Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

[jkust]

I read an article in Boating magazine that explained how easy it is to add a NOS system to any boat. To prove their point they took a family 22 foot bowrider and for a materials cost of just over $700, added 10MPH on top end in one afternoon. They added they had the boat for such a short time they may have been able to squeek more out of it with more time. To me, I would love to add something like this to my family bow rider for those select times when you really want to move. An SS prop can cost north of $400, so to me this is a bargain. Has anybody done this to their boat? If so what were the results?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

What engine is in that boat? Adding nitrous oxide injection can give you more horsepower, but will most definitely reduce the life of your engine.

Of course, if the engine blows up, you can always deaden the pain by using the nitrous oxide to anesthetize yourself...

Bottom line is that you'll need a different prop if you do it anyhow, since the lower pitch prop will cause overspeeding of your engine if you hop it up that way.

Sounds like a good way to turn a nice engine into junk pretty fast.

 

[jkust]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

What engine is in that boat?

It was a carbed 5.7liter. They also added an estimated 60HP to the same model engine with a 4bbl carb in an article written to help decide between buying the carbed 2bbl engine and adding a 4bbl aftermarket or an chosing the MPI option when buying new. The consensus was the 4bbl carb was more bang for the buck with very little additional fuel usage. Mind you this article was 5 years old. Makes me wonder what a 4bbl would do to a 2bbl 190hp v6.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

I'll bet the 4bbl version had the double hump heads with the bigger valves too if not a tad more compression too.

 

[EricR]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

Nitrous Oxide is for short blasts only. Drag racing, hill climbs. That sort of thing. You must jet richer if a carb setup and if any more than a mild shot retard timing and use cooler plugs to compensate. Both things will make the engine not run optimally when it is NOT on the bottle.

BTW, my friends that drag race cars get about a dozen passes out of a ten lb bottle that takes about 40 to fifty bucks to refill. You do the math!

 

[oops!]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

Makes me wonder what a 4bbl would do to a 2bbl 190hp v6.

a lot !.....thats just short od a barrel per cyl....as long as it can breath....ittl give you what it has.

some guys around here are running a bottle........there was one on kal he was at 73 mph.....added the juice and the figure hes up to 85 now.....(roumor mill)......when i get the stroker goin in my barge .... i wanna hunt him down !

 

[642mx]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

I read an article in Boating magazine that explained how easy it is to add a NOS system to any boat. To prove their point they took a family 22 foot bowrider and for a materials cost of just over $700, added 10MPH on top end in one afternoon. They added they had the boat for such a short time they may have been able to squeek more out of it with more time. To me, I would love to add something like this to my family bow rider for those select times when you really want to move. An SS prop can cost north of $400, so to me this is a bargain. Has anybody done this to their boat? If so what were the results?

You can gain 6-8 mph with a quality SS prop thats been labbed. And as long as you don't hit anything with it, it will last forever and cause no harm to the engine.

I could go on and on about the juice, but trust me when I say, that its not for recreational boaters.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

Nitrous is certainly cheap power, but as mentioned above it is not practical for the average boater. You will have to reprop for the additional power, but when you are not using the nitrous(which will be most of the time) you will be overpropped and your hole shot will be awful.


A 4.3 Vortec with stock mercruiser cam, 4bbl and a good intake will net you an honest 215 +/- at the prop. It will do it all day without any fear of destruction.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

right in line with some of what the others are saying... instead of fragging the v-6 with the gas, pull it, sell it and use the money as a down payment on a smallblock engine with 300+ hp that you can run hard all day long without fear of a long discouraging paddle....

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

Don't do it !!!!!
For all the above posted reasons and that your next post does not need to be titled.
"My Motor Exploded, What Now" !!!

 

[jkust]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

OK, ok, I think I get it. Bad idea for my casual boating application. I think I am convinced that adding a 4bbl carb and high rise intake manifold will get me at or near the 220hp MPI version of my engine. I am telling you these Boating magazine articles are very informative. Take a look at this article titled "Why buy EFI when you can get more power for a lot less" http://www.boatingmag.com/article.asp?section_id=8&article_id=501&page_number=1
They use a small block V8 but the test is enough to sell me. My 190hp engine does not have any seat of your pants thrill or mid range performance either. The carb kit really impressed the writer of the article. Looks like you can get the carb kit for around 500$ + manifold cost + new flame arrestor. I would have the whole winter to find time to install it. I wonder what this particular carb set up would add to a v6. 30HP to get to the equivalent MPI engine seems like a stretch. I will search iboats for the parts.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

With any added power, you will still need to re prop the boat so add the cost of a new prop to any mods that you are planning.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

Total cost for the carb and all the junk that goes with it was almost $1000. You'd still need a new prop with a higher pitch, since you'd be making more power.

Also, it was a different engine than you have. Have you checked to see if the performance parts are even available for your engine?

Would that stuff fit under the engine cover? I doubt it. Hi-rise manifolds are...well...high-rise.

I don't know, but you might want to consider selling your perfectly good boat and find a go-fast boat if that's what you want.

 

[jkust]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

I agree I would bet it tops out at a grand or more with an ss prop upgrage with the higher pitch. Not too worried about the cost since I will keep the boat for many years. Good point on the highrise...didn't think of that. I don't have too much experience with carbed engines since I started driving just as they were phasing out. I will have to do some measuring in the engine compartment and find the manifold specs. The upshot is I would be able to spend some time with my dad to get this done. He is retiring to Hawaii so I won't see him much from here on out.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

I had it on a 18 ft winder,455 berkly.Yes it speed up yes it blew up.150 shot all summer long.No harm no foul.Got greedy 250 shot 1 push melted a piston.Not enough gas to much nos.I wont do it anymore.I was young and it worked great on my mustang.Early 90s.

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

You gotta make sure you're introducing enough fuel, or you run lean and melt stuff.

Jetting richer is just a BAD idea. You should have a separate solenoid for fuel and NOS, which open together when you hit the button (or go WOT, if you have a WOT switch on it)...

Nitrous is great fun, but you gotta give it the respect it deserves. You gotta pay attention to how you set it up, and tune it, or you'll end up like so many other people who made a mistake, and now have horror stories.

 

[lucky7]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

i have had a few nitrus setups on cars. they make the engine reve quicker, so you reach redline right now. cant see how it would be verry good in a boat with no tranny.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

The problem with running NOS would be that you would need one prop for running without it, and another with it. If you propped the boat for running with NOS, it would be lame without it. As stated above, you need to also inject the proper ration fuel with the nitrous to get proper results without running lean and doing damage. Most small kits don't require fuel since a cars fuel system is capable of increasing the fuel enough to handle a small shot. That's not likely going to be the case on a boat motor.
Also, will the outdrive handle say another 50, 100, 150 or more hp? You may end up with a lot more broken parts even if you get the motor to handle it.
Will the increased hp blast also exceed the hulls rated HP?
It all goes back to speed costs money, how fast do you want to go and how deep are your pockets?

In most cases, if the set up you have doesn't suit you or just isn't fast enough, it's cheaper in the long run to just find another boat which is better suited for what you need or want. Making big changes to a boat can create as many problems as it cures.

 

[rndn]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

You could also have some quality time with your old man upgrading to a small block V-8. Don't forget the commercial that said, Wow, I could of had a V-8!

 

[Polar_Bus]

Re: Has any body added Nitrous to their boat?

I have had some experience first hand with NOS, and from what I have read regarding prop pitch vs. RPM's, if you plan on giggle-gassn' a boat engine, you better know how to prop for the added instant added blast of 100 or so hp..... or you will see a rod (or two) launched right out the side of the block.