Mercury 5 Blade Maximus Props

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Has anyone used the newer mercury 5 blade maximus props.How good do they work.

[92562]

In a very efficient "v", there was too much stern lift. I am told that if you cut the difuser, it's a great prop for my application. The Essex 27 with the 600sci is a great example of a Maximus sucess story.

[FOUNTAINATLAST]

I have also heard to cut it down to 14.5" diameter as well as the diffuser ring from our prop distributer. In his experience those props stock are big drive killers...

[INSman]

Ted
The guys you want to talk to about this are over on Offshore Only, known as
BBlades out of Princeton Wisconsin.
Call Brett Anderson 920-295-4435
Give him th specs on your boat, motor, etc and he will come up with a solution for you and they also have a "demo" program for the Maximus props, subject to a small processing fee and shipping fees.
I am going to work with these guys, once my IMCO shortie lowers get installed next week.
Blane

[LHC30Victory]

Just to stir the pot some, What I have heard consistently is that the Hydromotive P5 (plain or X) are way better than the merc offerings. AND they are about 1/3 less $$. Like Blane said, go to OSO and look for - here it is different - Julie at Throttle Up. They offer a testing program - not free but it is better than buying a lot of props :argue:

[INSman]

Just to stir the pot some, What I have heard consistently is that the Hydromotive P5 (plain or X) are way better than the merc offerings. AND they are about 1/3 less $$. Like Blane said, go to OSO and look for - here it is different - Julie at Throttle Up. They offer a testing program - not free but it is better than buying a lot of props :argue:
I agree, Throttle Up is well respected and just carry different products from what I understand.. No matter which way you go, props are definitely expensive, especially when buying in pairs !! :mad: :hammerhea :D

[shadow]

Has anyone used the newer mercury 5 blade maximus props.How good do they work.
Ted,from what i understand a 5 blade will enhance mid range performance.
Less slipage = more eficient,I also think you will need to pitch down a size with a 5 blade.
Smaller prop = less top end mph / less slipage = more eficient maybe pick back up the loss in mph due to proping down,but that puts you back at square 1 for top end.
Twice the cost of a labbed bravo 4 blade,whats to gain?At least thats the way i understand it.Unless of course we are talking some big HP.
I may be wrong in my theroy if so hope someone will correct me. :)

[LHC30Victory]

Darrell, you are right on - there is a trade off (just like anything boating related :rolleyes: ) but the top end loss is limited due to the less slippage (I think). It depends what you are after, if it is top end, then theoretically you want a one blade propeller (if you could balance it :) ), The 5 blade is more drag and hence, less top end availability, but the holeshot and midrange (where most of us boat m & most of the time) is greatly improved.
As far as price, the Hydromotive P5X is about 980, where the labbed Bravo is about - what - 800? It is the Mercury Maximus that goes for about $1500 (2X the bravo lab).
BTW, I have a new bottle of Tattoo :220v: :argue: :rolleyes:

[BADASS38CHEVY]

This is what I found on mercury props.http://www.mercurymarine.com/propellers2#1514

[INSman]

This is what I found on mercury props.http://www.mercurymarine.com/propellers2#1514
That is Mercury's website as you know and I am sure most of it is true. The best would be to try a Hydromotive P5's and a Maximus to see what works for your particular setup. I think you have a single engine, right ?? I have heard that the Maximus prop can be a drive killer, but probably not so much on lake use as opposed to ocean thrashing.

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Correct single engine.I read a story in this months powerboat magazine in Teague Tech where a guy that has a cat with 500 efi and wanted more speed and the Teague recommended a mercury maximus 26p prop vs his mercury bravo 24p that he was running or a bravo 26p labbed. His rpm's and speeds were about the same.So Im trying to do some research.

[LHC30Victory]

Teague may be biased toward Merc stuff as he sells Bravos and Maximus but not Hydromotive. Do what Blane suggests, try each because each boat will like a different setup....

[INSman]

Teague may be biased toward Merc stuff as he sells Bravos and Maximus but not Hydromotive. Do what Blane suggests, try each because each boat will like a different setup....
Yeah, what he said !!! :)
And/or call Lavey and ask them what may work best based upon what they may have tried in the past.

