RAYLAR?? Anybody know what happened??

[dicudmore]

Was this just a mid-river pitstop or did something happen here??
http://www.jtinc.com/Absolute_PR_05/Run%201/images/APR05_RS_085.jpg
http://www.jtinc.com/Absolute_PR_05/Run%201/images/APR05_RS_087.jpg

[phebus]

Whose boat is that?

[Kilrtoy]

That is Randy's boat...
I hope its just a look at the pretty motor......
did not know he had a Raylar

[dicudmore]

That is Randy's boat...
I hope its just a look at the pretty motor......
did not know he had a Raylar
yes, please note the BOAT BLING ENGINE COVER (http://www.boatbling.net) :cool: :cool:

[LHC30Victory]

Nope, not just looking.... That was at the Absolute poker run. I forgot what Randy said was wrong but i think it was a rocker. I stopped to help but he had a tow on the way and wanted us to finish the run... :argue:

[H20 Toie]

What you mean i missed towing someone? :)

[KACHINA KEN]

A rocker gone bad in a 496 HO, where have I heard that before???? Oh yeah ME X 3 times.

[KACHINA KEN]

BTW, I do feel bad for ya K-26, F merc, give Larry peto a call and give your sled the ponies she deserves. Melissa @ Essex can re-fi you and get you cash for a motor upgrade.

[dicudmore]

sorry if I came off looking like a hater last night...
I had been drinking, and really just curious as to what happened.

[Steamin' Rice]

Hater..... :D
Where's Blane with his update?

[boater72]

BTW, I do feel bad for ya K-26, F merc, give Larry peto a call and give your sled the ponies she deserves. Melissa @ Essex can re-fi you and get you cash for a motor upgrade.
Can't go wrong with Larry peto power!

[Havasu Luvr]

Hater..... :D
Where's Blane with his update?
Hey Greg, I was wondering the same thing.... alot hype prior to the install but nothing after the fact :rolleyes: Come on - wondering minds want to know ! ! :rollside:

[Kachina26]

Looks like the poker run pics are up! I guess it's out now, yup I have the Raylar kit. I'm an official member of the R&D team :cry: I thought that this thing wouldn't have gone to market until AFTER the bugs had been worked out. All products go through their growing pains, so I can't fault them for that. I just wish that more testing and development had been done before this was sold as a "reliable" kit. I will hand it to Ray, he has stepped up and made things right. There was a flaw in the manufacturing process of the rocker arm nuts, causing them to break. I have examined the new nuts and compared them to the old ones, I can definately see what the problem was. I now have all new rocker arm nuts and hopefully, all will be well. You will definately see me out on the lake quite a bit running it to make sure :D On a positive note, I have gotten tremendous HP gains! This thing is like a whole different boat! I've gained about 10MPH and I'm still playing with props.

[Dave C]

keep in mind that the 496 is a totally new generation of motor from GM.... so all those years of R&D that went into the aftermarket parts for previous motors is useless to the 496.
They must develop all new parts for the 496 from scratch. For this reason I don't think "growing pains" are unreasonable. Once they have it sorted out it will be good!!
Mark IV motors (e.g. 396-454) have been around forever and the parts are mostly the same. Gen V & Gen VI (502) motors are almost completely compatible with Mark IV with only a few exceptions. So they can use the same parts.
Gen VII (496) is completely new and none of the previous parts are compatible.

[dicudmore]

Looks like the poker run pics are up! I guess it's out now, yup I have the Raylar kit. I'm an official member of the R&D team :cry: I thought that this thing wouldn't have gone to market until AFTER the bugs had been worked out. All products go through their growing pains, so I can't fault them for that. I just wish that more testing and development had been done before this was sold as a "reliable" kit. I will hand it to Ray, he has stepped up and made things right. There was a flaw in the manufacturing process of the rocker arm nuts, causing them to break. I have examined the new nuts and compared them to the old ones, I can definately see what the problem was. I now have all new rocker arm nuts and hopefully, all will be well. You will definately see me out on the lake quite a bit running it to make sure :D On a positive note, I have gotten tremendous HP gains! This thing is like a whole different boat! I've gained about 10MPH and I'm still playing with props.
:idea: maybe I'll get a ride in this boat this weekend with all the new found horsepower :D
I'm not a hater...I talked at least one board member into the kit for his boat (FOCKER) and he is one of the ones that has been on the end of a tow-rope shortly after install. I kinda feel bad about hyping stuff to my friends, talk them into spending lots of money then break down right away :mad:
As stated Ray was helpful in getting their problem resolved, and the HP+MPH gains stand for themselves.

