Question for the Factory One Teams
 

With the renewed paticipation in the Factory One class, I was curious as to how the 496 motor faired in this year's races?
What kind of top speeds were you seeing?
Was the powerplant reliable?
Any replies are appreciated.

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

Honestly, it appears that interest in Factory 1 class racing disappeared. I believe only 2 boats are planning to return next season.

We started the season with a 496 and replaced it after Sarasota with the innovation 425. The 496 didn't stand up to the punishment that we were giving it. Broke the heat exchanger off; windage tray fell on top of rockers setting off guardian mode, and finally cracked the block above the motor mounts.

The 496 worked well in my pleasure boat with no problems in about 200 hours, but needs to be installed and rigged in a custom fashion to withstand race conditions.

Venom and Extreme also run the 496 and have had some similar problems throughout the year.

Top speeds are comparable to the Innovation motor.

Brian

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

Brian,
Thanks for the reply. The current F-1 496 is a lot different from a durability standpoint, than the 496 based Vortec HP3 . I was really hoping the class was going to take off again. With you guys in the Lavey, Activator's 30 and Wardey's new 29, things were shaping up.
There was a time when there were more boats in F1 and F2 than any given race this year, all classes combined.
Wishful thinking.
Russ

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

I think you will see a few more F1 boats come out and play this year. Spoke to Steve the other day and New Velocity F1 will be racing next year also. We are also working with a few other teams that are very excited about racing next year.

The Merc 496 in our Extreme F1-7 is great and runs really strong.We had 2 minor problems so far and both were very simply fixes. One was a short in a electrical connector and the other was a cracked water fitting in the NEW COOL FUEL/FUEL PUMP. It seems like the more time we put on it and it brakes in the fast we get. Merc did a great job of rigging the boat at XSite for us. The most important thing we found is to spend the extra money and time and put in solid motor mounts. I think the problem Brian had with his Merc when he swithed is the same problem AL has with the Innovation motor now also. The Venom has 86 hrs on it and NO mech. brake downs other then going into reduction mode a few times and most of that was low pump pressure and that was taken care of with a sea strainer. Merc is on top of their game and have made some minor change on the new 496's and are excited also about this coming year.

Brian is correct each boat will run different depending on Manufacturer but speed have been from 75- 82 mph.F1 is a racers class and the speed are important but in this class its who is going to hang it out is who is going to win.Set-Up and handling is ever so important and make the difference. With the affordable price of the New motor packages and all of the great older F1 boats available this class should do very well. It is cheaper to run a F1 boat today then a P5 and I think much more reliable. I don't see any advantage in P5 over F1 today any more,and you are racing the pro series. That can only help in getting sponsor !!! It will take time like anything else but I think you will see F1 have its day again it just makes too much scenes...We had the same deck to deck racing in KW this year with TKO and that is what the fans and racers love about the F1 class. I had more fans and racers come up to me in KW after Saturdays race and tell me what a awesome race it was and they couldn't wait till Sunday. We even made the front page in the Sport section of Sundays paper.

Any other info. I could help you with about the class and or the motor please feel free to give me a call or email me. I can even get you in touch with Merc and more info. about the new motors.

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

Great feedback. It is great "Spec" class racing.
Is it possible to run the older non-stepped hulls with an extension box?
I remember seeing it done with Tsunami in F2.

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

Yes that is legal in F1 with a non-step boat...

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

Frank all this talk about some new meat in f1 has got Walt and I thinking about racing this class again, but only on a limited schedule. Stop watch racing dose not hold a candle to spec class ,too bad they did away with gps max top speed!!!

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

I good cure for "stop watch racing" is rough water...these flat water races are killing us P-class guys. :( But just part of our game...you need to know something about the law of averages.

Besides, I rather keep an eye on the clock than guess who's GPS is more accurate...mine...or the one hidden in my boat. :eek:

Sean

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

POINT well taken !!!!

Re: Question for the Factory One Teams
 

No stop watches or GPS units needed in "Spec" class racing.
I know that was off topic but the fact of the matter is that you guys are talking about Factory One with some enthusiasm. This class has a lot of growth potential (again). I don't know what Frank has up his sleeve but there is a buzz going around with Factory One.
I do believe the "One Engine, One Drive" approach is the only way to make it happen.
Again, is the 496 not a venerable powerplant for this class?
The speeds are down from the HP525EFI and the bugs (mentioned in previous posts) are being addressed.