top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

what are you all getting for top speeds on your boats??
I have looked for a thread on top speeds but haven't found one.
so I thought I would start one. let me know if there is one already here that I missed.
if not: please list year, boat, motor, out-drive, prop / pitch, max rpm and top speed at WOT(wide open throttle).
I just got a 1995 Shabah Z202 with a 5.0l alpha one out-drive and aluminum 19 pith prop. I haven't had it it the water yet and am curious to the speed it will go. I'm thinking it should go 50mph from what i have heard.
I'm curious to see how fast these Mariahs go!!!!!:yes_grin:

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

A couple of things pop up when owners talk about 'top speed'. The biggest issue is whether you are taking your speed from your boat speedo or whether you are using a GPS. The boat speedo can be notoriously inaccurate. Second issue would be how much weight you are carrying in the boat. A full tank of gas weighs a lot more than a 1/4 tank. More passengers = more weight, more 'junk in the trunk (ie accessories etc) = more weight' etc so everything will be "approximate". I suspect you will have to take some of the responses with a dose of skepticism and surprise though.... ;)

'96 Shabah 180 c/w 4.3LX 4bbl carb, 20" 4 blade SS prop gets me to 4900 rpm and 48 mph GPS checked.

I have a 95 Barchetta 192 with a 4.3 all stock, stainless 3 blade 19p prop. Get 48 on GPS. Seems most get between 45 and 50 from what I've seen.

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I have a Z275 with 6.2L with Bravo III duo prop (both 24p). Most weekends I can run @48 on speedo( confirmed one time on GPS) with wife, 2-4 teens, 1/4 tank of gas, 10 sandwiches, 3 bags of chips, 3 12 packs of soda, 1 case of water, 1.75mL of Captain Morgan, 750mL of Disarrono, and a mini yorkie! :)

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Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

04' SC21 with the 4.3 alpha 1 with 1.81 ratio, 19p 4 blade and a tank of fuel will get me to 40. The fastest Ive hit was 45. Not much fuel in the tank and the water was a little choppy. Im also around 5k feet elevation. Dont know my RPM- working on that next.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I'm likin' your accessories......maybe not the teens but th chips/sandwiches & booze. :)

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

My best is 61 mph on the GPS. Alone, maybe 20 gals of gas, no extra crap, on a smooth lake.
454 bIII Z240 28 pitch props, 4800 rpm. Took a couple runs to get the trim right. And yeah, kinda scary too.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

that's smokin' fast!!!!!!

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I thought it was pretty fast until I met a guy on the same lake with a Fountain triple engine! It's an honest 100 mph boat, only not with me on it!

Fountain with triples...wow. At 100 mph I wonder how much fuel he is burning! Expensive run!


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Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I don't even want to think about it! I can hardly afford gas in mine anymore.Gas stops make me miss my 3.0L Sea Ray.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I have a 1997 Z222 with 454mag bravoIII 1/2 tank fuel 25gals my wife, full cooler, slightly choppy water ran between 62 & 64mph gps.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Wow your wife lets you bring 25 gals with you.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I know the boats may say "10 persons" but are you really going to say no to "25 gals" !?

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Woops, my wife wouldnt let me bring one extra gal, meant gallons.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I have a 99 Z250 454 engine with not much gear 1/2 tank of fuel 2 people, 21p prop I can get top 55 on speed no gps yet to check with. Don't remember rpm's.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Made me spew coffee laughing so hard! :rolling_laugh:

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

2000 Z250 with 7.4L MPI and Bravo 1 drive: top speed via GPS was 48mph downstream. Speedo read 55 though!

Haven't had the Z280 up to full speed, and probably won't do it much. After all, it's not how fast you get there, it's all about the journey, right? (That's the excuse all my sailboat friends use) :D

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I know my numbers aren't in line with most members with z302 but here they are
1999 Z302 8.2GSi DP drive w/ 26 props on a normal day 58 mph half tank, couple ice chest, water tanks full, wet bar stocked and few great friends.
the best she ever done was a run with a buddy after unloading at the dock cool evening lil chop on the water 1/8 tank trim tabs flat out 61 mph on GPS now I'm wanting 65 mph fully loaded winter project is to research how to add to a volvo not much in line of aftermarket. but this talk for another post.