[Beer-30]

I still say it is not worth risking it. Poly-Locks have been on rollers for years without question. They make the shorter ones to help with VC clearance. With that much money invested in the kit, $280 is not much more for the VC spacers to allow plenty of room. The piece of mind would be priceless. It is just a suggestion, but I don't even have a kit to do it on, so take it or leave it. :D

[rvrhlic]

:idea: maybe I'll get a ride in this boat this weekend with all the new found horsepower :D
I'm not a hater...I talked at least one board member into the kit for his boat (FOCKER) and he is one of the ones that has been on the end of a tow-rope shortly after install. I kinda feel bad about hyping stuff to my friends, talk them into spending lots of money then break down right away :mad:
As stated Ray was helpful in getting their problem resolved, and the HP+MPH gains stand for themselves.
I have been on the end of a tow rope too. The Raylar kit blew my engine. I got the 600 HP (supposedly) in May of last year. It has been onthing but problem. Now I have to spend another 10k to bring it to someone who knows that they are doing. Raylar is a lot of talk but that is all it is.... TALK. For those of you thinking about getting the kit DON'T!

[Beer-30]

http://a764.g.akamai.net/f/764/19726/1h/www.thepopcornfactory.com/800f_assets/images/popcorn/images/shop/catalog/31971.jpg

[Kilrtoy]

: I kinda feel bad about hyping stuff to my friends, talk them into spending lots of money then break down right away .
Well I can say I am the ONLY one on here who did not buy into it from the start and I was very wary of this new found preformance gains, that is RELIABLE.... I never recommened buying one, I always said BUY MERCURY, at least you have a warranty....
As far as raylar... I do hope they get all the bugs worked out and provide a reliable source for those with 496's.....
best of luck to all involved

[Beer-30]

That's pretty cool, coming from an outboard guy. You could have ransacked the whole issue and kicked the I/O guys while they are down, but you didn't. Class.

[ChumpChange]

I've gained about 10MPH and I'm still playing with props.
And 10 decibals as well. :)

[Kilrtoy]

That's pretty cool, coming from an outboard guy. You could have ransacked the whole issue and kicked the I/O guys while they are down, but you didn't. Class.
I have been saying this before I bought outboards....
Yes outboards have trouble and i have had my share of them...
BUT I knew this before i bought them...
That is the difference.....
and Im not kicking Randy while he is down either....

[shadow]

Well I can say I am the ONLY one on here who did not buy into it from the start and I was very wary of this new found preformance gains, that is RELIABLE.... I never recommened buying one, I always said BUY MERCURY, at least you have a warranty....
As far as raylar... I do hope they get all the bugs worked out and provide a reliable source for those with 496's.....
best of luck to all involved
I can say mine has been reliable,performance gains night and day difference
all through the rpm range.Few minor bugs but nothing serious.As far as warranty i have personally seen Raylar go above and beyond to make things right with any problems that have occured.
Not saying with a new purchase not to buy a 525,But for someone with a 496 this is definately an option.Merc has had their faur share of gernaded motors as well as a continuious problem with black soot.Ask Kachina Ken & beer 30.

[Beer-30]

Very true. Any mechanical piece of equipment is going to have an issue from time to time. Some more than others. Ya just never know and one has to decide they are going to deal with it as it comes along - or don't own such things.
We'll just have to see how this one pans out.

[ChumpChange]

I was wondering if anything bad was ever going to be said about Raylar. At the beginning, everybody was raving at it but that slowed down and most of the people who installed it just started to shut up about it. Hopefully everything will be resolved for those who dropped some coin on this.

