Ranger z518 top end?

[Thensley201]

Hey guys. I'm looking at possibly buying 2016 z518 with a 150HO etec. The owner says it has a great hole shot loaded and empty will run around 56/57. I'm not to concerned with the top end as much as I am the hole shot. My question is though would a jack plate help with the top end speed? I would really rather my boat to at least be able to bump 60mph even though I rarely run my boats wide open. Thanks!

[jc2bg]

In general, my experience with hulls of that size and a 150 horsepower engine is that—all other factors being optimum—a jackplate may indeed raise top end speed by 2+ mph. Good luck with your decision.

[Mr.Wonderful]

I have the same hull with a 150 Optimax ProXS. I get 55/56 pretty easily with full tourney load. I definitely feel like I could get more top end if I messed with my tackle, etc - but I'm more concerned about the layout as it relates to fishing than performance. I knew I wasn't running in the 60's when I signed the paperwork. Love the boat compared to others in it's size class though...fishes much larger than my Skeeter ZX190.

[Thensley201]

Thanks guys. I was in between this 2016 ranger or a new nitro z18. Speed wise they are the same. But I'm sure that 10/12 years from now when they would be paid for the ranger would have held up better.

[j791]

You might check out the Ranger Z185’s. I love mine and saved a lot over a 518.

[JR19]

"Typically" on most bass boats in the 18 ft range with 150 horsepower if you add a jack plate you can gain 1-3 mph. Plus having a jackplate will allow you to adjust motor height in case you suffer from bad characteristics such as chinewalk, poor holeshot and steering torque.

FYI the HO in E-TECH stands for High Output. NMMA National Marine Manufacturers Association mandates that boat motors must be + or - 10% of advertised horsepower. The HO is tuned to push the upper limit, so its more like 165 horsepower. On a side note E-TECH stands for Evinrude Technology.

Out of curiosity a few questions??? What is the current prop? What is the current wide open throttle rpm? What was the speed measured with? If GPS then its accurate. If it was a boat speedometer then they are notorious for being highly inaccurate. If its 57 GPS then that boat is running good but with some tweaking of the prop and a jackplate I could see it bumping 60 on a regular basis.

[Thensley201]

I'm not sure of the prop or rpms. The owner said say mph was GPS. I figured that was pretty efficient for the boat. I was jw if a plate would help it enough to support spending the money. And like I mentioned I rarely run my boats WOT. The only time I do is on blast off of tournaments. So I'm not extremely worried about it.

[BrianFLA]

I have a pro xs 4 stroke 150 on mine and runs 57 wot , the hole shot and mid range is amazing

[BrianFLA]

And the front easily fishes too anglers

[cwalsh]

Mine with the g2 will run 60-61 during the colder months with consistency, this is with just me in the boat and around 1/2 tank of fuel. It runs 55-57 with 2 guys loaded for a tournament. I have a 4” manual jack plate and I did send my prop to Croxton for b&b but this was to help the boat have more lift when loaded. Hole shot is excellent in all conditions. I wouldn’t get to hung up on whether the boat runs 58 or 60 as long as it has a decent hole shot with a load. Excellent fishing platform for an 18 footer.

[JR19]

I'm not sure of the prop or rpms. The owner said say mph was GPS. I figured that was pretty efficient for the boat. I was jw if a plate would help it enough to support spending the money. And like I mentioned I rarely run my boats WOT. The only time I do is on blast off of tournaments. So I'm not extremely worried about it.

Yes there is a possibility to gain 1-3 mph with a 6" jackplate. You can also have the prop balanced and blueprinted and have a possible small gain 1-2 mph with that. If you done both I could see a 2-3 mph gain. The question is how much are you willing to spend to gain that amount of speed...Of course right now we are just talking hypothetical numbers. Based on your statement you are looking to buy the boat and do not have seat time running it. Once you have possession and load the boat the way you typically drive it your numbers can be different by 1-2 mph + or - , hence we are just talking hypothetical numbers right now.

Mine with the g2 will run 60-61 during the colder months with consistency, this is with just me in the boat and around 1/2 tank of fuel. It runs 55-57 with 2 guys loaded for a tournament. I have a 4” manual jack plate and I did send my prop to Croxton for b&b but this was to help the boat have more lift when loaded. Hole shot is excellent in all conditions. I wouldn’t get to hung up on whether the boat runs 58 or 60 as long as it has a decent hole shot with a load. Excellent fishing platform for an 18 footer.

His numbers sound good but remember he is talking a prop that has been balanced and blueprinted and he has a jackplate...also remember the reason he is running a 4" jackplate is because the G2 has natural setback in the motor mounts. In the particular situation of a regular E-TECH and Z518 a 6" is best.

[Thensley201]

Thanks for all the information. Once or if I get the boat I will run it and see what I can do with it. I know it can sometimes cost thousands to gain a couple mph. Thanks again for all the info.

[BrianFLA]

518L with a 200 if top end is an important to you for your next purchase. I believe the 518L is close to 70 mph boat, but is about 10K more than the 518

Thanks for all the information. Once or if I get the boat I will run it and see what I can do with it. I know it can sometimes cost thousands to gain a couple mph. Thanks again for all the info.