[LHC30Victory]

Listen to Blane,,,,He has learned a lot since I met him....
I'm sure it's not because he listened to me though :rolleyes:

[INSman]

Listen to Blane,,,,He has learned a lot since I met him....
I'm sure it's not because he listened to me though :rolleyes:
I am a sponge for knowlege and listen very carefully to what most intelligent people have to say, although I reserve the right to totally disagree !!! :rollside:

[phebus]

Most of the good results I have read about with the Maximus props, is with them cut down in diameter. The cost just goes up.

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Yeah, what he said !!! :)
And/or call Lavey and ask them what may work best based upon what they may have tried in the past.
Well Blane I took your advice on calling Lavey today.This is the plan so far. Send Intake Plenuim to Arizona speed and marine to have throttle opening bored out to match up to the Arizona's bigger throttle body and have the ecm reprogramed and have rev limiter bump from 5200 rpm to 5500 rpm. That will give me 75 hp's .Then go with the Imco 2 inch shorty lower drive case and switch out my lower xr case.Them run a Hydromotive P5X .Blane whos doing your imco shorty drive? And how much is the cost for one done.I already have a xr drive.So I will have a xr lower case for sale when this is done.Also are these Gibson mufflers slowing me down?

[INSman]

Well Blane I took your advice on calling Lavey today.This is the plan so far. Send Intake Plenuim to Arizona speed and marine to have throttle opening bored out to match up to the Arizona's bigger throttle body and have the ecm reprogramed and have rev limiter bump from 5200 rpm to 5500 rpm. That will give me 75 hp's .Then go with the Imco 2 inch shorty lower drive case and switch out my lower xr case.Them run a Hydromotive P5X .Blane whos doing your imco shorty drive? And how much is the cost for one done.I already have a xr drive.So I will have a xr lower case for sale when this is done.Also are these Gibson mufflers slowing me down?
IMCO shortie will run you $1,200 min to $1,725, not including installation. I don't know how much you can sell the XR lower after you ae done with it, but has to be worth $400 or so to someone. Aaron and Brian at Absolute are doing my lowers at present and should be done and back on th boat in a day or so, cost for R&R unknown at present.
I don't want to bash anyones mufflers, but let's just say that I strongly believe that they do in fact rob rpm and top speed. At leat 2-4mph on a single motor and 5-8 on twins. This coming from someone that has the mufflers that were tested and supposed to NOT have any power or rpm loss. There is a pair of Imco Shortie Lowers for sale over on OSO at this moment, maybe the guy will break up the pair for you. If used doesn't work, I have the guy for the $1,725 new deal.
http://www.offshoreonly.com/esvon/page-9357.html

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Blane,what do expect to gain on the imco lowers as in mph gains. I am going wait a little on the imco right now.We just ordered a 40 ft container from the phillipines so my money is tied up till I can move some product first. I was also thinking about sell the Gibsons mufflers and putting on Gibson clamp on mufflers.That way I can remove them sometimes. There is alot of good stuff on OSO.

[Phat Matt]

Blane,what do expect to gain on the imco lowers as in mph gains. I am going wait a little on the imco right now.We just ordered a 40 ft container from the phillipines so my money is tied up till I can move some product first. I was also thinking about sell the Gibsons mufflers and putting on Gibson clamp on mufflers.That way I can remove them sometimes.
Have they set up your boat with the shorties on? My boat didn't like them when we tested it. It works well with the 525's, but with the HO's it was hard to get it to roll over up on plane. The XR's worked out better for me.

[Phat Matt]

Also, they tried different props including the 5 blades and my labbed bravo 1's worked out best for my set up.

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Have they set up your boat with the shorties on? My boat didn't like them when we tested it. It works well with the 525's, but with the HO's it was hard to get it to roll over up on plane. The XR's worked out better for me.
I talked to Kevin at Lavey today.He said the boat would be fine with the shorties on it.They have already did testing on them.He said about a 5 mph gain with the shorties along with the correct prop.My 500efi is 470hp at the prop so with the Arizona upgrade a additional 75 hp so at 545hp's he said 8 to 10 mph gain.

[Phat Matt]

I talked to Kevin at Lavey today.He said the boat would be fine with the shorties on it.They have already did testing on them.He said about a 5 mph gain with the shorties along with the correct prop.My 500efi is 470hp at the prop so with the Arizona upgrade a additional 75 hp so at 545hp's he said 8 to 10 mph gain.
Nice. Sounds like a good set up. I was lucky that they tested it out for me to see what works best without having to sink a bunch of funds into it. :)

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Ya thats true.I figure that im ahead of the game a little.I registered my boat in oregon so I saved myself sales tax.We have a place there in Hillsboro.