[Focker]

:idea: maybe I'll get a ride in this boat this weekend with all the new found horsepower :D
I'm not a hater...I talked at least one board member into the kit for his boat (FOCKER) and he is one of the ones that has been on the end of a tow-rope shortly after install. I kinda feel bad about hyping stuff to my friends, talk them into spending lots of money then break down right away :mad:
As stated Ray was helpful in getting their problem resolved, and the HP+MPH gains stand for themselves.
hey FOCK U

[Focker]

:idea: maybe I'll get a ride in this boat this weekend with all the new found horsepower :D
I'm not a hater...I talked at least one board member into the kit for his boat (FOCKER) and he is one of the ones that has been on the end of a tow-rope shortly after install. I kinda feel bad about hyping stuff to my friends, talk them into spending lots of money then break down right away :mad:
As stated Ray was helpful in getting their problem resolved, and the HP+MPH gains stand for themselves.
Danny where were u today I went bye your office after a marathon run from LHC. call me this weekend

[cola]

Looks like the poker run pics are up! I guess it's out now, yup I have the Raylar kit. I'm an official member of the R&D team :cry: I thought that this thing wouldn't have gone to market until AFTER the bugs had been worked out. All products go through their growing pains, so I can't fault them for that. I just wish that more testing and development had been done before this was sold as a "reliable" kit. I will hand it to Ray, he has stepped up and made things right. There was a flaw in the manufacturing process of the rocker arm nuts, causing them to break. I have examined the new nuts and compared them to the old ones, I can definately see what the problem was. I now have all new rocker arm nuts and hopefully, all will be well. You will definately see me out on the lake quite a bit running it to make sure :D On a positive note, I have gotten tremendous HP gains! This thing is like a whole different boat! I've gained about 10MPH and I'm still playing with props.
Randy, I kept my mouth shut. :cool:

[Raylar]

Riverhaulic:
Your stock 496 did not blow up from our Raylar kit!! I still have your old blown-up short block in my warehouse. Your stock motor broke a piston as many 496 stock motors have. You can see the cracks in another piston in the same block that was ready to breakup just like the one that did and destroyed your original block. We were just unlucky enough to have a new Raylar kit on your motor when it blew. You were lucky enough to be dealing with a straight up reputable company like mine. Because Aarron at Absolute and I felt so bad about your unfortunate loss, I built a new complete forged internals 600HP capable short block in two weeks at my COST, supplied a new set of our cylinder heads , all gaskets at no charge and Aaron donated all the labor to remove your blown motor and rig and install the new motor complete with water test and tuning!! You need to think more carefully about what you say and you should realize what was done for you in your unfortunate situation. Ask fellow ***boaters what other performance aftermarket manufacturers and service shops would have stepped up to help like this! By the way the new cam you asked for has been at Aarons shop for about two weeks- NO Charge! If boaters with 496's think all stock 496's will only fail with modifications such as our kits they need to talk to a few owners and dealers around the country to know that many stock 496 and other Mercury unmodified motors "Black" & "Blue" blow up and have serious internal issues every week. If these motors never had any problems, no new warranties would be needed. Just ask Blaine about the brand new stock 496 that failed in his beautiful boat after only 6-10 hours and what happened to the warranty replacement engine that was re-installed.
As for our rocker nut issue, we did have a few kits with some machining errors on the nuts and Randy's and two other boats had a problem with the broken nuts. It was not a matter of R&D, we did that very carefully. It was just an issue with our subcontractor not undercutting a couple of threads on a small production quantity. Luckily, the nuts failing will not cause any serious internal engine damage and none occurred. I thank Randy and the others who gave us their vote of confidence to replace the nuts in their motors and allow us to pay for the labor to do so. We are obviously very sorry for the inconvience of their towing and lost boating time!
If aftermarket manufacturers like ourselves folded our tent and quit everytime we encountered a problem there would be none of the great aftermarket performance parts and engines that the high performance boating world has at its disposal. We have done a huge amount of R&D and testing and if an existing simple already on the market poly lock would work and fit on the 496 rocker stud we would be using it already. We developed our nut so that 496 owners would not have to buy $300 valve cover spacers that leak so they could use standard studs and polylocks that also sometimes break.
I would like to personally thank all of the great boaters out there who use Raylar kits and engines and pledge to them that we will never intentionaly manufacture or supply parts that will put their boating at risk. We will always strive to make sure that what we make and sell is quality and as reliable as we can make it. We at Raylar really appreciate the confidence and support that the many (now over 100) Raylar kit and engine users have in our fine product and we will remain committed to doing our best to provide the finest 496 engine components and systems we can.
Again my apologies to those such as Randy who had some unfortunate hardship with our product.
Ray @ Raylar

[phebus]

I am not taking sides, or addressing any issues that have gone on between parties, but I do have to applaud a company that comes on, and responds to issues with a straight up response
Good job Raylar and thanks.

