2007 280 DA Performance question

[Michael Merritt]

Hello everyone. I'm new here but have found tons of useful info over the last year. I have a very general question to throw out there regarding the performance of my 2007 280DA. It has twin 5.0 mpi with B3 drives and 22p props after dropping down from 24s to gain some performance at lower speed. I would like to hear what other guys are getting in the way of plane time, cruise speed and rpm at top speed.

I did try for a while to search for this info but kept getting errors for some reason. A link to the thread would be great if this topic has been covered before.

Thanks in advance, Mike

 

[scoflaw]

Had a 2006 with same setup as yours. Jumped up on plane with no tabs. Ran 49 mph @4900. Cruise was the deal killer for me, engine liked 3300 or higher, nothing lower. That speed was too fast for the area I boat in. I would have put 4 blade props on it if there weren't other issue I didn't care for with it.

 

[Michael Merritt]

Thanks for the quick reply. The first time i put the boat in the water it got on plane quick and I pushed it to about 4500 doing around 42, that was not WOT but I didn't really want to break it the first run. That was with 1/2 tank and another adult onboard and with 24p props. The next time out I noticed the starboard engine was idling rough and did some checks when I got her home and ultimately found a cracked head, center exhaust valve seats. I wound up replacing the heads on both motors with brand new EQ heads and I thought life was good. With the new heads the boat took 10 secs or more to plane with tabs and couldn't get over 40 mph at WOT. I changed props to 22s to get the low end performance back and to lower the cruise speed issue that you mentioned. The boat is happy running the 22s and stays on plane at a lower speed, but I think I'm band-aiding the real issue and feel the motors are not performing the way they should. The motors each have 250 hours and I replaced all the ignition and fuel items when I did the heads.

 

[Michael Merritt]

Now with the 22s on her it tops out around 42 mph at 4800 rpms. Just feels sluggish for the power it should have in my opinion.

 

[scoflaw]

Band-Aid is exactly the right term

 

[JimT]

On my 280DA with a clean bottom I could hit 48 mph at 4900. Hit 50 mph once on a cool morning with brand new paint.

 

[Michael Merritt]

Jim, can I ask what and props you're running? That's the kind of numbers I expected from my boat without any bottom paint.

 

[JimT]

Jim, can I ask what and props you're running? That's the kind of numbers I expected from my boat without any bottom paint.

Michael,

I don't recall the props. I sold the boat 7 years ago. I do know they the stock props that came on the boat when new.