WOT and Speed in Velocity 260
 

So I now have the correct geared lower unit on my 260, a 496 mag, and a 26P Bravo I Prop. I called Velocity to verify the correct prop and was told the 26P is standard on the Velcoity 260 w/496 mag. I have taken the boat into a mechanic and had him plug it into his laptop. Only thing wrong was the Idle Air Solenoid. Also it looks like my Tach reads 150 RPM to high. (example: tach reads 1000 RPM, actual is 850 RPM) I have since replaced the Idle Air Solenoid, which helped my idle when cold and pretty much took care of the rich condition that was causing a bit of soot on the transom. I still have a small amount but was told that is normal, as they are designed to run a bit rich when cold... I have run with and without a flame arrestor (testing only) and have pretty much hit the same wall. At 3500 RPM (on the tach)the boat runs around 40 mph (GPS) give or take a few MPH based on current. At about 4500 on the Tach (so actual is about 4350) the boat is running at around 58 MPH. This is at 3/4 throttle (may be a tiny bit more). I have trimmed it out until she begins to loose speed, then drop it back in until the speed is back. Here is where my issue begins, There is almost no differnce from 3/4 throttle and full throttle. I can't get any more RPM out of it and I do not notice any difference in the motor sound or feel. Right now with 1/2 tank of gas I only have seen 62 MPH on GPS once or twice. This is running with a pretty decent current. The dash speedo says right around 70....... I was told this boat is capable of 72. Is this a speedo reading or GPS? So here are my questions, is this 72 MPH number taken in salt water? How much difference is there between running in salt water and fresh water? Also how much speed is scrubbed off by 1/2 tank of gas (40 gallons). Also I do have about 350lbs of extra battery and stereo equipment on board. Do my numbers sound right or is there another 5+ MPH hiding somewhere. And before it is suggested, I have tried moving the 45 lb subwoofer enclosure from inside the cabin to the cockpit, no difference. Also I have been told there should be about a 3' rooster tail when trimmed out right. If I trim it out that far she begins to get real loose and looses speed. I will usually operate the boat in the 3200-3800 RPM range, as I am really in no hurry to get anywhere...... But just knowing there maybe a bit more there is really beginning to eat at me. Should I just shut the F%&# up and enjoy it the way it is????

I think you should see 70 all day long even with a full tank and passengers. 496 should run 4600-4900 rpm wot. You might have a little to much prop. It wont let engine get up enough rpm. That is assuming engine is running properly and throttle linkage is operating properly.

Powerboat Magazine tested a 1996 260 with a 496 Mag and it recorded 70.8 MPH. You can download a copy of this October 2005 test from their website for $3.99. They ran a 28" Bravo which equates to a 26" Hydro since Bravo pitches are overrated.

It looks like you have an engine issue since you're not getting anything extra out of the last 1/4 throttle and since there's too big of a discrepancy to account for salt vs. fresh water and weight. Hopefully it's just electronic given the flakey tach situation or perhap a gas issue since the boat was sitting for a while and things got gummed up.

You won't throw a 3' rooster tail with a standard drive height so ignore that comment. Some other 260 owners can likely tell you their optimal trim setting.

Unless the engine is just tired, I'd continue to chase down the problem before it gets worse. Good luck.

Thanx, I am going to try out a 28p prop and see what it gets me. I don't think the engine is tired. When we hooked it up the the smartcraft software, it showe 218 hrs on the motor. The software also shows how many hours are in different RPM ranges. It has not spent much time over 4000 RPM. Although I have not done a leak down test as of yet.... I will pull the plugs next. Also the gas thing maybe an issue. It came to me with 3/4 of a tank....God only knows how long that was in there. I have been putting premium in it every time, and have also run a quicksilver fuel treatment in it.

I will check the throttle linkage again as well. But the mechanic said it appeard to be a full stroke.

That is what concerned me is between 3/4 and full throttle I felt no additional load on the motor.