[SHAKE-YO-AZZ]

Was this just a mid-river pitstop or did something happen here??
http://www.jtinc.com/Absolute_PR_05/Run%201/images/APR05_RS_085.jpg
http://www.jtinc.com/Absolute_PR_05/Run%201/images/APR05_RS_087.jpg
:idea:

[JUST LOOKING]

:cool: Nice to read the facts about the whole story, Hats off to " RAYLAR " Good job!!!!!!!
NO DRAMA

[KACHINA KEN]

That's pretty cool, coming from an outboard guy. You could have ransacked the whole issue and kicked the I/O guys while they are down, but you didn't. Class.
He's on reds n vodka today, outta yellows n jack. Soon as he gits to Walgreens he'll be back to his usual asshole shit talkin self we all know and love. :wink:

[KACHINA KEN]

Merc has had their faur share of gernaded motors as well as a continuious problem with black soot.Ask Kachina Ken & beer 30.
yup

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Riverhaulic:
Your stock 496 did not blow up from our Raylar kit!! I still have your old blown-up short block in my warehouse. Your stock motor broke a piston as many 496 stock motors have. You can see the cracks in another piston in the same block that was ready to breakup just like the one that did and destroyed your original block. We were just unlucky enough to have a new Raylar kit on your motor when it blew. You were lucky enough to be dealing with a straight up reputable company like mine. Because Aarron at Absolute and I felt so bad about your unfortunate loss, I built a new complete forged internals 600HP capable short block in two weeks at my COST, supplied a new set of our cylinder heads , all gaskets at no charge and Aaron donated all the labor to remove your blown motor and rig and install the new motor complete with water test and tuning!! You need to think more carefully about what you say and you should realize what was done for you in your unfortunate situation. Ask fellow ***boaters what other performance aftermarket manufacturers and service shops would have stepped up to help like this! By the way the new cam you asked for has been at Aarons shop for about two weeks- NO Charge! If boaters with 496's think all stock 496's will only fail with modifications such as our kits they need to talk to a few owners and dealers around the country to know that many stock 496 and other Mercury unmodified motors "Black" & "Blue" blow up and have serious internal issues every week. If these motors never had any problems, no new warranties would be needed. Just ask Blaine about the brand new stock 496 that failed in his beautiful boat after only 6-10 hours and what happened to the warranty replacement engine that was re-installed.
As for our rocker nut issue, we did have a few kits with some machining errors on the nuts and Randy's and two other boats had a problem with the broken nuts. It was not a matter of R&D, we did that very carefully. It was just an issue with our subcontractor not undercutting a couple of threads on a small production quantity. Luckily, the nuts failing will not cause any serious internal engine damage and none occurred. I thank Randy and the others who gave us their vote of confidence to replace the nuts in their motors and allow us to pay for the labor to do so. We are obviously very sorry for the inconvience of their towing and lost boating time!
If aftermarket manufacturers like ourselves folded our tent and quit everytime we encountered a problem there would be none of the great aftermarket performance parts and engines that the high performance boating world has at its disposal. We have done a huge amount of R&D and testing and if an existing simple already on the market poly lock would work and fit on the 496 rocker stud we would be using it already. We developed our nut so that 496 owners would not have to buy $300 valve cover spacers that leak so they could use standard studs and polylocks that also sometimes break.
I would like to personally thank all of the great boaters out there who use Raylar kits and engines and pledge to them that we will never intentionaly manufacture or supply parts that will put their boating at risk. We will always strive to make sure that what we make and sell is quality and as reliable as we can make it. We at Raylar really appreciate the confidence and support that the many (now over 100) Raylar kit and engine users have in our fine product and we will remain committed to doing our best to provide the finest 496 engine components and systems we can.
Again my apologies to those such as Randy who had some unfortunate hardship with our product.
Ray @ Raylar
Now thats what im talking about.

