Bravo One Prop question
 

Is anyone running a Bravo One prop with a 280 Velocity / 502 Mag? If so what kind of results are you getting?

I have always used a 26 Hydromotive but have a chance to pick up a 28 Bravo. I do have headers and a tweaked ECU so I "think" I should be ok.

Thanks!

bravo
 

A bravo one is all i use on our race 26 the same as your 28 .
I like hydromotive wheels but on my boat with a high x the bravo works better dosent give as much tail lift.

How do the top ends compare? I have always heard that the Hydromotive's were faster?

I had a 27 Hydro and now run a 28 Bravo. I was running the same speed with both, I was just hitting the rev limiter (6k) with the hydro and the chine walk was pretty hairy. I've rebuilt the motor and the Bravo ran 86 with 4 adults, a full tank and no trim. It ran super nice in a pretty good chop. The mid range will be much better also, I think I picked up almost 10mph over the Hydro.

Not to HighJack here but are you guys running right or left rotation. I am looking to get a new prop but am currious if anyone is doing left and why? I run a 28P B1 thats been worked by BBlades. It still needs some tweaking but overall its a good prop. I am considering a 5 blade for my boating style and useage.

Left hand rotation puts more load on the top cap and is considered less favorable. The five blade will put more load on your drive and unless your running the drive very high it may hurt your top end.

I just remembered that the Bravo tends to react like more pitch than the Hydro. Going from a 26 Hydro to a 28 Bravo is a big step. I had a 26 Hydro and had it bumped to a 27 and was still hitting my rev limiter at 6k. I then went to a 28 Bravo and dropped to 5400.

I have always heard it the other way, you needed to go up in pitch when going from a hydromotive to a Bravo 1.

I just picked up a 28 Bravo so I will know tomorrow.

you do thats why on the other board i told you a 28 would be where i would start with your set up .

Good I thought I might have been confused but it looks like someone else is.

I am trying the 28 tonight. I am thinking it should be close to where I want to be. I may need to get it tweaked.

Thanks,

Do Velocitys need a bow lifting prop. Being flat pad and a fairly high X dim I am confused. I seems that I am draging tab or trimming the bow down to keep from porposing and or beating the boat to death in the rough ass chop......so would a bow lifting prop help or hurt? How differently do the 5 & 4 blades effect the bow lifting?

I used to have the same problem with the Hydro prop, when I went to the 28 Bravo it improved the ride dramatically.

I tried the Bravo late yesterday afternoon and I was pleasantly suprised as I had always heard that Hydros were faster.

Rpms on the Bravo were between 5100 and 5200 rpm I hit a top GPS speed of 72.3mph. This is right in line with my old Hydromotive. However it <Bravo) hooks up faster and does not blow out if I throttle hard from the get go. As I am at the limiter, I am thinking that there might even be a little more in this prop.

Now I am wishing I hadn't waited 13 years to try a Bravo. <g>

Its always nice to find a prop that works better!

I think some people on here don't realize that you can't just say "Hydro" prop. They make a standard (non-X) and an "X" and they are different animals. Additionally, they make versions of each with different numbers of blades.

I bought my boat with a Bravo 28 that had bad blow out, awful cruise speed (high slip), and was very prone to chine walk above 70mph. I switched to a Hydro P5X 28 and got better hole shot, higher cruise, more stability at high speed, and higher top speed. Of course, some of that improvement was from the fifth blade. My prop also carries the bow higher.

As I understand it, the "X" Hydro is a bow lifter, the standard Hydro is not. Different animals...

I'm pretty sure when we say Hydro prop most are referring to Q/IV-CL, that seemed to be the favorite OEM for many years. Did you loose top end rpm's? I have heard that merc. props. are a little generous on their advertised specs. I went from 4 blade bravos to P-5 hydros and -2 lowers, both were 30 pitch and lost 500 rpm but ran 77 mph. @ 4700, I'm so confused, is there a lake X around here?

What motor are you running????

Mine came with a 28 Bravo 1 and I'm currently turning it at ~4800-4900 at 72 mph gps (full tank of gas, two adults and two kids, heavy tool kit and gear) with no hints of chine walking. My 290 SC doesn't have external hydraulic steering or trim tabs. This is with a Merc 496 HO (with 1.5 Bravo 1X); my slip is a bit high at ~17%. I measured my propshaft height and, if I remembered correctly, it is about 3.5 inches below the pad. I love the Bravo 1, it takes very little effort to plain and it doesn't blow out...unlike my previous outboard powered velocity 220.

is the bravo labed ? i run a 32 labed bravo but i have a non labed one as a back up , the non labed prop has a better cruise speed but the labed prop is faster. My labed prop is a merc. labed one not done by a aftermarket shop. Not saying that is better just stating what it is.

Mike, Kenny at Velocity set me up with a guy that had it on a 260 Velocity and it wasn't working well for him. It appears to have been mildly labbed. I have a call in to Kenny to get more info from him. I suspect Mike at Hall's maybe tweaked it some.

I am quite happy with although I need to get out in some rougher water and see how it runs.

:DI have a 525 EFI. I lost about 250 rpm with the P5X and my top speed went up about 2 mph. I'm at about 14% slip at top speed and my propshaft is about 3.25 inches below the pad. I've thought about putting on a 1/2" spacer to get less slip (and better mileage) at cruise but I'm not willing to lose much top speed. Just need about 700hp to be where I want to be--90 mph :D

It sounds like you are set up very well--don't change anything unless you add more power!

Talked to Kenny at Velocity, the 28 Bravo has been labbed.

What motor are you running in your 280 or should I say how much motor? I'm trying to get an idea of where I need to be, my B1 28 is to small for the new motor.

I am running a 502 Mag (1998). It is putting out a little extra because I am running with Lightning headers and Precision Marine tweaked the ECU some.

540 with a 3.3 whipple motor made 1067 hp at 6000 i pull the 32 to 6200

So what props do Velocity's like best? 4 blade or 3 blade? I have a 22 velocity and I haven't had it on the water yet but I have a labbed Mirage plus I am going to use on it. I am just wondering if this prop will be total crap on this boat and I need to plan on having some bravo's or hydro's available from my buddies to test with.

Hydro-Motive Q/IV-CL has a tendency to lift the stern and cause chine walk, sometimes severe. If you don't believe me, I'll put mine on and take you for the ride of your life. The Bravo 1 4 blade is more neutral. You will pick up more cruise speed and better hole shots with the 4 verses 3 blade. Depending on height you will pick up a little more top end with the 4 blade.

Assuming you have an 1/O with the standard x-dimension, the 22's definitely like the Mirage Plus (which is recommended by Steve Stepp for small block power). Although I haven't run a Hydro Q4 myself, DKerns claimed his 22' ran best with one after systematically testing a variety of props. I found that the extra blade area on the Bravo isn't needed and provides more lift then needed for the older, very light 22' hulls. Could be a different situation on BBC powered 22' given their heavier sterns.

Thanks. Mine is a BBC so I don't know how that will affect it. I will just have to try it but at least now I know which Hydro to look for.

I used to have a 23 Regal Velocity, 1989. It ran better (faster) with a 3 blade Mirage then a 4 blade Hydromotive. However I believe the Regal 23 was havier in the nose then a Velocity 22.

If I remember correctly I had a 25 pitch mirage and was running a 454 Mag with headers.