Also how long does it take a 260 up to top speed? My baja 250 would reach it's top speed of 50 mph fairly quickly, maybe I am not giving it enuff time to reach it's top speed...

Just read the test Power Boat Mag did on a 2005 Velocity 260, they were able to get 70.8 with a 28p prop. SO looks like that will be my next step. Then I will go from there.

Hell after reading the review (that was done with 14 other boats), even at 62 MPH that is still pretty good compared to other models running the same power...

i would try giveing her a tune up, new plugs, wires, and cap and rotor, couldnt hurt, it might just wake her up, my dodge started running like crap last year, ran fine until i laid into the peddle it wouldnt get out of its own way, new plugs, wires, and cap and rotor, and it ran like new again, give her a tune up my man it work wonders

Did a plug check everything looks good, verified by my merc. mechanic. I may look into wires. It is a 496 MAG, Each cylinder has a coil, no cap/rotor.

I would also suggest that you drain the tank and run fresh fuel.

My friend has a 260. Had the same issue. The ethenol ate the inside of the fuel line and pluged the injectors a bit. The boat would not go over 3500 rpms in the water with a load but would rev up on the trailer. Does it have a in line filter or just the one on the eng. We puled the in line and it was pluged with black soot. This boat sat for a bit.

It does have an inline filter, I might check that.

Plugs probably not causing any problems but wont hurt to change. I think you are going the wrong way with the prop. You might need to go to a 24 to pick up rpms. You will loose rpm with a 28. You might be running a different gear ratio in your lower unit than the test boat. 28 seems rather big for a stock 496 mag.

Velocity ships the 260 with a 1.5:1 lower, exactly what I have on the boat now. If it had a 1.36:1 it would have had a smaller prop. First step is to go back to stock, which is a 28p Bravo 1.

Also running a different prop may allow me to trim it a bit differently, which may gain me some RPM.

i spun a 24 hydro 5200 on a stock 454 mag (365hp) in a 280 so i can promise you a 24 should be to small on a 2 ft shorter boat with 50 more hp

also a 24 hydro is more prop then a 24 bravo

I just picked up a used (almost new) Hydro Quad IV 26p for $250 + Shipping. I thought that was a pretty good deal. So hopefully once the weather warms up again I will give it a spin.

My friend has a stock 26 bravo and it runs 4800rpms. full of fuel.4900 rpms empty 68-70 mph.

my brothers 280 496 mag ho 29 hydro done by hulls 72 mph.

Per Steve Stepp 496 mag 375 hp =26 bravo
496 mag ho. 425 hp= 28 bravo.
hp500 efi = 30 bravo

it may be something as simple as a bad spark plug wire, that boat has been siting in a yard somewhere for a while and who knows who has done what to it, maybe an idiot boat surveyer pulled the plugs wires off like a dumb ass pulling by the wire and not by the boot and damaged the wire while doing a compression check , when i pulled mine off for the first time the part that connects to the plug pulled out of the boot and stayed on the plug, and they looked like brand new high dollar wires, my buddy bought a boat that was sitting for a while when we went out for the first time we discovered that two of the plug wires were on the wrong cylinders,

I am going to get a better prop on it and see how it runs fully trimed out. I just bought a hydro 26p. A buddy of mine has a 27p 4 blade that was cupped to a 25p. So between those two props I will see what I get. I don't think a plug wire is the issue as it runs strong all the way up to 4500-4600RPM. The computer diagnositic showed no faults, but did show an inaccuracy in my Tach, so who knows @ 4600RPM if a discrepency of 150-200 RPM would put the boat were it belongs. Not to mention I wasn't trimed out much before the 26p began to slip. That prop may be all screwed up for all I know. It is pretty knicked up....

There you go!! good luck.

Just for reference, on my 280 I run a stock 26p B1, 1.5 drive, 415HP/502. With an average load in the boat, 4600rpm@WOT, 68mph on the gps.