[Focker]

I was wondering if anything bad was ever going to be said about Raylar. At the beginning, everybody was raving at it but that slowed down and most of the people who installed it just started to shut up about it. Hopefully everything will be resolved for those who dropped some coin on this.
Dude what are you talking about. I have never stopped raving about my package. I have owned boats for 30 years and have always had problems. Never had someone like Ray and Aaron step up to the plate and help so quickly. No product is perfect but the assurance that any issues will be handled is far better than waiting for a merc cruiser warranty let down.
THANK YOU RAY AND AARON!!!!!!!!

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Dude what are you talking about. I have never stopped raving about my package. I have owned boats for 30 years and have always had problems. Never had someone like Ray and Aaron step up to the plate and help so quickly. No product is perfect but the assurance that any issues will be handled is far better than waiting for a merc cruiser warranty let down.
THANK YOU RAY AND AARON!!!!!!!!
Hey Focker,I will vouch for you on this .There is a thread that is on the board about Mercury drives taking a shit.It happens to everyone.http://www.***boat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97859

[Kachina26]

Well, I must say, Aaron has been nothing but stellar in handling my issues, even to the point of letting me get in the bilge with him to see how things are being handled.
Ray sent my new parts out overnight, so I must say that he has stepped up without delay to handle the situation. I just wasn't real happy about being in a position where he had to step up. But, working in a dealership as a tech, I know things do break. I was skeptical about giving it a 3rd try. But, I just got back from another beautiful Havasu weekend and I came back under my own power once again. I ran the boat plenty hard, and it looks like things are going to hold up. I will put quite a few more hours on it before next summer begins, just to make sure.

[Daytona100]

Wow I dont have a 496 but from what Iv read raylar sounds like a standup company. Beleive me anything can fail. For a company to stand up and repair or replace anything is pretty amazeing. Good job Raylar and arron for going above and beyond the call of duty in an industry that you usally get the finger when you encounter a problem. :)

[77charger]

Riverhaulic:
Your stock 496 did not blow up from our Raylar kit!! I still have your old blown-up short block in my warehouse. Your stock motor broke a piston as many 496 stock motors have. You can see the cracks in another piston in the same block that was ready to breakup just like the one that did and destroyed your original block. We were just unlucky enough to have a new Raylar kit on your motor when it blew. You were lucky enough to be dealing with a straight up reputable company like mine. Because Aarron at Absolute and I felt so bad about your unfortunate loss, I built a new complete forged internals 600HP capable short block in two weeks at my COST, supplied a new set of our cylinder heads , all gaskets at no charge and Aaron donated all the labor to remove your blown motor and rig and install the new motor complete with water test and tuning!! You need to think more carefully about what you say and you should realize what was done for you in your unfortunate situation. Ask fellow ***boaters what other performance aftermarket manufacturers and service shops would have stepped up to help like this! By the way the new cam you asked for has been at Aarons shop for about two weeks- NO Charge! If boaters with 496's think all stock 496's will only fail with modifications such as our kits they need to talk to a few owners and dealers around the country to know that many stock 496 and other Mercury unmodified motors "Black" & "Blue" blow up and have serious internal issues every week. If these motors never had any problems, no new warranties would be needed. Just ask Blaine about the brand new stock 496 that failed in his beautiful boat after only 6-10 hours and what happened to the warranty replacement engine that was re-installed.
As for our rocker nut issue, we did have a few kits with some machining errors on the nuts and Randy's and two other boats had a problem with the broken nuts. It was not a matter of R&D, we did that very carefully. It was just an issue with our subcontractor not undercutting a couple of threads on a small production quantity. Luckily, the nuts failing will not cause any serious internal engine damage and none occurred. I thank Randy and the others who gave us their vote of confidence to replace the nuts in their motors and allow us to pay for the labor to do so. We are obviously very sorry for the inconvience of their towing and lost boating time!
If aftermarket manufacturers like ourselves folded our tent and quit everytime we encountered a problem there would be none of the great aftermarket performance parts and engines that the high performance boating world has at its disposal. We have done a huge amount of R&D and testing and if an existing simple already on the market poly lock would work and fit on the 496 rocker stud we would be using it already. We developed our nut so that 496 owners would not have to buy $300 valve cover spacers that leak so they could use standard studs and polylocks that also sometimes break.
I would like to personally thank all of the great boaters out there who use Raylar kits and engines and pledge to them that we will never intentionaly manufacture or supply parts that will put their boating at risk. We will always strive to make sure that what we make and sell is quality and as reliable as we can make it. We at Raylar really appreciate the confidence and support that the many (now over 100) Raylar kit and engine users have in our fine product and we will remain committed to doing our best to provide the finest 496 engine components and systems we can.
Again my apologies to those such as Randy who had some unfortunate hardship with our product.
Ray @ Raylar
I call that stepping up and standing behind what you sell.

