Looking for Feedback on Whipple Upgrades
 

Wondering if Chris or anyone else can tell me what the Stage 1 or 2 Whipple upgrades are? Which units do they apply to? I have the standard 496 Whipple. Are there upgrades for this unit? Thanks. I am running 5 lbs of boost currently.

The Whipple upgrades, of which you speak, are designed for Mercury Racing Supercharged motors.

Stage I basically raises the RPM limiter from 5400 to 5800 while giving some more timing

Stage II uses a smaller pulley for more boost

Stage III is a bigger cam

Stage IV uses whatever is the next biggest supercharger than what is supplied by Merc.

You can almost always upgrade existing supercharged motors by increasing boost, changing cams, putting on better heads and changing internals to better stuff.

Hope this helps,
Chris

Hi Terry,
Sounds like you have your Rage running great. Congrats. Keep in mind the stock internals on your motor are cast, not forged, so that is going to limit how much boost you can put on your motor.
I would talk directly to Bob Loyd/FTM or Dustin Whipple to see what a logical build up would be for your motor.
With forged internals/aluminum heads/bigger cam I'm sure there's plenty left, but it may not be "cost effective".
The data base for building up a Gen 6 GM/Merc is deeper, as are the parts availability.
Best Regards,
Steve

Fortunately (tho it did not seem so at the time) I blew a head gasket a year or so back. It seemed the better part of valor at the time to get rid of all the cast parts, so I now have eagle rods, forged pistons, Cometic head gaskets, ARP bolts etc. I could not drive the boat faster then with the chinewalking, but all that has changed. I have a new lease on life and am feeling the need for speed. :kiss:

Terry

Hi Terry,
Good call on the forged internals with supercharging. In that case I would definitely be looking at better breathing aluminum heads and a cam upgrade. If you can get 93 octance gas (plentiful and cheap here), I would definitely raise the boost to 7/8 PSI. Your ECM will need careful recalibrating too. Bob Lloyd/FTM is our resident 496" guru, and all around nice guy. I would give him a call.
www.fullthrottlemarine.com
Good luck and keep us posted.
Best Regards,
Steve

Thanks for the recommendation Steve.

Terry, how fast is your Rage running with this setup? What did you do to help the chine walk, full hydraulic steering I assume?

I built a similar engine to yours last year and we made 655 HP on the dyno with a little more boost than you have. You should be able to run a little more boost with your internals and pick up another 30-40 HP. You can probably get another 80-100 HP with heads and cam change. If you want more than that you'll be looking at a complete new engine build. I know Raylar is working on an 800 HP 496 based engine package.

[QUOTE=bobl;2963534]Thanks for the recommendation Steve.

Terry, how fast is your Rage running with this setup? What did you do to help the chine walk, full hydraulic steering I assume?

NEVER MIND...JUTS READ THE OTHER THREAD. NICE!

My understanding was the "stages" mostly refer to the size intercooler. Stage 1 is standard Whipple intercooler, stage 2 is slightly larger & stage 3 uses the MOAC intercooler.
I'm wondering why the 496 w/ Whipples are as fast or faster than me? Should I abandon the B1 prop for a 5 blade?
I run 5-6lbs boost.

Good question... I would call Dustin Whipple about that.
I would think you would be putting out more horsepower than a 496 with a Whipple.
I think your motor is lighter than a 496 also.

Maybe it is just tired, and need a re-build to freshen it up.

Chris

Where are you boating and what speeds are you getting? A 500 EFI with 6 lbs. of boost will make nearly 800 HP at sea level. But if you are at high altitude you may need to up the boost.

Bob

Hi Bob
Wondering how much power I willl need to get a Rage up to 95-100 mph? Can I get there with my current engine? How about drive heights? I am a bit fuzzy on what Chris and steve are talking about.

I built a procharged 540 for a Rage a couple of years ago. I dynod it at well over 900HP. I never saw top speed because of chine walk. I did get 98 once on the gps, before I had to get out of it. The owner sold the boat before we were able to get full hydraulic steering and play with props. It spun a stock 30" Bravo 1 prop at 6000 RPM. So, I believe 900 will get you there if you get the boat set up correctly.

Brand new this spring. new everything but crank & rods, intake & exhaust. Now 509, Diamond pistons, taller cam, ported heads, etc. Wanted to avoid B1XR explosions & programming, but maybe I'll send it in. Dustin thought the TCM 800 programming would work nice. Also, I like to blame my 4500' altitude for my speeds. 83-84 mph here. Havent been to Havasu with the new motor, but last year was 90ish. My prop slip #'s seem higher than everyone elses also. Who knows,
I've seen GPS's vary 4-5mph & tachs off-that would mess up my slip calcs of 18%.

What number are you using in the slip calculation for the pitch? For your Bravos the true pitch is 1" less than the marked prop number ie a 28P = 27" true pitch in case you did not know that.

That's right. Example, my 32 lab runs 82 @ 5100. I put in 31p, 1.5gr, 5100rpm, 82 & come up w/ 17.5%. My 28 gets me around 16-17%. Same lake, different day, different gps, different results. Mechanical speedo & tach VERY consistant, no matter the day. Go figure. All well, not gonna set speed records in a 25, cruise is a comfy 55 @ 3500 & my midrange will put you in your seat!

A 500EFI with a Whipple needs to turn about 5600-5800 RPM. At 5100 you are leaving a ton of HP on the table, probably over 50 hp:eek:

Absolutely correct !

Chris

It runs up on rev limit with the 28. Sounds strange but top speed is EQUAL with my 32 @ 5100rpm, safely off the limiter. I like running the bigger prop for cruising & seems more gentle WOP.

28 labbed @ 5750= 83mph prop slip 16%
32 labbed @ 5100= 83mph prop slip 18%

None of the #'s are precise, just going off gauges & handheld GPS, but are always give or take a few mph. I like to think they're all low:drink:

Unless there is something mechanically wrong with the engine something is not right. My guess is prop issues. The 28 may be just too small. Of course if you're hitting the rev limiter it's not going to go any faster. Sounds like a 30 is where you need to be.