Is the 1999 280 a true 28' boat or the 26' w/platform? I am not sure what year they changed.... If it is a true 28' than it's 4' larger than mine and only 40hp more. If yours is only a 26' hull it is still 2' larger, so I would say either way I am right on track by stepping up to a 28bravo or the 26 hydro on my 260 (24' hull w/375hp). I will know for sure later this week when I receive the hydro prop. Cold or not I am testing it!!!

A 280 is approximately 26 feet long without the platform. In 1998 it was called a Velocity 26. The name was changed to Velocity 280 in 1999 because everyone thought a fountain 27 etc was longer. The 260 without platform is approximately 24 feet long.

My 280 (26) with a 502 mag came with a Hydro 26 pitch prop. It now has lightning headers, and a labbed prop and will hit 72 mph on a good day with some good chop.

if you have the 375hp 496 you need to find a good, clean bravo 1 26p. a nicked up prop is prob. a lot of your problem.
a 28p b1 with a 375hp is going to be very hard to plain. If i were you i would looka t your fuel system and try and find a clean 26p b1 or hydro 25p to test.

We took the boat out with my buddies labbed and cupped 25p prop. Turns out it was a 14-1/2" 3 blade... Well as soon as the boat got up on plane, total prop blow out. She slipped so bad it fell off plane. So much for that. The weather was so nice, we turned around, put the boat back on the trailer long enuff to get the 26 Bravo back on it and went back out to enjoy the weather... The Hydro 26p that I bought should be in by Friday, so hopefully things will go a bit better...

I ran it today with the Hydromotive Quad iV 26p. Definately the right prop for the boat. At 3200 RPM it was cruising at 40MPH. With the Bravo I 26p it would porpose at anything under 3500RPM and was running around 33-33 MPH @ 3200RPM. As expected I did see a lose of about 200 RPM. SO now I am only able to reach 42-4300RPM and saw a top speed of still around 60-62 (GPS). So I think there is still some sort of air/fuel gremlin I need to track down. There is little to no difference in the motor load and sound from 3/4-Full Throttle. I have checked to see that the throttle body is opening all the way. WHen I first got the boat the throttle body was terribly dirty, I was only able to clean the air horn, so I may take the throttle body off and clean it next. I am very happy with seeing speeds of 50-55MPH and am content. But knowing there is something not yet right will drive me crazy all summer long. After I clean the throttle body, I will run a fuel pressure gauge on it to verify proper fuel pressure and will also perform a compression test. One thing at a time, but making progress...

what do your plugs look like? dry and light brown is what you are looking for, on the white side it is running lean not enough fuel, if they look wet and sooty probably running rich not enough spark to burning off all the fuel, if you run it lean long enough you can do damage to your engine, you probably have a fuel or spark issue, to realy see whats going on at wide open you kind of have to kill the engine at wide open then pull a plug and see what it looks like, you may have enough fuel and spark at idle wich will show a good burn, but a may show you something different where it starts lacking one or the other, i have done that in a blown mustang i had it showed me it was lean at wide open, never done it in a boat though but same idea

All 8 plugs look perfect and consistant from cylinder to cylinder. They were all dry and have a light brown tint. Since I had them all out I put new plugs in yesterday. I really don't think running at WOT and shutting it off is a good idea unless I feel like swimming in my cockpit. That would most likely result in water coming over the back.

There is nothing wrong with the motor, there is something wrong with the owner :poopoo:. I knew, when I got the boat, that there were barnicles on the bottom. Unfortunately, it has taken till now, and a posting in the general Q&A for me to put 2 & 2 together. I know that bottom paint scrubbs off speed. So would't it stand to reason that barnicles would scrub off more speed. I feel like the biggest jack a$$ right now. Anyway I posted a pic below, nice right? Anyway it is going in a rack later this week. I will get all the crap off of it then see how she runs. If it ran 62MPH like that, well.......................:boat:
http://site.activesportsunglasses.co...ity/Bottom.jpg

Got the barnacles acid washed off, boat immediately feels different. It picked up 5 mph at 3000rpm. Got it up to 65 (had plenty of throttle left) and got a lot of chine walk. I was real low on fuel so maybe some fuel will weight it down a little. If it continues to walk, I will switch back to the Bravo I prop and see how that does.