Ryan

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

You want to try UK fuel prices then! :shakehead:
Oh and I just sold a 3.0L Sea Ray and upgraded to a 4.3L Mariah. best thing i've done since paying £50k to leave the Ex :yes_grin:
gas money is an investment in living

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Now that's a wife who is a good sport! :yes_grin:

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

1994 Z211 Shabah, 5.7 Bravo III, 24P props. The wife and I, a cooler full of beer, msc junk, and probly 20 gal of fuel. 57mph in light chop on GPS with her yelling "slow down"... Didn't have time to check the tach, but around 4200. Hoping to get all the junk out of it and take it out one more time with a 1/4 tank and try to break 60 before I winterize her.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

'97 Shabah 210 LE, 454 with bravo 1, not sure of prop (Boat is at the lake) 60+

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

2003 sx 20, with a new vortex 350, 20 pitch four blade aluminum prop, four people and a half a tank of gas we get a solid 45mph on my gps...
However, I'm thinking that might be pretty slow after reading some of the other posts...???

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

DougR... Probably not. Some people catch really, really BIG fish if you know what I mean. LOL!

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Could be the prop being a 20p and a four blade. What are your RPMs at?
I have the 4.3 V6 and I am in the low 40s with a 21p.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

You might be good for another 3-4 mph with a prop change but....that 20" 4 blade with the 350 pushing it should literally jump when you push the throttle down, have great mid-range response and provide excellent control pulling tubes/wakeboarders etc. That's a sacrifice i would be happy with because i try not to run at WOT.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I took my boat out Thanksgiving weekend for one last run to burn up some old fuel before I put her down for the winter. By the way it got up to 81* here yesterday so not sure how much of a winter we'll have.:rolling_laugh:

Anyways the lake was smooth as glass, perfect for the above scenario. It was just me, a full tank of gas (30 gallons) and a cooler with a 6pack in it. The boat is a 1997 Shabah 180se Limited Edition. I was able to run about 46mph (speedo) with the throttle pinned. Thats with a Volvo Penta 4.3L, Cobra SX outdrive, 14.25" x 19" 4 blade aluminum prop turning at about 5200rpm.

I wasn't looking for top speed when I switched from the 3 blade to the 4 blade. We do a lot of tubing and skiing so I was looking for that out of the hole punch and mid-range power. Im sure I could get some more out of it with a 3 blade.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

You could get just a touch more with a 20" - 4 blade and lose very little of that punch. It will also get your WOT rpms down to about 4900-4950 which is close enough to the recommended range to be safe.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Thanks for the tip Mikey. I might try out a 20" next spring and see what she does. At 5200 she was screaming so I didn't keep it there long. I prefer to keep it under 4500 and cruise in the mid 30s. My local lake isn't all that big and running 30-35 will get you where you need to go pretty quick.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

thought the safe max rpm on the V6 was 4600/4700rpm. wouldn't push tho's rev's for too long.
sorry, slow posting.....lol

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

4400 - 4800 is the recommended RPM range for the 4.3 Mercruiser. I'm not sure if there is a difference with the Volvo version.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Hi People, been a while since I posted anything. 1998 Z260 MCC, 7.4 MPI, Bravo III, 4,600 RPM, 22P, best I ever saw is 41.6 MPH on GPS. I thought that was pretty respectable for a 7,000 lb boat plus all the stuff stored in the storage compartments, about 75 gal. gas, along with the generator.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I have a 98 Mariah 180 shabah with a 19d prop and I get around 45-50 max depending on load. Have a 4.3L 190hp mercruiser.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

1999 z280 7.4 mpi bravo III, 22 pitch props 4400 rpms loaded or empty 38 mph,on gps I've been chasing 5 mph since the day I bought the boat!!!! Just installed corsa silent choice exhaust, didn't get ANY PERFOMANCE out of it. Thinking on going down to 20 pitched props to get more rpm?

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

You installed silent choice on a Z280? :confused: This I gotta see...

We've talked about this before, this boat is heavy and you can't expect it to be getting any record breaking speeds. I replied to your other post with some info on props. Also check out Mercruiser's site, they have a prop calculator that may help you find the right prop to get another MPH or two. Just know that it'll likely affect other things, to get speed you'll need to give up holeshot, planing time, and fuel economy.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Chris I don't know how to put up pics o video, you should see the look on the sport boat faces, lol it sounds good. I want to sell this boat but my wife won't let me. I got a line on a whipple supercharger, for a good deal I think that's next

Z280 Silent Choice Exhaust Clip1

Z280 Silent Choice Exhaust Clip2

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I would seriously urge you to do some hefty reading on supercharging the 7.4L MPI engine, especially one as old as ours. Check offshoreonly.com and read some of the stories... :eek_animated:

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

I got a 03 sx 19 with a 5.7. I will hit 55 with a 19p ss prop at 4800 Rpm on GPS.

Re: top speeds at wot. what are people getting for max speed?
 

Hey Warner, out of curiosity what elevation are you at?

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