jjasiole

Colleagues,

I have a 2001 Fountain Fever 27 w/ a single 500EFI w/ ~175 hrs w/ bravo 1 drive.

I'd like to know the groups thoughts and / or knowledge of what others have done to go faster and the resultant issues that came about.

I enjoy the reliability of my setup which is paramount w/ a single engine, but I know the whipple kit is well engineered and think that is the direction I am headed. I have no idea what I need to do to my bravo 1 to make it last w/ this increase in power and am completely open to suggested paths.

To summarize:

1) Thoughts regarding the whipple kit for my 500EFI (reliability and is it worthwhile)
2) Drive suggestions- Can I upgrade my existing drive and be "ok" (i.e. new lowers or something) or do I need to upgrade the entire drive to an XR or something even more tolerant?

Thank you all in advance for your information! I truely appreciate it.

Regards,
Jeremy

Breathe Later

Jeremy,

I've got a '99 27, 502 MPI/Whipple. I went to a Teague XR, which is basically a standard XR. Since you motor is the EFI, you see some substantial HP gains. That's an ideal motor for the Whipple. You should see mid 80's no problem. The new Whipple kit does not require the forward clearance like my side mount unit does. I had to cut clearance in the rear seat bulkhead for belt/pulley clearance. I'd check with Whipple on this for confirmation.

TRL505

Jeremy,
You may want to read the thread "525efi Firing Order" for my personal experience with the Whipple product. I know that the Whipple on my 525 is a different animal than what your 500 would take (closed cooling vs. open cooling)...but it may shed a little light on one individuals expierence with Whipple. Maybe I just have very bad luck.

jjasiole

Thanks for the information thus far- What kind of $ am I looking at for a Teague XR drive? I checked their site and didn't find any prices.

Eric, I read your other post and that sounds awful. I'm sorry to hear about that. I hope it gets resolved to your liking.

Jeremy

Breathe Later

I paid $7k for the Teague XR several years ago. The Whipple/Teague XR has been outstanding. I did have a blower fail due to my abuse- sustained WOT operation. Dustin Whipple advised me that I should route an oil line to the blower gears with a return to the engine if running this way.

tblrklakemo

Teague xr or imco sc. Ive heard better things about the IMCO.

BAJA WILL

Great set up it is what I have, got around 450 hours now. I have thought about a whipple should be in mid eighties, however then I think about how often I run WOT, and it is maybe only for 10 seconds every other weekend, so for me its not worth it.

WILL

Sydwayz

Leave it stock and go boating every weekend.

OR

Bolt a whole bunch of stuff on it, and go wrenching every weekend while your friends go boating.

Fact: The 500EFI is an awesome engine in its stock form.
Fact: Its tougher to sell a boat with a modified/non-stock power package.

Save your money, and keep it for your next boat investment. With a blower comes high octane fuel, new prop(s), dialing-in time, and higher insurance premiums.

jjasiole

Well, this is the information I was hoping to find.

Sydwayz brings up a good point- if I can't install this kit, dial it in and then rely on it weekend after weekend, perhaps the time and $ isn't worth it. I love to wrench, and understand that it's going to lose some reliability, but exactly how much is to be determined. I know I would not have bought my 27 w/ a blower too, so I agree on the resale point as well...

Thank you all for your input. I do appreciate it.

Jeremy

tblrklakemo

You have a great boat as is. They do haul azz with a blower though. As long as you get the drive situation taken care of, you will have a very reliable boat at low psi. There is always something bigger and better out there, and always somebody faster. Depending on my financial situation this fall, i will either raylar my HO or try and build a 28 AT. Im willing to take the hit if need be. I didnt buy this fountain to worry about resale. I would probably keep your boat stock if it was mine.