Last year at WOT, the most I could ever max out at was 2750 RPMs on my 350HP CAT 3116s. Yesterday I did my first real WOT test since last year and both engines went a tick past the 2800 mark. Probably a hair less than 2850. This was with 3/4 fuel and 1/2 water and a dinghy. I'd imagine if I had no dinghy, less fuel and no water, the RPMs would be even higher.
So what changed since last year?
1. I had the bottom media blasted and I barrier coated and repainted in the spring.
2. I swapped the Racors, going from 2 micron to 10 micron.
That's all I can think of. My $ is on the fresh bottom, but it's not like the bottom was dirty last year (in fact the boat was hauled and the bottom was power washed in June of last year).
Could the less restrictive filters be a factor?
Lastly, when we go on a 1-2 hour trip, I like to go WOT for a minute or two during the trip to make sure the engines can still reach the spec max RPM (which is 2800) and to "clean" stuff out of the engines. So when I do this, should I stop at 2800 RPM even if it could go a shade higher?
Props are OEM spec. 22x24
Thanks.
So what changed since last year?
1. I had the bottom media blasted and I barrier coated and repainted in the spring.
2. I swapped the Racors, going from 2 micron to 10 micron.
That's all I can think of. My $ is on the fresh bottom, but it's not like the bottom was dirty last year (in fact the boat was hauled and the bottom was power washed in June of last year).
Could the less restrictive filters be a factor?
Lastly, when we go on a 1-2 hour trip, I like to go WOT for a minute or two during the trip to make sure the engines can still reach the spec max RPM (which is 2800) and to "clean" stuff out of the engines. So when I do this, should I stop at 2800 RPM even if it could go a shade higher?
Props are OEM spec. 22x24
Thanks.