Do you have K-planes?
If so, set them neutral/level with the bottom, bring her up to WOT, trim the drive for max speed, then raise up the K-planes.
This should get you past the chine walk.
I tend to always run my boat with the K-planes at neutral as it does not really scrub much speed and the boat handles much better in all but flat clam water.
You'll see 70+ no problem...

No Tabs......

Then I would suggest not running a stern lifting prop like the QIV and use a neutral prop like a B1.
If you love the boat this summer, add the tabs next year. Tabs help every boat.

I did notice when coming out of the hole, some prop blow out. By pulling the throttle back a bit then laying the hammer back down it bit and all was good. But yes I agree with you, it feels like too much of the boat is out of the water with the Quad IV. I will try the Bravo I again, now that I have a clean bottom. I hope I can get the same cruise speed out of the Bravo I.......Running 40MPH @ 3000RPM is nice, and easy on the pocket.

I may keep my eye out for some tabs in the swap shop area..

I have not done a lot of prop testing with this boat but from what I've read and been told, the QIV is the fastest prop, but a labbed B1 can equall the speed. One prop that I really liked on my last boat was a Hydro P5-X. Those lift the whole boat and are vary stable. You loose a couple on top but gain midrange. Your boat has enough power to run a P5-X; my 502 just doesn't quite have enough for a 5 blade on my boat...

Put 40 gallons of gas in it (plus what was in there) and ran both the Hrdor 26P Quad IV and the Bravo I 26p. No chine walk with either prop. The Hydro I was really only able to hit about 4500RPM which was to be expected. The Bravo I prop I was right on at 4800 RPM. The Bravo I prop actually showed about 2 MPH faster than the Hydro 26p. I saw 67 mph with the Bravo and 65 mph with the hydro. This again with an additional 40 gallons of gas, than yesterdays test. Even though the Bravo I yielded better top end results and is better out of the hole, I still prefer the hydro. Cruise speed, where I will spend most of my time was much better with the Hydro. At 3000 rpm I was able to run 39-40 with the Hydro and 34-35 with the Bravo. At 3500 I saw 49-50 with the hydro and 45-46 with the Bravo. Anything below 3500rpm with the bravo yielded lots of porposing, where the hydro never experienced porposing at any RPM. The one major thing I don't like about the Hydro is I get a ton of slip just as I get up on plane, put like I said earlier pulling back on the throttle a touch seems to do the trick.

A 26p QIV has about 1" of pitch more than a 26p B1. That has a lot to do with why your mid range speed is better but not all.
The porposing issue with the B1, I also have unless I use my tabs. It sounds like the stern lifter helps with that.
At 4500 WOT you are not getting full HP from your engine so my guess is that a 25p QIV would be perfect.

I will seldom, if ever really hammer it full throttle so right now I will stay with the Hydro 26p, unless I find a good deal on a 25p. I like the cruise speed. I use primarily as a "family" boat. So running at the ragged edge, 70 mph, with my 8 year old daughter would be less than smart.

Just got off the phone with the folks at Hydromotive. They suggested sending the 26p back to them and have them do a "recreational" lab on it. They said I would maintain my cruise speed and get back 200-300 rpm. If I went to a 25p I would loose some cruise speed and would end up about the same top speed I have now.

My boat was tested in Volume 8, Number 8, Edition of Poker Runs America Magazine in 2005. It had a 375 hp 496 in it. They said it ran 74.3 on salt water which I think was a little optomistic. That engine came out and went to a parasail boat shortly after that article.:drink: