I need more performance!!!
 

My 28ft Magic deck boat has a 496 ho. I wish I had went with at least the 525. I am looking into changing out the 496 ho. Looking for any recomendations on what would be the best motor for this boat. When I ordered my boat in 2005 I set it up for a whipple . I am running a 496 ho with xr drive and dual ram steeriing. After talking with a couple of different shops I decided not to go with the super charged motor. I want to continue to run 87 pump gas. I havnt had any problems with the 496 ho it has been a very reliable motor accept that I dont have enough power when taking off. I uesually have around 10 people in the boat. Last trip I had 14 people 90 gallons of fuel and ice chest full. take off was slow and didnt want to plane. Top speed was appx: 55 mph. Any recomendations on what I should do would be great. My thoughts are to go with the merc 525 or Ilmor 710.

If you're problem was not planning, I'd drop a pitch for better holeshot. That's a simple solution. The merc 525 and Ilmore 710 are completly different monsters-- your looking at a huge power difference.

I repowered my 2005 Donzi 22 Classic from a 496 HO to a low hour 525 EFI that I found on this site for $20,000. I picked up a solid 10 mph and a whole lot better acceleration. You already have the drive and steering for the 525. Spend the money and you won't regret it. PS, aren't there some HP600s for sale cheap here now?