1996 225 Efi tuner. . Upgrade/performance build

[Stratovarius]

1996 225 Efi
Serial number: 0G374740
Motor is on a 96 gambler 209
Powertech Tro4 27pitch
Analog gauges


So I am slowly amassing the required parts to make this motor a real fire breather. I have 250xb/300 control boxes, 250xb heads and carbon reeds all on the way. (I am still looking for a 4 butterfly intake) My question is: I need to replace the swivel bracket bushings anyway, so a complete teardown is going to happen regardless. Should I replace the exhaust plate and tuner with 250xb/xs components? How 'bad' is the 'restrictive' 225 tuner? This motor is quiet at idle in the water so I assume that means I have the restrictive piece. I will also drill out to 3/8 and clean the idle ports. I don't REALLY wanna put in a poppet diverter, but if you guys tell me that a proper aftermarket tuner, exhaust plate and poppet diverter are the way to go, then I can do that. The boat has zero problem with holsehot currently, pops right up on plane. Another question is, can you run an aftermarket tuner (Bob's/hydrotech) without a poppet diverter?

Thanks in advance. I am so glad to have this community available for advice.

[EuropeanAM]

I would not consider the earlier (restrictive) tuner for this type of a mod project... you would definitely want to move up to the later adapter plate and 250 tuner.

For what it's worth- I would stick with a 250 Tuner. Nothing that's been "cut"... but do make sure that all of the idle relief passages are open.

The bottom end "grunt" will be a bit better this way- and you should NOT need a poppet diverter.

Check out the "Let's Talk about XB Mods" post in the FAQ Section (it's an oldie, but there's lots of good info there that you can learn from).

[Stratovarius]

Thanks EuropeanAM I really appreciate the info. Do I just need the exhaust plate and tuner? Any other special parts needed for this(besides gaskets)? Also if you don't mind me asking, what part numbers am I looking for when it comes to an exhaust plate? Tuners seem to be basically the same or close enough from 250efi or ProXs motors, but exhaust plates are confusing to me. Thanks again.

[JOE54]

im prob fixn to have an XB for sale, 1 bad piston no hole in block

[EuropeanAM]

Thanks EuropeanAM I really appreciate the info. Do I just need the exhaust plate and tuner? Any other special parts needed for this(besides gaskets)? Also if you don't mind me asking, what part numbers am I looking for when it comes to an exhaust plate? Tuners seem to be basically the same or close enough from 250efi or ProXs motors, but exhaust plates are confusing to me. Thanks again.

Before we get too deep into looking up part numbers, let's get the serial number for your engine so we can confirm exactly what we're dealing with.

[Stratovarius]

im prob fixn to have an XB for sale, 1 bad piston no hole in block

Any chance you would be willing to part with the intake, and maybe mid section?

[Stratovarius]

Before we get too deep into looking up part numbers, let's get the serial number for your engine so we can confirm exactly what we're dealing with.

Thanks again, I will grab the serial number when I get home.

[Stratovarius]

Okay: 0G374740

[EuropeanAM]

You'll definitely need the adapter plate and tuner. Any 225 or 250 that was 0G438000 or above (EFI) would be suitable. The later tuner is now NLA, it was Part# 833116A7.

Exhaust/Adapter plate is Part# 832935A1.

The adapter plate and tuner from a later design (downdraft) 250, OR a 250XS/250 ProXS has been used successfully as well (IMPORTANT NOTE: this does NOT apply in reverse... cannot use the EFI tuner on an Optimax model).

If you can't find a 4-butterfly intake... drop me an email and I'll dig around (may possibly have most of one here but would need to double check the "stash" bin).

[Stratovarius]

You'll definitely need the adapter plate and tuner. Any 225 or 250 that was 0G438000 or above (EFI) would be suitable. The later tuner is now NLA, it was Part# 833116A7.

Exhaust/Adapter plate is Part# 832935A1.

The adapter plate and tuner from a later design (downdraft) 250, OR a 250XS/250 ProXS has been used successfully as well (IMPORTANT NOTE: this does NOT apply in reverse... cannot use the EFI tuner on an Optimax model).

If you can't find a 4-butterfly intake... drop me an email and I'll dig around (may possibly have most of one here but would need to double check the "stash" bin).

Thanks for the info! I have a line on both an exhaust plate and the tuner, that I now know will work for me. Again, thanks for the time.

[Stratovarius]

One more question, is there any difference between a 833116-A4 or -C2 and 833116A7 tuner? I am told the -A4 or -C2 is a "performance" or "race" tuner? Is there any credence to this, or are they all the same? I have access to both.

[EuropeanAM]

833116A7 was used on the 0G438000 and up 225/250 EFI engines, primarily.

833116A4 was used on several later (down-draft) EFI engine models, and Optimax models of the 200/225/250 (including many XS and ProXS models through approximately July of 2007 production).

