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Performance upgrades for 74

captaint

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"Hello
I have a 1995 Rinker


"Hello
I have a 1995 Rinker 232 Captiva with a 7.4 Mercruiser(carburated) Bravo 3. I've had this boat since it was new. I'm getting ready to give it a tune up (cap, rotor, plugs and wires).
Everything is bone stock and I was just wondering if there were any simple modifications that I could look into for some more horsepower and performance?
Different plug wires other than stock?
Replace factory filter with K&N air filter for more air?
Thanks for any info."
 
"Only use marine grade ignitio

"Only use marine grade ignition wires.
Your air cleaner should actually be a spark arrestor; essential for marine use. Check it for any crud and clean it, but don't replace it with a non-marine air cleaner.
Likewise don't replace any electrical components (like starter, alternator) with anything other than marine grade. They are all designed to be spark proof so as not to ignite any fuel vapors in your bilge."
 
"my opinion (emphasis on o

"my opinion (emphasis on opinion) is that by the time you invest enough money to get 10 more mph out of this tired boat, you will have wished you sold it and purchased a boat designed to go faster than your 95 Rinker... especially if you have a lot of hours on this boat.

None of the above is going to add noticable power. More aggressive steps to add power might include intake/carb changes, through hull exhaust, new prop. Then more aggressive cam, head work, distributor..."
 
"Trevor;
David makes a valid


"Trevor;
David makes a valid point.
I recently upgraded the 180 hp 4.3L V-6 in my 20' Blue water Mirage to a 350 hp MX 6.2 MPI. It cost a lot and my top end should go from 47 mph to maybe 62 mph. I had to also change the drive ratio, added side exit exhausts, etc, etc. Why did I do it? Just because I kind of like the boat and why not do it? I don't know what my top end is yet as I am still breaking it in.
You already have a big block likely around 350 hp, so you could look at a built-up 600 or 700 hp aftermarket marine engine. Then your drive won't hold up, so that would need to be changed. And on and on it goes.
In the end it comes down to the individual. If you want to play around and improve performance, and you don't mind spending some money to do it, why not?
Rod"
 
"Generally, if you want a seat

"Generally, if you want a seat of the pants improvement in a boat you should be looking for a 100HP increase. 10 or 20 will do nothing that you will notice (unlike int a car). Big blocks are great engines to modify, but it is $$$. The best bang for the $ is in a cam and intake manifold. The stock spark arrestor is fine until you get more flow into the engine. The cost goes up from there.....

Also consider the age of the engine.... freshen up the heads, Edelbrock intake and carb, tune up, and you would notice an improvement....but not necessarily from the small HP gains - more from the fact that the engine has lost some power since new."
 
"Thanks for the responses.
I


"Thanks for the responses.
I wasn't going to use anything other than marine grade replacements. I was just wondering if there were maybe a set of marine plugs, wires, ect.. that were a little better than just replacing them with the exact same stock ones. I know that this will not lead to any MPH gains.
As far as asking about the K&N filter, I've always thought that the stock one (spark arrestor) served an important purpose, however, I've seen many guys boats with built up 502's ect. with K&N filters sitting on top.

This boat is far from "tired". It's in outstanding condition and it has low hours for its age.(our boating season is only 3 1/2-4 months a year) And I like its layout and design better than most new boats that I look at. I would have no problem putting some $ into this boat even though it is 12 years old, it's better than shelling out $50k+ just to get a new boat that will run in the 70's or so."
 
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