No lift on Z8, w/250 Pro XS...

[KCLOST]

I was asked to help a friend out and see if I could adjust some things on his recently purchased "used" boat to help him get more speed and also reduce chine walk.

To make a long story short, we met up at the lake and we took it out for a run. He had about 1/2 tank of gas, and normal tackle load, running a 25P Fury with I would guess 10" or so slidemaster jack plate... Ran it and it reached 64mpg at 5800rpms, with "no" bow lift in my opinion, at WOT and full trim. I could not get the bow to come up like I am used to. It is not nose plowing, but it is not getting on Pad like it should at full throttle with trim.
At the same time, it would not chine walk with both of us 225+lbers in the boat...

So we idled back to the ramp and pulled it out. I wanted to have him try a 25p Tempest that I had and raise the motor some just to see what would happen. He was reluctant to try the Tempest so we just raised the motor, even though I knew that Fury's don't like to run high. We also could not lower it any further than it was.. We went back out, and it was even worse, no bow lift like I feared.
So I said, "let's try the Tempest"... He was again reluctant, I asked why... I never really got a good answer, but either he was short on time, frustrated with our results, or just bought the prop out of the box and was understandably wanting performance with this one. No matter the case, I offered him to take my prop and try it when he had the time and get back with me.

So anyway, this was my first time running a Z8, and I expected us to make some progress and get it up over 70+... No such luck.
Can anyone give me some set-up numbers, on Motor height, prop, rpm, etc.

Thanks

[BMCD]

Start @ 3.5 Below pad, normally u can go higher with a Tempest.

[Lkmbjb502]

KLOST,

I have a 2011 Z8 which did have a ProXS 225 on it running a 25 Fury (great shape zero dings/damage) - Slidemaster (never moved it, as I was not into ultimate top end) - no poles/talons - but a ton of gear and alone with a light fuel load the fastest I every ran was 69.8 (couldn't ever break 70) at about 5900-ish (analog gauge) and it would NOT walk at all, super easy to drive just go full throttle (no blow out) max out the trim and that was top end (mid-upper 60s with 2 guys, both consoles), just steer that's it (pretty much zero lift).

The 225 motor let go last Winter at the 615 hour mark and I replaced with a new/leftover ProXS 250 2-stroke as I as told it would be 5-6 months for a new 4-stroke. I also added a 10" Altas and a Merc Monitor Vessel view Phone/App setup. Using the same 25 Fury the fastest I could run was 70.8 @ 5700-5800 and it now walks all over the place (less so with the plate high but not as fast with plate high) - but I am pretty dialed in now managing the walk and don't even think about it when making corrections. It definitely likes to run lower - raising the plate with the Fury on slows it.

After seeing a ton of recommendations for the Bravo 1 XS prop for Z8s with heavier loads - and specifically the 27-28 pitch (these props supposedly run like a pitch lower than advertised) - I ordered a 27. I have been running it for a month or so now - it is a TOTALLY different feeling prop and setup. The hole shot is different jumps out quick but can blow out if not careful. Doesn't like to Powerload on the trailer now - but just drop the trailer in a few inches deeper. Light loaded Top end is close to the same (I haven't cracked 70 though) but it has much more bite in corners and when loaded especially through mid range speeds. It will still walk but not like the Fury - and is way less sensitive to trim and plate adjustments - and easier to drive.

I sort of wish I had ordered a Bravo XS 26 but several guys were supposedly running "heavy" with 27.5s or 28s so thought I would be ok with the 27. My boat as always seems to be very sensitive to weight - both fuel, tackle and humans - so I plan to run the fuel down a bit (less than half tank), empty the boat except the essentials and make a few runs with the two props. I think the 27 I have might be fine for Winter/Cold weather - but based on the load I run might be a little too much for ultimate top speed when it's 95 and humid.

There was a guy on BBC that lived in my area with a Z8 that would supposedly run over 80 - I saw his GPS runs but was never in the boat to see it first hand and met him on the lake for a few "highway pulls" - and I can say we would run up to the 60s together and then he would leave me like I was tied to a stump. I will say we both laughed when we looked in each others boats - while he as running both consoles - he literally had nothing in his boat and I mean nothing other than like 2 rods and 1 3700 box - and I had every compartment stuffed with tackle, rods, tools, anchor, extra parts, oil, ropes, bumpers/fenders, you name it I was carrying it - two extremes. Frankly my boat has never been fast but I didn't care too much wasn't my thing catching fish and getting home was.

While not a final answer - hopefully that helps.

-Jonathan

[Big Fish Mike]

Try a 26 Fury. I have a 2012 Z8 with a 250XS. I run 73-74 with 2 people, 4 batteries, 2 power poles, and a good amount of rods and gear. Dont know if the prop is worked as it is what came on my Z8 when I bought it.

[KCLOST]

Just a little update.... The motor was lowered to 3.5" below pad. The Tempest just doesn't have the goods compared to the Fury. We put the 25P Fury back on it and he is toping out at 70mph.... NOw he just needs to get some seat time to prevent the chine walk....

Thanks for all your suggestions...

[BMCD]

Fury's don't seem to be able to run much over 3.5 bp.

Never forget running one of the first Z8s they made, scared my wife, we were hitting 80. Course that was in 08 and they were lighter hulls back then, and we were very light.

[BasscatmanQCA]

Bryan- when you say "to run much over 3.5 bp" do you mean less than 3.5 bp or more than 3.5 bp? bp= below pad, correct?

[BMCD]

Higher then 3.5 bp.

[Nova Kaw 650]

Just a little update.... The motor was lowered to 3.5" below pad. The Tempest just doesn't have the goods compared to the Fury. We put the 25P Fury back on it and he is toping out at 70mph.... NOw he just needs to get some seat time to prevent the chine walk....

Thanks for all your suggestions...

In the first post you had said it was running at the bottom of the JP, you raised it some and that was worse, now you lowered it to 3.5"? How high was it??

[KCLOST]

In the first post you had said it was running at the bottom of the JP, you raised it some and that was worse, now you lowered it to 3.5"? How high was it??

I'm not really sure, but it was too high for the Fury to perform well. Raising it made it worse and also started to loose water pressure. So we actually had to have the motor mounted on a different set of holes to lower the motor to 3.5" bp.... I'll try to get some pictures and measurements to see where we were initially....
I have always tried to run my motors as high as possible since I started running bass boats. Ranger, Triton, Stratos all had similar performance gains by raising the motor... BUt with these Fury props, that is not always the case.... Sometimes the exact opposite is true.

On my Z20 with a Fury 25p, I gain a mph or 2 by raising my Atlas Jackplate during WOT, but when I get too high it drops off like a rock.