OK, I know this question has been asked before but I'm hoping we can get a comprehensive thread on *all* the various drives available, the good points and bad points of each, and then maybe get the BG's to sticky the thread. It would help the newcomer immensely, especially when shopping for an older boat.

So, who can fill in the blanks on:

• TRS drives
• Bravo 1's (early)
• Bravo 1's (late)
• Bravo XR/XZ
• SSM #2
• SSM #3
• SSM #3A
• SSM #4
• SSM #5
• SSM #6 (wet)
• SSM #6 (dry)
• Arneson
• IMCO 4x4
• BMax
• Pulse drive
• Kaama
• Others?

Something like this:

------------------------------
XYZ drive - built by Mercury Racing from 1980-1992, no longer in production. Rated for 500 hp. Requires separate transmission. Came with two different trannies, one by Borg-Warner, one from Merc. BW is much stronger.

Highs: smooth shifting, can realistically handle 600 hp or so with adult use

Lows: no longer in production - parts can be an issue. Requires separate trans means you lose some HP and engine room space. Heavier than a Bravo.
----------------------------------

C'mon all you gearheads, share with us unedumacated types!

75 looks and not one comment? Guess there's not a lot of drive knowledge on here after all.

SSM II and all above it:

Came from the factory black. Various years of mfr. Some still in production. Some still have parts availability. All generally reliable with less than 400hp as long as lube changes are performed per Merc recommendations. Regardless of Merc's claimed hp ratings, anything over 400hp on a boat over 8,000 pounds is tempting fate if run in a spirited manner.

If run behind a supercharged BBC, all of the above will usually suffer minor cosmetic blemishes such as lots of shiny cast aluminum peeking out of the voids blown into the housing by shafts and gear pieces as they relocate themselves to less stressful positions (nearer to the bottom of the river). Also expect to see pretty rainbows around the drives (don't drink water with rainbows floating on it).

LOL - that was brilliant! And like all great comedy, it has the ring of truth to it....

Weismann WSD & WMD
www.weismann.net

I've got speedmaster #3 an reworked trans on my 357
never had any problems [ knock on wood ] . I'am running 572ci. tall deck chevys with merlin heads, 650-700hp. I'd like more info on the #3. they have 1in.shafts
Hope someone out knows more about them than I do.
looking for more knowledge.

Konrad

I think Biggus is going to be the guinea pig on those.

He talks about them here;
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...threadid=72354

I cant afford anything but Bravo's so they are the BEST!!!

Blackhawk out drive. Physically bolts to the Bravo gimble assembly. Utilizer's Bravo 1 upper gears and Bravo 3 lower gears. The main difference is that this drive was designed to be a surfacing piercing with the prop breaking the surface of the water. This was accomplished through the use of a x-dimension that is 2.5" higher than the standard bravo 1 drive. The drive is also physically shortened a couple of inches to further raise it. The drive was designed for "single engine sport boats" that are in the 20-25' range running faster than 65mph. The speed increase comes as a result of the higher drive height resulting in less frictional loss. The problem with high x-dims is high prop slippage and prop torque steer. This is canceled through the use of counter rotating props that eliminate the torque. The factory application has 2 3 bladded props. The factory props were available in 27, 29 and 31's of pitch. The factory props had a round ear prop that was 1" less in pitch with a rear prop that looks a little like a hydromotive with 1" more pitch than advertised. The advertised prop pitch is actually a average of the two props. I have seen up to 9 blades of prop on a blackhawk drive. Looks like a ginsue machine. One of the major drawbacks to the drive is that it hooks up too well. This results in a very high off plane idle speed, the drive shifts very hard, it can be hard to plane off because the engine bogs and the props grab very hard on reentry. This is especially true when the "thru-prop" exhaust is not utilized. This resulted in the drive having somewhat of a negative reputation as being fragile. This and the fact that many manufactures misapplied the drive to hulls that it was not designed for resulted in the drive being discontinued after a couple of years.

There was a factory option for a black max transmission. This transmission replaced the stock coupler and allowed a low-high shift for easier planing and lower in harbor speeds.

These are a 5 blade rear and a 4 blade forward cleaver prop. If anybody knows were these are, I'm in the market!