[INSman]

Blane,what do expect to gain on the imco lowers as in mph gains. I am going wait a little on the imco right now.We just ordered a 40 ft container from the phillipines so my money is tied up till I can move some product first. I was also thinking about sell the Gibsons mufflers and putting on Gibson clamp on mufflers.That way I can remove them sometimes. There is alot of good stuff on OSO.
I am guessing at 5 or so MPH with the Shorties, as my stock 'X' dimension from the factory seems to be on the "deep" side. The IMCO design is more efficient than the Bravo as well due to the nose cone which I understand loads the props better. I could gain some more mph by dumping my mufflers, but I like the convenience of launching at the marina.

[Phat Matt]

Ya thats true.I figure that im ahead of the game a little.I registered my boat in oregon so I saved myself sales tax.We have a place there in Hillsboro.
Cool. :)

[BADASS38CHEVY]

IMCO shortie will run you $1,200 min to $1,725, not including installation. I don't know how much you can sell the XR lower after you ae done with it, but has to be worth $400 or so to someone. Aaron and Brian at Absolute are doing my lowers at present and should be done and back on th boat in a day or so, cost for R&R unknown at present.
I don't want to bash anyones mufflers, but let's just say that I strongly believe that they do in fact rob rpm and top speed. At leat 2-4mph on a single motor and 5-8 on twins. This coming from someone that has the mufflers that were tested and supposed to NOT have any power or rpm loss. There is a pair of Imco Shortie Lowers for sale over on OSO at this moment, maybe the guy will break up the pair for you. If used doesn't work, I have the guy for the $1,725 new deal.
http://www.offshoreonly.com/esvon/page-9357.html
Blane ,can I get that # of the guy that has the 1,725.00 deal on the Imco shorty lower case.

[INSman]

Blane ,can I get that # of the guy that has the 1,725.00 deal on the Imco shorty lower case.
My work never ends .... :)
kevin hadley
hadley performance marine
513-532-6620
khadley@nalu.net

[BADASS38CHEVY]

My work never ends .... :)
kevin hadley
hadley performance marine
513-532-6620
khadley@nalu.net
Thanks for doing the work for me. I owe you one.

[INSman]

Thanks for doing the work for me. I owe you one.
No problem at all, that is part of what the boards are for, even though this is an OSO guy. I was off on the price a little though, $1,728 :) or you can get the slower but nicer looking polished lower for $1,9?? :rollside:

[phebus]

Badass, I just had my Bravo upper rebuilt with XR gears, if you sell your XR lower, let me know a price.
Thanks

[Boa1277]

I am guessing at 5 or so MPH with the Shorties, as my stock 'X' dimension from the factory seems to be on the "deep" side. The IMCO design is more efficient than the Bravo as well due to the nose cone which I understand loads the props better. I could gain some more mph by dumping my mufflers, but I like the convenience of launching at the marina.
We just went through the same thing last year with my buddies 26 Howard bowrider Cat, we also went with the shorty lower unit and it brought up the top speed by 4mph, and we gained 2mph with the Hydromotive 5 blade he is running a Pfaff 700hp and we are getting 94mph gps with 2 200+ pound men which is up from 88mph originally, He also is running the imco mufflers. I will say this we lost bottom end and planing time with the shorter lower unit.. The 5 blade will give you lift but make sure it is not to much you dont want to get to loose. Good luck I hope it works out for you.

[INSman]

Badass, I just had my Bravo upper rebuilt with XR gears, if you sell your XR lower, let me know a price.
Thanks
Rick, mine will be for sale here next week and I am sure Ted will follow shortly thereafter, no guts though, only the case.

[shadow]

We just went through the same thing last year with my buddies 26 Howard bowrider Cat, we also went with the shorty lower unit and it brought up the top speed by 4mph, and we gained 2mph with the Hydromotive 5 blade he is running a Pfaff 700hp and we are getting 94mph gps with 2 200+ pound men which is up from 88mph originally, He also is running the imco mufflers. I will say this we lost bottom end and planing time with the shorter lower unit.. The 5 blade will give you lift but make sure it is not to much you dont want to get to loose. Good luck I hope it works out for you.
I was thinking Tabs would be a must on a deck set up with a shorty.

