StrikinLightnin

I have a '96 fountain 42'.
It dyno's out at 588HP don't remember the torque.
Boat does approx. 80mph + or -
Should I go to an XR or XZ outdrive?
I want to use 2" shorties on them.
I've read in other posts that the XR may cost
me a mile/hr or two.
Will the XZ be enough drive for this setup?

KAAMA

Well, I spoke with Chris AKA "Sterndrivespec" and he said he has found that the XZ's are not holding up as well as the XR's. He said the XR's run a little warmer temps so you have to keep them cool with drive shower equipment, but that they're stronger and hold up better than the XZ for sure. He knows of a boat like yours (42' Fountain) with tripple 1000hp engines with XR drives and it is holding up well---no problems. He said that is just ONE EXAMPLE of the XR holding up well.

Personally, I would lean toward choosing durability over speed. I heard a rumor that the XZ holds up better than the XR, but since speaking with Chris he has found that not to be so and he has a lot of experience and does A TON of service work on Bravo One drives and knows what is going on out there in the Bravo One outdrive world! There are of course many variables like weight of the boat, torque/horsepower and driving habits, but he pretty much has the scoop of "what is what" with the Bravo Ones.

sgrady

Mark,

At that HP they will not hold up long !

KAAMA

Scott,

Well, at least the XR will hold up longer than an XZ!

sgrady

True, but 1000 HP, that is a ticking bomb on a stock drive. That's all

sterndrivespec

we have had great luck with the XR drives,even with way more horsepower than they were built for.we did not have very good luck with the XZ drives,even with only 600 hp.we never saw any speed differance between the two.if you have any othe rquestions feel free to call me,315 623 7642,chris

DanB

We switched an xz to an xr and lost 3 mph on gps, switched back and picked up the 3 mph. No other changes.
29 Warlock, single 500hp efi
BTW the xr is for sale...1 hr on a brand new one from merc racing. $7k

Dan
F1-83 Screamin Eagle

Steet

The XR drives are suppose to hold up slightly better than the XZ's. Heck I know some people that are running stock bravo 1' w/ over 750hp that have run for over a year and not broken one. I personally ran a 280 with bravo 1 and had pretty good luck with about 750hp
It all boils down to how you abuse the equipment. I know people with Imco SC's that have broke them with less than 800 hp. The trip to saving a drive is how you accelerate and how you drive the boat.
P.S. There is about a 1.5 to 2.0 mph difference between the XR and the XZ drive. I know. Ask anybody who has run both.

Steet

I believe that I read a bullentin that said Mercruiser discontinued production of the XZ drive.

KAAMA

Well hey, a #6 drive can break with 750hp put to it too! I guess all of them will break eventually at one time or another---the ticking time bomb as Scott put it. On another thread we were just talking about a guy in my area who has a 28' Checkmate with a single 588 cubic incher making roughly 800hp and he only has a standard Bravo One and it has SEVERAL HUNDRED hours on it and no issues!---Pretty impressive! Mr.Gadgets has just taken it apart and gone through it about 2 months ago just to be safe. Perhaps he can chime in here too.