Strip Poker 388

I have them on my Hustler.175 hours. They should hold up to that kind of power if you take care with it. Mine are real hard to shift. I guess its because of the bigger gears . [It is not the cables]. I have had some problems with water getting in them . He has warranted it every time .The foots on them are close to the xr drives . The bravo shop prop shaft is steel unlike the others which are stainless.

Alot of the HTM's are using them drag racing them.A lot has to do with the driver also.


If I was going to buy one .I would use sport master foot or the Imco foot on the B-max .


I had the Imco extreme stuff on my blown Scarab and broke a prop shaft and a few pinion gears,I never stabbed it from idle or jumped ot out of the water. I have heard of the xr breaking the pinion gears also.


Rob

mcollinstn

My bud had some significant "teething problems" with his Bmaxes. One had some bad parts in it from the factory originally and was a mother to shift. They fixed that.

Next, the "good one" locked in fwd and wouldn't come out (at about 5 hours). They fixed that.

Then, they both got water in them (at 10 hours). They fixed that.

Then we went to the Cumberland Poker run and one lost a propshaft seal and bearing, and both had several broken studs that hold the lower on - realy scary when we looked at it on the trailer (that was with 20 hours total on them). These were lowers purchased FROM Bravo Shop, not XR lowers. They fixed them.

The drives currently have over 50 hours on them. They have been running with no issues since they came back that last time. Fingers are crossed.

Boat is 42 MTI/Fountain with "turned up" 575SCi's.

Good thing they had warranties on them, cause I assure you that the boat had been operated exactly like most of us would consider "proper". Babied coming out of the hole, try to keep the boat in the water all the time, backing off in the air - easy back on when back in the water.

Seem to be massive beefy drives. Setup issues are critical and I'm not entirely sure that quality control is/was in place for the events to have occurred on these drives.

Just an FYI. Owner of these drives says there is still no other option he would have considered. He is planning to go to 850hp if the drives perform well this year.

zt260

Thanks for all the good info guys-

You raised many good points that were bothering me. I'm a little worried about the shifting. But Dean assured me thats not an issue any more.

The new bmax lower is built in house and has the size and specs I'm looking for so that not an issue to me. (not to mention the old Xr sportmaster can bolt on)

I am concerned about the water leak, I'd like to know what caused that-

The final issue for me is parasitic loss. Dean claims it only takes a few HP to turn the Bmax over the XR, But many others claim 5mph loss. I'm in the position were I should have more HP than the hull can handle. So a small loss is acceptable. But I do plan to test the XR verse the bmax to determine this loss. Anyone with real world experience on this issue?

Strip Poker 388

On the shifting thing , He went back thru mine June of 2003 and they still are hard to shift. It must be the size of the gears?

The water prob was in the machining of the top cap alignment. I think there will be a little loss in mph . but its the price you have to pay >look at the speed masters loss.

I just replaced the shift cable on mine today it broke and the gears are not even showing a wear pattern Had one season on the oil and very little metal on the plug. so far so good.

Robbie Racer

I have 3 years and 240 hours on mine in my 25' cat with 1200 hp at 120+. I take it pretty easy getting on plane and accelerating up to around 60, then I go to WOT. I have broken maybe 3 prop shafts and maybe 3 vertical shafts and thrashed one set of upper gears. They would not replace any of these components under warranty because I have over 850 hp. I am now running the IMCO SC lower with B-Max components. Mine shifts just fine. Good luck with your decision.

WILDTHING TAZ

The Problems Of Water Leaks In The Drives Have Been Taken Care Of Over 2 Years Ago. Most Leaks today Come From The Customer Not Being Careful When Bolting Back Cover On After Mounting Drive. Surfaces Must Be Clean & O-rings can Not Slip!!! cover must be cleaned and a spray tac applied so o-ring can not slip. The Newer Style Back Cover Has Less O-rings For Easier Installation. All Drives Are Pressure Tested At The Factory Before Shipment. If A Water Leak Does Accrue The Problem Will Be Taken Care Of By B-max.

HiPerf2000

have a friend that went through a few sets of B-maxes on his 37 Talon running 800's. He got so frustrated he traded the boat back in for the same boat rigged with #6's.

Strip Poker 388

I have heard of stories about the talons and spectra's breaking the prop shafts ,running on the surface. It may because of the 4340 steel in the prop shaft Just a thought ?. I don't think the bravos where designed to run on the surface anyway.

Jonas

imco 4x4 with trany in the ext box????

squirt

I've heard 4x4's are not holding up