[Speedy G]

I'm new to NM and I've ran my boat only once here and it ran crap. I took it to a shop in Albuquerque (which theres not much to choose from) and they suggested at minimum a prop change and possibly a gear number change.?????? They also hinted that my outdrive is borderline acceptible for my engine and they said run it until it dies, upgrade the guts to an xr or at least purchase an xr style upper. I've only been into boating a few years and I started back in Lousiana so I'm still learning. My boat is a carrera 257 effect and I was told the horsepower was 750-800. The ourtdrive is a bravo 1 and the gear number is 1.36. They suggested changing to a lower prop and if I was'nt happy they could possibly go to a 1.50. but hinted a prop would probly do. Does a gear number change sound legit(they said it was due to altitude). My current prop is a 36. They suggested if I stay with a 1.36 to drop prop to somewhere around a 33 but I'm supposed to go back to the lake and check rpms (once it warms up) (I thought it was supposed to be warm during the winters here--ha-ha) As far as a drive change goes they said with the lightness of my boat I would probably be ok just messing with mu upper unit instead of a whole outdrive change. Any ideas on that?. Any other advice for running at this altitude would be great. Has anybody had any problems with D and M Marine. The guy I was talking to seemed to know what he's talking about and they actually have a place to dunk the boat at there shop so they don't have to go to the lake to check it out. He had an htm boat there that he claimed was his and his dads and it was supposed to have a lot of power in front of an imco drive with no break-downs so hopefully he knows what he's doin but I've been duped before.
I'm new to these forums, I've always read them but never participated. Any helpful ideas would be great.
Thanks

 

[RTRACING]

What lake do you go to here in NM I have a 257 also with a 1.36 gear at navajo lake i run a 30 4 blade if that help you i pull 5800 at a littel over a 100

 

[Speedy G]

I've only been to elephant butte once, other than that I have not been to any other lakes here. I would like to keep my rpm's no higher than 5800. What kind hp are you runnin?

 

[Speedy G]

Have you had any drive work done or is the stock bravo sufficient?

 

[tpmarine]

Mark & Dave over at D&M are very knowledgeable and it sounds like they have given good advice.

Try a prop change to get your rpms where you want them. However, if you do need a gear change, D&M marine is the only shop in Albuquerque that I would recommend for that.

 

[RTRACING]

I've only been to elephant butte once, other than that I have not been to any other lakes here. I would like to keep my rpm's no higher than 5800. What kind hp are you runnin?

My Hp is around 1200

 

[RTRACING]

Have you had any drive work done or is the stock bravo sufficient?

I run a IMCO SCX

 

[Speedy G]

Thanks for the replies.

What kind of performance differences should I expect between elephant butte and someplace like navajo? Is it significant enough to warrant the purchase of another prop just for navajo?

 

[jetboat jim]

Welcome to Altitude sickness. I also recommend D&M. They are the only shop I recommend.

 

[redneckcharlie]

The butte is 4500 ft, Navajo is 6100. A good rule of thumb is 5% per 1000 ft in elevation(performance loss). Welcome to NM and enjoying the affects of elevation. I always get a kick out of the guys in the main area of this site that don't believe dealing with elevation is a pain in the xss.

 

[Speedy G]

Hey RT, I might (down the road) be interested in bigger hp, so I talked to the guy over at d&m marine and he said the scx would definately be the way to go. He's not sure if you could just bolt an upper scx on to my bravo lower or not so he's going to contact IMCO to find out. He also said if I was going to go that route, the whole drive would be better but he said it was real pricey, (13-14k)at minimum I should consider 1 1/4 propshaft upgrade. I was also told a the bell housing that the drive attatches to would have to be changed.

In your experience, what do you know of this scx?
I was told the price of the upper alone was roughly 8,500.00 (ouch) and the bell hsg alone was 790.00. Does'nt that seem a little high????

Not to be a pain in the arse but what about exhaust? I was told with my current hp, I'm just a tick shy on exhaust. I have stock exhaust and it was suggested to upgrade, prefferably to a header type (especially with the idea of viagra for my motor). He suggested lightning headers because they seemed to be much cheaper than most others somewhere 3500.00+.
Any input? Like I said before, I'm fairly new to boating especially this kind of boating, so I don't want to get taken advantage of but they don't seem to be like car salesmen who are eager just to get me to commit to something.

Thanks in advance
DAMN THIS HOBBY IS GETTING EXPENSIVE

 

[RTRACING]

Hey RT, I might (down the road) be interested in bigger hp, so I talked to the guy over at d&m marine and he said the scx would definately be the way to go. He's not sure if you could just bolt an upper scx on to my bravo lower or not so he's going to contact IMCO to find out. He also said if I was going to go that route, the whole drive would be better but he said it was real pricey, (13-14k)at minimum I should consider 1 1/4 propshaft upgrade. I was also told a the bell housing that the drive attatches to would have to be changed.

In your experience, what do you know of this scx?
I was told the price of the upper alone was roughly 8,500.00 (ouch) and the bell hsg alone was 790.00. Does'nt that seem a little high????

Not to be a pain in the arse but what about exhaust? I was told with my current hp, I'm just a tick shy on exhaust. I have stock exhaust and it was suggested to upgrade, prefferably to a header type (especially with the idea of viagra for my motor). He suggested lightning headers because they seemed to be much cheaper than most others somewhere 3500.00+.
Any input? Like I said before, I'm fairly new to boating especially this kind of boating, so I don't want to get taken advantage of but they don't seem to be like car salesmen who are eager just to get me to commit to something.

Thanks in advance
DAMN THIS HOBBY IS GETTING EXPENSIVE

I was running a max mech. drive broke it then went to the imco I like the imco drive I run the imco exhaust I dont think the imco upper will fit on you stock lower

 

[Speedy G]

I decided to go with just an imco sc upper and upgrading my lower to the 1 1/4 propshaft. I would have liked to go the "best" way but as of right now I have too many wants for my boat to spend that kind of money. D&M also sold me a pair of imco exhaust they just had laying around the shop for low $$$. Now I just need to spend some time playing with props.

Thanks for the advice.

Anymore advice anyone has to offer for a "greeny" like myself would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Speedy G]

Hey RT. FYI... Mark found out that you can bolt on an scx upper to a stock lower but the lower driveshaft has to be changed along with the bell housing. The down side of the deal is that for another 3-4k you can buy the whole scx.

 

[Break'inWind]

Thanks for the replies.

What kind of performance differences should I expect between elephant butte and someplace like navajo? Is it significant enough to warrant the purchase of another prop just for navajo?

Again, welcome to NM... If you think you're going to frequent Navajo quite a bit, I'd say 'yes, go on and get a prop specific to Navajo - or that elevation'. That same prop could be used at the other couple Northern NM lakes too (Abiquiu, El Vado)... however those lakes don't have near the space that Navajo and the Butte have. Personally I have two props... one for high altitude (Navajo type altitude) and one for sea level (Havaus, etc.). When I go to the Butte, I'm usually running my bigger prop. But I only get down there once or twice a year. If I ran down there a lot, I guess I might end up with three props.