[dicudmore]

Well, I must say, Aaron has been nothing but stellar in handling my issues, even to the point of letting me get in the bilge with him to see how things are being handled.
Ray sent my new parts out overnight, so I must say that he has stepped up without delay to handle the situation. I just wasn't real happy about being in a position where he had to step up. But, working in a dealership as a tech, I know things do break. I was skeptical about giving it a 3rd try. But, I just got back from another beautiful Havasu weekend and I came back under my own power once again. I ran the boat plenty hard, and it looks like things are going to hold up. I will put quite a few more hours on it before next summer begins, just to make sure.
yep, still running real strong :D
Thanks for the ride Randy :D

[Focker]

yep, still running real strong :D
Thanks for the ride Randy :D
danny
where ya been

[dicudmore]

danny
where ya been
just got back from Havasu...
was out on the lake with Randy :cool:
I understand you came back as I was leaving :220v:

[shadow]

yep, still running real strong :D
Thanks for the ride Randy :D
Hey Dan,We were running on 7 cylinders when i took you for a spin.

[dicudmore]

Hey Dan,We were running on 7 cylinders when i took you for a spin.
I'm ready for another ride anytime, especially now that I don't have a boat :cool:

[INSman]

Let me throw in my .02c, as some have requested...
My project is a bit different than most, as we built some new 496 motors from scratch, starting with seasoned blocks that were balanced and blueprinted, and then went with all forged internals and the more aggressive cam from the 106 kit. The motors were completed, dynoed and then I picked them up from San Diego and delivered to Aaron at Absolute.
From that point on, and since this was a soon to come out (January) Magazine Project boat of sorts, we have gone through all kinds of changes, adjustments, modifications, customizing, etc... The 600HP motor in my mind is not a "turn-key" kit, as you really need to upgrade the exhaust, fuel pumps, spark arrestors, water/fuel separators, oil coolers and a re-worked ECM to really get the full potential out of this particular package.
After having just got off the boat earlier today, I have to honestly say that the wait and delays (some planned, others not) has been worth it and I truly enjoy working through this project with Ray. Like most intelligent people, if you treat someone as you would like to be treated and with some respect, you will likely be treated back in the same manner.
Where I am at present is as follows:
Stock configuration = Twin 496 Mags (375HP ea) on labbed 26's ran 71-72 mph on the hottest of Havasu days (128) and I have mufflers.
Current configuration = Twin Raylar 600's (600+HP ea) on labbed 32's ran 82+ (more stick left) until we got "overspeed" alarms on th ECM, which kept us from true top speed, as the Merc "guardian" system kicks in and starts to remove power.
Where we are headed and where we end up in my humble opinion is as follows:
The ECM needs to be reprogrammed to take full advantage of the engines HP and torque by uping the REV limiter to 5,400. I also need to confirm my 'X' dimension on the boat to ensure that the drives are not too deep. Once we have the 'X' confirmed and the new RPM capabilities, we will run the boat again and likely come up with 85-86 MPH and then I will probably dump the mufflers and pick up another 5-6 MPH, as Barry from Shockwave did earlier this year when he first ran his new 34' with twin 575's !!! :cool:
I hope this answers a lot of the questions about my project and Raylar :rollside:

[OGShocker]

Like most intelligent people, if you treat someone as you would like to be treated and with some respect, you will likely be treated back in the same manner.
:rollside:
Screw your opinion. :crossx:

[INSman]

Screw your opinion. :crossx:
Hey, don't you have a sheep to screw or something while you are down in Aussie land ?? Better yet, why don't you go swimming on the Barrier Reef without a cage !! :argue: :rollside:

[rvrhlic]

