prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

I have a 1995 2102 VIP Victory w/ a 350 MAG MPI. I used to have a 21p Ballistic, and now just tested a 21p Mirage Plus. Everything seemed about the same until I got to top end. With the Ballistic, I couldn't trim it out as far or it would slip and lose speed. With the Mirage plus, I could continue to trim out the boat and it would suprisingly keep picking up speed and lifting the hull. I was watching the speed and concentrating on the engine sound while doing this, and I was still picking up speed when my wife noticed that the rev limiter warning beep was sounding. I guess I was able to get the other prop to this point without losing speed. What bugs me is that I was still gaining speed when the beeper was going off. I was at about 5100 rpm when this happened. How many R's can I run with this motor for 1 mile runs occasionally to prove a point, without hurting the motor, or actually having the rev limiter stop the motor from reving any higher. I'm not familiar with the rev limiter on this motor. Thanks, J.

Re: prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

correction " I guess I WASN'T able to get the other prop to this point without losing speed". My main point is: I love the way this prop lifted the bow of the boat and kept climbing speed, but I don't know much about the rev limits of this motor. It was almost like I could have gone with a 23p, but I don't think I would be able to get on plane nearly as easy. Also, It would probably put more stress on my Alpha. I would probably be best off sending the prop in to get labbed, but am unfamiliar with what that would cost, and how much sending back and forth it would take to get it right. Thanks for any input.

Re: prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

hi justin,

Your rev limiter kicked in right where it should, aprox. 5150 rpm.

You have a couple options. The first would be to do some tweaking to your current 21P Mirage to pull 200 rpm out of it and bring it off the rev limiter. This would also improve your mid range and most likely add a little bit on the top too.

If you want to consider Lab Finishing, we would suggest going to the 23P Mirage Plus. We could improve your top speed with this prop, whereas Labbing the 21P would be somewhat defeating the reason for Lab Finishing. We would have to use a special recipe to pull rpm down after bringing the rpm up with the standard template. After all Lab Finishing has always been about speed.

Either way, some improvements can be made to dial in your application. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Brett Anderson / BBLADES Professional Propellers
920-295-4435

Re: prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

justin VIP,

The torque band of your motor is 4600-5000 RPM. You should run this motor at 4900-5000 RPM at WOT to acheive the greatest avaible top end. If you were hitting the rev limiter with the 21P without full trim then you need to step up to the 23P Mirage plus. The Ballistic is not a high performance prop and is not a high tolerence propeller, meaning who knows what pitch it really is. Michigan wheel makes that prop and they do not have tight tolerances. Now as far as labbing your 21P Mirage Plus this will only increase your RPM and you will be harder in the rev limeter than you are now. If you want to lab a propeller then you should lab a 23P with a few adjustments to control RPM. Hope this helps.

Julie
Throttle Up Propellers
727-531-2255

Re: prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

What is a labbed 23p Mirage Plus going to do for my acceleration or hole shot. I never punch it out of the hole, but I do have a heavy load on occasion. Will a labbed 23p act about like a stock 21p?

Re: prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

Question on the alarm that went off when I reached around 5100. I talked to my boat mechanic and he said that the alarm only goes off for temp. or low drive oil, not rev limits. I know I was running right about 5100-5150 r's, and I just assumed that the beeping was the rev warning before the limiter actually made the motor cut out. ( it actually never cut out, so I must not have quite reached 5150). My oil pressure, and temp were fine. I was wondering what else the beep was telling me? Any suggestions?

Re: prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

justinVIP,

Yes,the 23P Lab Finished propeller will run very close to the sam RPM as a stock 21P. If you are looking for accelerationa and hole shot then you need to look into 4B propellers. The 3B props will produce the best top end but will fall short of the 4B when it comes to other performance and handling features. As far as the beeping I cannot say you should probably post this question on the tech forum.

Julie

Re: prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

If I use a 4b prop, I will be going backwards. I desperately needed bow lift when I went from the 21 Ballistic, to the 21 Mirage Plus. It worked well, in fact I gained R's because I had less boat in the water after switching to the bow lifting Mirage Plus. If I went to a 4b, my stern would lift , therefore lower my bow, and my RPM, and speed. My humble opinion. Thanks, Justin.

Re: prop selection ? just got off the river.
 

Justin VIP,

Yes it is true that you will recieve stern lift every time you add a blade to a propeller. However you also have to take into consideration the design of the balde. The round ear blade design s induce bow lift and the cleavers induce stern lift. So in esence you will receive both stern and bow lift with the Bravo I propeller. Additionaly, we can increase and/or decrease bow and stern lift thru a series of adjustments. So to answer your question a 3B propeller will net the greatest top end typically.

Julie