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496HO Power Upgrades for 2700 Playcraft

3K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  Beer:30 
#1 ·
Just bought a 2700 Playcraft with a 496HO with a Bravo3 looking to do small upgrades. Any ideas on the best bang for your buck out there? Still want to keep turnkey not a wrencher! Motor is turning between 4200 and 4600 RPM depending on weather can this motor turn over 5k with the bravo3?

Reprogram Computer?

Roller Rockers and Cam?

Running 87 and still getting major soot on transom and looking to get this thing running a little cleaner with some more power. Would like to do a clean 60-65 boat is doing about 55 now on a good day which is good but seems like there is more there.
 
#2 ·
Just bought a 2700 Playcraft with a 496HO with a Bravo3 looking to do small upgrades. Any ideas on the best bang for your buck out there? Still want to keep turnkey not a wrencher! Motor is turning between 4200 and 4600 RPM depending on weather can this motor turn over 5k with the bravo3?

Reprogram Computer?

Roller Rockers and Cam?

Running 87 and still getting major soot on transom and looking to get this thing running a little cleaner with some more power. Would like to do a clean 60-65 boat is doing about 55 now on a good day which is good but seems like there is more there.
It already has a roller cam.

Whipple is the only place with the software to re-program the ECM. They have the 87 and 92 octane upgraded tunes available - $800ish.

You won't get much over your current speed with the BIII drive. Nothing is free. The BIII offers great docking/manuvering manners and excellent acceleration out of the hole. However, the negative side of that is - a bunch more drag than a BI and more parasitic power loss.

The BIII has a wider lower unit for the planetary gear setup for the counter-rotation. Along the same line, the extra prop in the water is more drag.

The extra gear setup and outer shaft also take more HP to drive than a standard outdrive.

Sure, ANY extra HP/TQ will help here and there, but you would need some serious HP to get you into the 60s. Especially with a toon. If you had a stepped-V hull or a cat, each MPH extra creates more lift and less wetted area (boat in the water). With the pontoons, you don't really get extra lift with extra MPH.
 
#4 ·
496ho

dont forget the 496 drops fuel from cylinders and not dropping cylinders for is rev limilter, also if you do any upgrades you better at minimum change valve spring to dual rates since the 496 is one of only two mercs that run single valve springs.we added prochargers to a boat with dual 496 hos and we discovered all these issues, we installed crane dual springs and gold roller rockers and of course the valve covers would not fit. so new valve covers and then no where for all the coils to monut so a buch of small mods had to be fabbed up. this was a couple years ago so they may make some more advanced parts now we ran only 4-5 psi and to this date no issues. this was in a big 14000 poung cobalt with 13' beam it had bravo 3's but we kept tapping the rev limiter with the biggest props made, so we went to bravo 3 xr's wich then offer props that worked. goog luck
 
#10 ·
You can also take the top elbows off of the manifolds, take out the "turbulators" (2.5" restrictor plates) and bolt the elbows back on. No new gaskets or anything. Just use the old two gaskets on each side. Easiest 7hp ever! A little better sound and a tiny feel in power. It will reduce the soot just a tad also.
 
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