Buying some new stuff

[Concept1]

Well I have followed all of your advice and decided to wait a while on building the motor. I guess having a warranty is a nice thing when something goes wrong, Ive ended up buying some CMI headers and a Filter so far. Any suggestions on a prop if I decide to buy 1 of those too. ITs got a 26 Bravo 1 4 blade on it now, any ideas about what to use yo pick up top speed or is that the best one? Thanks for all your help in advance!

[FilthyHaBIT]

Well I have followed all of your advice and decided to wait a while on building the motor. I guess having a warranty is a nice thing when something goes wrong, Ive ended up buying some CMI headers and a Filter so far. Any suggestions on a prop if I decide to buy 1 of those too. ITs got a 26 Bravo 1 4 blade on it now, any ideas about what to use yo pick up top speed or is that the best one? Thanks for all your help in advance!
Get your 26 pitch labbed or buy a new Merc Racing Bravo 1 labbed prop. I've heard the Merc Racing labbed props are superior to other aftermarket lab jobs. Try hopping up to a 28 pitch...my boat came with a labbed 26 and I jumped to the Merc labbed 28 and have been much happier. 2 or 3 mph difference.

[sigepmock]

Picking props is a bit of "black Magic" but the basics are this.....Run the boat at WOT and record your top speed and RPM. Now if your at or very near the motor's rev limiter....that means you have the power to go up a size in pitch say from a 26 to a 28..
Now if you are below the rev limiter by 500 rpm or more then you may need less prop pitch.....
This is a very generic version of it but you get the idea.
A good way to get a couple hundred more RPM out of your current size prop is to have it "labbed" this is a fine tuning of the prop that allows it to slice through the water a little cleaner and usually picks up a couple of hundred RPM's with the same power.
If you are just bumping the rev limiter or just slightly below it you may want to jump up to the next size prop but get a labbed version of the next size.....say go from a 26 pitch to a labbed 28.
Again very rough examples given. With the CMI headers and your 496 HO you may be able to pull a labbed 28 but you may also notice less bottom end or out of the hole power.
There is always a balance between hole shot and top speed. I think the key is to get a prop that allows you good hole shot with all your gear and passengers and still get's you close to your top speed.
Going for all top end speed may not make your boat all that "drivable" at normal speeds.
Again just my $.02,
Chris

[Cole Trickle]

Save your money on the CMI's and and put the $$ towards a better stereo.
$4,000+ for maybe 2-3 mph is a waste.
Also just so you know....the only person in a deck boat that is having a good time above 60mph is the driver. :)

[phebus]

Save your money on the CMI's and and put the $$ towards a better stereo.
$4,000+ for maybe 2-3 mph is a waste.
Also just so you know....the only person in a deck boat that is having a good time above 60mph is the driver. :)
True dat. :)

[Havasu_Dreamin]

Wait until your warranty is up to put the CMI's on as I would think that adding them would void your warranty.

[Deano]

I would send your current prop over to Bronson/Hill in Santa Ana. He can add some pitch and/or cup to it and bring it where you wanna be. Its only about 200 bucks to get it done.

[Concept1]

Yea I hate this I keep going back and fourth on this matter I just cant beat the bigger and faster bug. I already have the stereo coming for it. Maybe ill just do the headers and the prop just for piece of mind and then see how that works. The guys at ECM are talking about building a complete motor for me for $28,000 and my motor and that includes more steering products to make it safer. I just want to do something asap so it will be totally ready for spring time and partying!

[Cole Trickle]

Yea I hate this I keep going back and fourth on this matter I just cant beat the bigger and faster bug. I already have the stereo coming for it. Maybe ill just do the headers and the prop just for piece of mind and then see how that works. The guys at ECM are talking about building a complete motor for me for $28,000 and my motor and that includes more steering products to make it safer. I just want to do something asap so it will be totally ready for spring time and partying!
Leave it alone or you will be kicking your self down the road.
You are a self proclaimed new boater that is looking to throw a 28K motor in a 90K boat that has yet to have anything but a HO installed?
Throw the $$ that is burning a whole in your pocket into some kind of CD or high yield savings account.
Put in the stereo and enjoy the boat for what it is. A speedy reliable people hauler.
Drive it and learn what the boat does and dosen't like and then in a year when the warranty is out add more power.
Dosen't matter how fast your boat is when your tied up with other boats having a good time. :) :p

[ChumpChange]

You are a self proclaimed new boater that is looking to throw a 28K motor in a 90K boat that has yet to have anything but a HO installed?
100% agree on this remark. Wait til somebody else goes with big power in a NEXT boat and see how it handles. You don't want to be the first to find out that the boat handles rough over a certain mph.

[Concept1]

100% agree on this remark. Wait til somebody else goes with big power in a NEXT boat and see how it handles. You don't want to be the first to find out that the boat handles rough over a certain mph.
Yea you guys are right I just decided to leave it alone! Thanks for all the help!!