I call that stepping up and standing behind what you sell.
'First of all let me say, Aaron has been the best and has really gone above and beyond and I will continue to use him for anything i need in the future. I see my post was removed.
As far as stepping up, I was under the impression that Raylar was going to step up. As Raylar says, I just got "unlucky" and my engine happened to blow right after the kit was installed (incredible coincidence). I was promised when i gave Raylar another 4500 that I would have an engine I would love. They built a 496 HO from the ground up with all forged internals. I was excited about that. I made the mistake of not getting anything in writing. Needless to say the engine build for me cannot even get out of the hole with a 4 blade 24 pitch prop (which comes with a stock 496). Oh… I was even told to drill holes in my 24 pitch prop so that I could get out of the hole. Raylar even tried to blame Aaron for putting the camshaft in wrong until we corrected them and let them know they put it in. Raylar has said several times in email that they will take care of issues but never do. They had no idea about needed to reprogram the ECM until after the gave me my engine and I ran it for the weekend.
I am not trying to flame anyone and if ***boat cannot put the truth that is their choice. Obviously I was very patient with this as I has not said anything all summer. It is clear to me that I am not going to get any help from Raylar so I decided to tell my story. There is more to it but I am sure this post will probably be removed.

[ChumpChange]

Dude what are you talking about. I have never stopped raving about my package. I have owned boats for 30 years and have always had problems. Never had someone like Ray and Aaron step up to the plate and help so quickly. No product is perfect but the assurance that any issues will be handled is far better than waiting for a merc cruiser warranty let down.
THANK YOU RAY AND AARON!!!!!!!!
Had you posted in this thread prior to my comment? Nope. I guess that means it coudn't have been directed at you. Glad you got it resolved.

[Raylar]

KC (riverholic)
Raylar even though we have gone above and beyond for you, will never make you happy. You are one of those customers who no matter how much we do for you including a new motor at our cost, free engine parts and totally donated labor who wnats $12,000 worth of performance for $4500. Your motor blew up because it had weakened pistons in it before you put the kit on and the extra power of the kit was more than the bad pistons could take. Remember KC, I still have your old block and anybody who wishes may view the condition of the pistons in the block. You need to stop blaming everybody else for your misfortune on your stock motor. Remember stock 496's in some boats blow up new and otherwise, just ask Blane. Our Raylar kit did not blow up your engine and you are really ungrateful for what was done to help you. I am done answering your bashes here on the HOT Boat forums, you need to change the cam and enjoy your Raylar 525HP level motor.
Ray @ Raylar :mad:

[INSman]

Yes indeed, stock 496's can and will have problems as documented MANY times on these boards. I had a motor go out with less than 30 hours, and Merc quickly provided a brand new long block for replacement. Low and behold, that brand spanking new longblock came with a defective circulating pump, so luckily for me, Quality Marine tested the motor on a stand before reinstalling, otherwise that motor would have probably blown up too.
Note to KC..
I can understand and share in some of your frustrations, but bashing Ray and Raylar here on the boards is not going to make your situation any better. Try the 525 cam and if you want the full 600+ HP, call me as we are just about 98% there, and I am very happy.

[Mandelon]

Wasn't his motor essentially new? I believe it was in an 04 Magic deckboat....

[dicudmore]

Yes indeed, stock 496's can and will have problems as documented MANY times on these boards. I had a motor go out with less than 30 hours, and Merc quickly provided a brand new long block for replacement. Low and behold, that brand spanking new longblock came with a defectice circulating pump, so luckily for me, Quality Marine tested the motor on a stand before reinstalling, otherwise that motor would have probably blown up too.
Note to KC..
I can understand and share in some of your frustrations, but bashing Ray and Raylar here on the boards is not going to make your situation any better. Try the 525 cam and if you want the full 600+ HP, call me as we are just about 98% there, and I am very happy.
yes indeed...stuff breaks sometimes...you and I know this all too well.
my only question. Was there anything noticeably wrong with the short-block before the heads etc were put on?? I agree that the Raylar parts wouldn't have caused the piston to go, but if it blew 2 hours later maybe there was evidence in the piston area while it was apart the first time??
These happen to all of us in the service/repair business. Heck, my shop replaced a fuel pump on a Yukon a few days ago, 300 miles later the tank started leaking fuel. I was on the hook for it because I didn't recommend a new tank when we did the pump. :mad: