are atcually just X gears with the thicker floor and shorter bearing, then step up to the XR gears. They are straight cut, but they are net forged.. I guess hammered into shape instead of being machined. The XR's are softer and do wear out relatively quick. I was told 200-250 hrs or so. Set up is important to get proper alignment on the gears for maximum life.
So you try XZ gears or talk around, see what others have had luck with. If your running much over 700hp in a heavier boat, then lean toward the XR's and pay the price. I am not sure that CP could offer the XR gears for that figure mentioned before. They are better than twice that from Merc. Thats the best Merc has until that new drive we all have been waiting for comes out. May not happen in my lifetime. So we pay the price to go fast. But where is the fun if you can brag about how many Bravos you have broken!!
Now I know there are some people that have had more HP and more time than the average guy. Why is this? It could be a set of parts made on a Monday or Friday, or the guy knows how to throttle or by chance that drive was setup extra careful on a Wednesday. Who knows, some live, some dont. The after market drives are making headway, but some people have had problems with them also. If you try hard enough, you can break anything.
Again, just my .02 and I am still learning about what breaks and what doesnt. Hope this helps.
Dick