[Stratovarius]

Awesome. Thanks for the info. I suppose it won't make much difference in my build which one I go with?

[EuropeanAM]

Nothing significant.

[Savage]

I may have a tuner for you if needed.

[Stratovarius]

I may have a tuner for you if needed.

Thanks Savage, I actually have one of the proxs tuners on the way. Now if you have an exhaust plate, that would be sweet?

[lpugh]

I went thru the same as you did with a 3.0 efi with the small mid section, overall it was an great motor and last heard it is still going strong and I sold it over ten years ago, Don, Richard (kllrbee) and Jay Smith were a great deal of knowledge when hopped I up that motor. An importent tidbit I found was to run the stock fuel module, I had Eric Simonson reflash both units, but went back to the stock 225 fuel box as it had far better fuel management with the restricted mid. I had it set up to spin 63 to 6400 and it did very well, based on the boat it was on and the speeds it ran I am convinced it had more than 275 hp. Fully loaded PII with a heavy tournement load 77 MPH, Running just me 82 and backed off. Loved that speed, everyone thought I was running a 200 EFI

[Stratovarius]

I went thru the same as you did with a 3.0 efi with the small mid section, overall it was an great motor and last heard it is still going strong and I sold it over ten years ago, Don, Richard (kllrbee) and Jay Smith were a great deal of knowledge when hopped I up that motor. An importent tidbit I found was to run the stock fuel module, I had Eric Simonson reflash both units, but went back to the stock 225 fuel box as it had far better fuel management with the restricted mid. I had it set up to spin 63 to 6400 and it did very well, based on the boat it was on and the speeds it ran I am convinced it had more than 275 hp. Fully loaded PII with a heavy tournement load 77 MPH, Running just me 82 and backed off. Loved that speed, everyone thought I was running a 200 EFI

Wow. Those are some impressive numbers Leon! It looks like I will be swapping to the later mid in an effort to build as much power as possible, but it sounds like even if I didn't, I could still be in good shape. 82mph in a PII is impressive. I am hoping my heavy Gambler will break the 80mph barrier. I will be keeping both my stock control boxes just in case I ever need them, and will definitely try the 225 fuel box, as I hear they are also 'fat' on the top end.

Thanks for the info Leon, I appreciate your encouragement.

[lpugh]

You may need more fuel with the larger mid section, It would be safer to run to rich for a while and evaluate carefully. Then try the stock fuel module and make short runs and do a plug check, Study up on how to read plugs and obtain a loupe magnifier and start with fresh clean plugs for accurate readings. Fuel mixture can be tweaked a little with TPS settings
The problem you may face with gambler is hole shot, even on my PII I installed a planning plate on the bottom of the jack plate, I also shortened the barrel length of the Fury prop 3/16 of a inch which helped the hole shot with a service master gear case. I also since found out that the short barrel will not work on a TM II gear case as it will blow out at nose over. Worked great on a std gear case optimax gear case as well. This was an education on barrel length for me and I would shorten the barrel vs adding more holes any day on a Fury for the

non TKII gear cases

I recently had my prop guy add that length back so it would work with my current cougar with a 250 PXS TKII
I would be you do achieve very good numbers as the gamblers are a faster hull design even though they are heavier, my 96 PII was only 1350 hull weight, the newer ones are much heavier, mine also only ran 3 batteries and a much lighter trolling motor than most run today

[Stratovarius]

You may need more fuel with the larger mid section, It would be safer to run to rich for a while and evaluate carefully. Then try the stock fuel module and make short runs and do a plug check, Study up on how to read plugs and obtain a loupe magnifier and start with fresh clean plugs for accurate readings. Fuel mixture can be tweaked a little with TPS settings
The problem you may face with gambler is hole shot, even on my PII I installed a planning plate on the bottom of the jack plate, I also shortened the barrel length of the Fury prop 3/16 of a inch which helped the hole shot with a service master gear case. I also since found out that the short barrel will not work on a TM II gear case as it will blow out at nose over. Worked great on a std gear case optimax gear case as well. This was an education on barrel length for me and I would shorten the barrel vs adding more holes any day on a Fury for the

non TKII gear cases

I recently had my prop guy add that length back so it would work with my current cougar with a 250 PXS TKII
I would be you do achieve very good numbers as the gamblers are a faster hull design even though they are heavier, my 96 PII was only 1350 hull weight, the newer ones are much heavier, mine also only ran 3 batteries and a much lighter trolling motor than most run today

I don't imagine holeshot will be a problem as it is now with the rather abysmal low end torque of the 225 I pop right up on plane. My hull is 1650lbs dry, but I run 4 small batteries and a tour pro trolling motor (relatively light). I will definitely take it easy and run the 250xb fuel computer first. Hopefully I'm on the right track with props as the Tro4 (Trophy plus copy) handles really well on my hull. Might need more pitch soon though. . . perhaps a 28-we shall see. Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this thread, I really appreciate it.