Preuni

Ray,
I am considering hopping up my 496Ho over the winter and I think your kit is the way to go. I studied all the posts here and went through your internet site and I have one question that I would ask you to clarify for me:
I learned that the full 103 Kit makes about 525hp for about 6000$. Thats a fair offer for 100hp, I would say. But, on the other hand, for about 3000$ one will get a set of your complete heads and a set of your 1.8:1 rockers for the stock cam. Both work with the original manifold. In your FAQ section you state that this combo will make 510+hp.....?
That means the "Cool gap" manifold and the cam make only 15 hp more for an additional 3000$ over the 101 kit. AND, installation should be cheaper too, because you dont have to change the cam....just changing the heads could be done without pulling the motor, at least on a single engine application with good access to the engine....
Is the torque and power curve so much better on the 103 kit?
One more question regarding fuel pressure: Do you have to adjust fuel pressure somehow to meet the fuel demand for 100 additional horses? I cant think of a way without altering fuel flow and the ecu stays the same...so is there a way to increase fuel pressure without reprogramming the computer?
Thanks for shedding some light on these issues.
Andy

Fountaineer

I'm thinking about one of the Raylar packages also, and would like to know about this.

Rage

Ditto.

cstraub

Ray may be at SEMA in Vegas for the week. . . that may be the reason for his lack of response.

Fountaineer

I'm also wondering what an exhaust change does to the Raylor packages. CMI, IMCO, Gil, etc

Rage

I recall from some of Ray's posts that the stock Mercruiser 496HO exhaust system is a Gill designed unit and is very good in its own right with the addition of a few modifications that Ray requires as part of his package install. Subject to Ray's confirmation the comment I recall reading is not that much improvement.

Nordicflame

The Gils are the stock exhaust currently.
Not sure if IMCO has stepped up to the plate as of yet.
There are some "claims" about the CMIs around these boards.
Dave

Nordicflame

Hey Rage,
I think those post both hit at the same time
Ray has mentioned that on the 525 package that the stock exhaust with some simple mods works fine. The CMIs sweepers produced ~15 additional hp over those mods on the Raylar dyno runs (Whipple was pressed to see that on their dyno runs) Pretty pricey hp.
The need increases with the 600hp package however.
Dave

blaniac

I did a pair of his 600's and went with Revolution Marine for my exhaust, but you can get away with the stock less the turbulaters on the 525 kit.

Fountaineer

It seems that, unless you go for the 600HP package, the stock exhaust will do just fine.