[Tom Brown]

Like anything else, more blades are better than less. From that, we can deduce that a guy with a 5 blade prop is a better man than a guy with a 4 blade prop. It's that simple.
I still run the obsolete 3 blade prop technology on my boat. I can't afford a 4 blade and, let's face it, 5 blade props are for plutocrats.

[phebus]

Rick, mine will be for sale here next week and I am sure Ted will follow shortly thereafter, no guts though, only the case.
Thanks Blane, I thought I would upgrade the gearset to XR, but if it's just cases, wouldn't help.
Thanks

[Boa1277]

I was thinking Tabs would be a must on a deck set up with a shorty.
Yeah he has tabs also, they are a big help especially when we get a load of chicks on board. LOL Oops dont tell the wifes that one.

[INSman]

Thanks Blane, I thought I would upgrade the gearset to XR, but if it's just cases, wouldn't help.
Thanks
I would think that gear sets are pretty easy to come by, I'll ask Aaron at Absolute what a set would cost, I assume 1.5 ??

[MACHINEHEAD]

Have tried IMCO 1-2-3" on cat/tunnels with great results assuming the drive was too deep too begin with. The v bottoms have been a different story. Never really got a speed increase with any of them. Seems that none of the units would allow the boat to free up. A couple of props were always tried, but never could find a good combo. This has been confirmed with a few other guys. Imcos work on cats. Stick with bravo shaped stuff on v bottoms.
I think a maximus on a imco drive would be a mistake with the v hulls. But I have not tested everything!

[BADASS38CHEVY]

I was thinking Tabs would be a must on a deck set up with a shorty. Im hope not.But if so, who has the killer deal on tabs?

[BADASS38CHEVY]

No problem at all, that is part of what the boards are for, even though this is an OSO guy. I was off on the price a little though, $1,728 :) or you can get the slower but nicer looking polished lower for $1,9?? :rollside:
I think the polished would not look polished to long in the Havasu ,Parker waters.

[shadow]

Im hope not.But if so, who has the killer deal on tabs?
Not sure who's got the killer deals on them,but i'd be willing to bet you won't be happy without them.May want to get some other opinons.I hope that this set up works out well for you and the gains are worth every penny spent.
You've got a sweet boat,nows it's just a matter of tinkering and dialing it in to where you want it.

[BADASS38CHEVY]

Thanks Darrell, Im open to suggestions right now. Still kicking this around till the time is here.I have been considering trim tabs for awhile just because of the weight that I have with the stereo and that its a deck boat that will carry lots of people so coming to plan can take some effort.

[tgun]

BADASS38CHEVY- I am also in the process of trying a 1 inch IMCO Shorty on my 28 Domn8er deckboat and have just gone to using IMCO Gatlin mufflers. I believe are boats are very similiar in weight. I will be testing Monday or Tuesday. I will post my results here and I hope you guys will continue to do the same. This has been are very informative post. Thanks guys, Tom

[BADASS38CHEVY]

BADASS38CHEVY- I am also in the process of trying a 1 inch IMCO Shorty on my 28 Domn8er deckboat and have just gone to using IMCO Gatlin mufflers. I believe are boats are very similiar in weight. I will be testing Monday or Tuesday. I will post my results here and I hope you guys will continue to do the same. This has been are very informative post. Thanks guys, Tom
That would be awesome . What Hp's are you running,and are you using trim tabs.

[tgun]

I'm running 700 hp and have no tabs.

[BADASS38CHEVY]

What GPS speeds are you getting now.

[tgun]

82 mph on gps is best I've gotten.

[TOBTEK]

IF anyone needs a set of Maximus's, I have a SET of 28 pitch, right and left props forsale. one is brandnew with 5 minutes in the no wake zone, the other is more used but flawless. $1200.00 for the SET, no hubs.

[boatnam2]

ted let me know what you figure out!

[BADASS38CHEVY]

ted let me know what you figure out!
Jim, did you ever get your dialed in yet?

[boatnam2]

no i havent even made it to parker to pick it up yet.i was going to have the drive done there but i cant find storage on the cali side so i guess next week i will bring it home and take it to teague.