I also agree a new spec motor is needed for OPA. I would suggest they start on that discussion ASAP for next year.

Could you please explain how those boats were both illegal. Was it the tire pressure? If so that would explain a lot.

SBI looked at a lot of difference option, Merc new power plant was literally twice the price of the direction SBI choose.
Randy as u said OPA need to look at all it options, there are a lot out there. SBI goal was reliable power and a motor to keep the class affordable. I guess we'll see as time goes one if it was the right option.

it would be great if they use the same engine as SBI. It would put all this BS to bed.

I'm sure its an option Smitty will look at. Hes followed suit with the new Superboat class engine. This always teams like Cleveland Construction, WHM, Amsoil to run both Org on a level playing field. If u weigh the advantages for the sport ( bigger pic) u would have 10 / 12 boats that could race any given event.

I dont have a svl so i really dont have any say. After saying that maybe a conference call between the owners of svl boats that race any of the different Org might help make a standard set of rules. Just my 2 cents

I believe one had a SBI Vortec motor that was banned at that time and don't remember what the other one was. Did both boats show or just one? As I recall they could have stayed and raced in class 4. This is nothing new in any org. NO ONE likes racing at the same time with other class boats that look like yours when they have more speed. Its a ****ty feeling knowing many people think you are getting beat. Most fans have no idea there are different classes on the course. How many times have you heard people say Geico kicked every body's butt.

And that is the only way it's gonna work.

:flag:

Im all ears for listening to suggestions. What I can see happening is some will like it one way and others will like it another way and someone (me) will get accused of destroying the class with my input. Everyone would need to make a change IMO. I like the new Merc 520 package.

I agree with you :drink:

That will take care of parity in motor issues .

Randy do u have a price on the 520, when we did our research we only cked the 565.

Actually it's been a while now.. lol. Back when she was the only thing sporting turbines maybe...

Seriously guys quit acting like a bunch of old women.. Or better yet, get your wives together and let them lay out the rules for ya.. Less *****ing, more racing, and on the same course preferably..
:picard1:

Less than the 565 LOL. Plus group discount. Buy the package and sell off the gimbal and drive if you don't need them and it reduces the cost of the motor. May even be able to sell the headers if yours are good as well. No I don't have the exact number but if we all sold our existing motors it shouldn't be too bad IMO. Closed cooling, smartcraft and very close in power. Same props as before and great reliability that we all need to keep racing. Yes more up front cost but better value in the long run IMO. Now figure out tec, rebuilds and we have a great platform for all. Im not against the 565 just more money but it also has some pretty nice features.

Ok I'll see if i can get a number, i read some specs and it shows HP 520 RPM 4800-5200. Not sure if thats real hp the 525 dynos any where from 570 - 590 for the newest generation.

Not so sure a 520 hp motor at 5200 is going to turn same prop we all have, dont see that motor turning 28 and 29 but that the least of it.

Dealer on the Merc 520 is $34,092 that complete gimal and XR drive standard lower, it doesnt have the ITS gimal with steering.

It is NOT a MERC Racing division motor.

Ok I'll start off by asking a very general question. While I have loved the Mercury motors I have raced, spec and bracket, why does it have to be Mercury motor Randy? They offer no support and fact of the matter is that OPA itself has 4 engine builders that can build a reliable motor to spec and they support the organization. They include Crockett, Saris, MidCoast Performance Marine,and Wazzup. Also I have seen in the past if you get a Frank McComas engine he will be at the race supporting his product, no matter the political line. Crane down the street here makes a lot of components for mercury and Mercury is 4X the cost of what crane charges for them, even my OEM pricing is double what i can walk in the door and acquire them for. I thought the whole goal was to compete in an affordable class on an equal playing field? Wouldnt it be more cost effective to deal with engine builders that actually support the organization and their product, with all the money saved a 500 entry fee per race would be nothing to be able to afford an independent tech to be hired and come in and provide actual tech, instead of hiding behind seals that easily accessible.

Also the vortec motor that you claim was illegal was in Sunprint was never illegal in its life as I said OPA did not have any rules in the 2010 rulebook for the SVL class. If there are not any rules in the rulebook, how the hell can you say a motor is illegal? Time Bandit ran a vortec as well, but it was ok for him to compete all 98 mph of him. The IMCO boat ran with a 525 EFI....The only time that Vortec was not an option was after you had 2 Vortec register for 2013 in Jupiter/2012 and they seemed to be left off the conference call which voted their motors out due to their dominance in the Jupiter worlds

Conference calls will never work as everyone is too far apart. Its a shame that the president and board member up north are running 525's to the specs of the the Superboat Vee class and off memory a few drive issues,

This isn't rocket science. Supercat class did it. Any half decent engine builder can spec out a 5800 rpm 600hp motor for this class in his head in about 15 seconds.

The orgs just need to write it in the rules and be done with it. Don't even ask, just do it. Like I said earlier, you can sell your 525 in a day and have a brand new motor built with money left in your pocket.

Chris its done already SBI put the new engine spec in the 2015 rule book, and there are 3 being built right now.
Pretty simple platform, similar to the Superboat Class motors. Less RPM 9.0 instead of 9.5 , all the specs are there.

Chris, 1 other point is u dont even have to sell your 525 you can convert the 525 pretty inexpensive. You will have plenty on parts to sell ,comp , intake, cooling system and so on.

Leave Mercury Racing out of it!
one talking point that is always at the top of the discussion is price. Remember, it was Mercury Racing trying to force everyone to buy their newest/latest engine every other year. The result was, it killed Factory class and led to a huge fracturing of the sport. SO, my advice to you all is quit turning to the Mercury Racing for your only engine option.
Learn from the past, lest history repeat itself. Again!

Who else makes a 550HP motor that has fresh water cooling and a smart craft type system that has a great track record for reliability and cost? Also if we are looking for something new IMO we don't need less HP to go no faster than 90 MPH so we can have something even more reliable and save on our drives as well. That is if cost is really what this is about.

Good example is the Superboat class motors. Cost to race a full season is half what Merc 750 12:1 comp hand grenades were that the class ran for yrs till they finally made the move. Reliability doubled, Superboat teams are running a full season on a pair of motor, and then fresh power for KW. The nice thing about the motor are simplicity if they dont start it's fuel or ignition. Being part on the Byrider Team i have learn quite a bit about those motors. I guess it goes back to the old saying keep it simple stupid. Another plus is for teams with older boats that have trouble making weight the engine has about a hundred and fifty pounds lighter then a mercury 525. Also much easier to tech with MSD ignition vs using the box that mercury uses. The MSD ignition is also a great tool parity it's very simple to lower someone's rpm by replacing a chip. Just things to think about for the future.

How do you tec the heads, cam, carb and rotating assembly?

Specs are all in the book. It's specifies the parts you have to use. Something you have to realized at 509 cubic inch and 9 to 1 compression and RPMS you can only make so much horsepower the cams that are specified for the Motor will give you the max horsepower. There is spec intake carb is open 4150 style only. Its air in air out, that's why the super cat motors made so much horse power because they were 12 :1

It worksSBI tec's super boat motors and the super boat vee unlimited we are not reinventing the wheel just going with what works already.

You are 100% correct going from the HP500 to the 525 was the beginning of the end.

Also if memory serves me correct the same exact thing happen to the super cat class when Mercury tried introducing the 850 and discontinuing the 750 the class split and evaporated

Might I suggest you guys look at other motorsports for guidance? Restrictor plates and rev limiters make for a pretty even playing field when different internal parts are used. Spec ECM tunes work OK, if everyone has equal CI engines. Then you have my favorite, the buyout rules used by sports such as truck pulling and dirt track racers. Put anything ya want into that engine, your competitors can chose to buy it for for set value by protest after a race.

I hope for some of the teams history does not repeat itself a third time after F1 and Supecat. Everything bad isn't always bad if you learn from it.

At the end of the day if we are all the same who from the SBI teams will come race in OPA up north? Steve K. is the only one we have seen in years. Steve M did one race when OPA was in Florida years ago. Or is this the same we have the same rules come down to SBI as in a one way street? Many of us have raced in KW with SBI but have never seen any of the SBI teams travel north. So who's in to race OPA at least one time a year?

It's kind of hard for an SBI racer to run OPA when our motor are not legal according to your rule book and then there is the weight penalties because of the twins steps and the 30ft rule. That's why we need to try to get on the same page. SBI new engine specs are in the rulebook the 2015 ck them out and see what u think.

OPA motors are legal in SBI and SBI motors are NOT legal in OPA .

Good question I guess I could ask you the same thing the only 2 boats from OPA that have raced SBI are Kevin and Brit recently.

Serious question why does mercury discontinued motor instead of adding a motor to their product line especially if the motor is as great as everyone says it is that would be pure suicide. There is no logical reason other then money motivated. What we have to look at for the future is how long will the 520 540 or 565 be around before they discontinued those. NASCAR and run the same motor for almost 30 years. With the SBI rule now you can have any builder build your own motor it's a pretty simple engine it's not rocket science and we have no fear of it being discontinued and having to invest in new motors again in another 2 or 3 years. Even if a team wants to build a spare motor you're not in jeopardy of that becoming a discontinued motor also.

I did some further research on the mercury 520 not sure if anyone was aware I know I wasn't it's based on a 523 cubic inch platform.

Simons, Pirates and Typhoon all have run with SBI in the past before the new motor rules. There is at least 5 teams from OPA. Even if SBI's spec motor was in the 575 HP range we could possibly all get together but not 650 HP plus. Is that hard to due?

Serious Are you serious with that question LOL? Mercury doesn't care about boat racing. We ALL get that! They are in business to sell motors and if I am a betting man they find it more profitable to sell the latest tec. and advanced products that they develop. Every new motor they sell seems better than the one they are replacing. That's a good thing for them. There business plans have nothing to due with a handful of boat racers that buy a couple motors per year at best.

I agree 100% mercury does not care about races they have single handedly destroy 3 classes in the past and don't really care. There are plenty of individual motor builders that you care and you can deal with on a personal level they can build a very simple 502. The outline is in the rulebook for the parts needed and all they need to do is assembly. Depending on what direction you go you have to look at the future for the class if not the class will be right where it is now in another two or three years. With individuals building a motor there is no reason why we would ever have to change the platform it's a simple 502 motor. There are plenty of builders around that build this exact motor now on a daily basis it's reliable and inexpensive. This would bring stability to the class, and actually give the motors value they would be more salable to new races coming into the class that is one of the biggest complaints that I hear from the racers you never know when the motor rules are going to change and they are weary to invest big money in something that won't be here tomorrow.