I already read listings of boats for sale and they say 496 stock trouble free power or 502 stock with no modifications and trouble free power. Is this just to try to sell? Is a motor that is built with supercharger blower etc really more troublesome? And why?? does it need to have the timing adjusted and carb adjusted everytime it is used? I am joking but why is it that when something is built it seems to not be as reliable. As long as you dont run over 80% 85% often it should be good for 200-300 hours easy(the blown supercharged one 5 lbs) or what do you people say

You can definitely make reliable power. Blowers get a bad wrap because people are too lazy and or cheap to do it right. Plenty of guys running around with blowers and minimal issues. The biggest thing regardless of blower or NA is good stuff and proper tuning. Add a couple degrees too much timing to a stock 502 and it will grenade.

Blowers just require more initial well thought out set up for reliability. Really not a lot different than any other higher HP NA engine. EGT's, AFR's and compression are cruicial to both NA and SC. With a good foundation and valvetrain set up along with proper maintenance I'd say it's a toss up. Blowers can eliminate a lot of valvetrain issues with not having to have such aggressive cams which can lead to constant valvetrain problems.

For the average guy blowers might not be always be considered as reliable just because of a little more maintenance and staying on top of things. I think where blowers become more of an issue is when Jim bob decides to just strap one on a stock engine without taking much else into consideration.

Calculating static compression with boost and octane used can be a deal breaker. Larger fuel lines, fuel pump capacity, timing, air, etc.

Too bad they don't make marine exhausts for 2 liter Honda engines. Then we could have trouble free power.

So for those of us not in the know,

Just for fun,
Top 10 things to consider when ape**** crazy and considering a supercharger?

Thanks cause I really don't have a clue.

Just wait until you feel that V-Tech kick in!

Ya Mon!! All,128 of them trouble free horses...

1.) I would not supercharge a stock internal engine, especially those that just have cast pistons. Yes, it can be done and there are kits out there made for a stock engine, but it will not be as reliable as a fresh engine built with the supercharger in mind (forged blower pistons, proper rings, proper ring gap, proper valvetrain etc.)

We have a carbed roots blower setup rebuilt by Eddie Young. I'm not mechanically inclined and we're running our fourth season with it. The only other boat I've owned for comparison was powered by a 454MAG EFI motor (purchased new). Surprisingly we've had less trouble with the carbed blower motor. We chased vapor lock issues for a season with the 454 MAG. However the problem with superchargers/turbos is that they make a lot of power. In our case that added power caused issues with the drive train. In 3 seasons we went through 2 drives and spun a coupler. We never had any issues with the stock Bravo drive in seven seasons behind the 454 MAG. Can forced induction marine engines be reliable? Yes but a supercharged BBC is going to make some power which can cause other problems!

For starters start with a forged bottom end. Mag motors are usually forged. Then you need to know compression, head gasket materials and thickness, upgrade the fuel system, usually upgrade the ignition system. On top of all that it comes down to tuning. Proper afrs and egts. Also the stock merc valves are a 2 piece valve on the exhaust so it would be beneficial to upgrade those if you keep stock heads. These are just some things I've found from talking to guys with them and guys who build them. I'm sure there's more and others will chime in.