Ilmor releases a brand new counter rotating surface drive!

[RiverDave]

This will be an integral part of performance boating moving forward if I had to bet! It’s no secret I always loved the black hawks..

Now we have surfacing efficiency with the benefit of counter rotation, available in smaller packages!

More to come on this.

RD

 

[Lavey5150]

I saw this morning on another platform.ILMOR stuff is top notch, almost put one in my Lavey SABRE when I built her way back.This Drive looks
impressive.

 

[Outdrive1]

It pretty much is a copy of a Black Hawk drive, which worked really well on Daytonas specifically.

 

[Outdrive1]

 

[RichieRich]

but how did it run?
I saw it in the channel on Friday morning so I am sure they have some data by now.

 

[pwerwagn]

The owner has quite a few pictures/videos of it on his insta page. Its pretty rad! I have always wanted an all white boat.

 

[Crazyhippy]

Do they have a motor to go in front of it? They stopped doing the V-10's and were just doing mild small blocks...

 

[renodaytona]

LS based V8 570 HP.

They hit 80 MPH and still testing props according to Mr. Mark Baker the owner/ Sales manager for Eliminator.

 

[wet hull]

Looks very cool. Did they release anything on max HP?

Also curious
- standard after market steering work?
- gear availability and ratios
- these special props or standard bravo counter rotation?

 

[pronstar]

RD you would’ve had a heart attack if they put the props in front of the drive

 

[J DUNN]

Bro

 

[attitude]

Boat is LOUD. Mark seemed very happy with it, 2% slip and they are having bigger props made that will be done in 2 weeks.

 

[satellitemike]

Talked to the Ilmor guys at the street fair, should get interesting after a little setup and testing!

 

[RiverDave]

but how did it run?
I saw it in the channel on Friday morning so I am sure they have some data by now.

80 for now but expecting 90+ when they get the right props

 

[JayBreww]

LS based V8 570 HP.

They hit 80 MPH and still testing props according to Mr. Mark Baker the owner/ Sales manager for Eliminator.

He’s part owner too? I thought Jake was the head honcho?

 

[Singleton]

He’s part owner too? I thought Jake was the head honcho?

Owner of boat

 

[n2otoofast4u]

Boat is LOUD. Mark seemed very happy with it, 2% slip and they are having bigger props made that will be done in 2 weeks.

Thats what I noticed as well, that fkn thing makes a lot of noise!

 

[Gelcoater]

This will be an integral part of performance boating moving forward if I had to bet! It’s no secret I always loved the black hawks..

Now we have surfacing efficiency with the benefit of counter rotation, available in smaller packages!

More to come on this.

RD

It took every ounce of my self control to not post pics of this setup for the past couple of weeks

 

[attitude]

Thats what I noticed as well, that fkn thing makes a lot of noise!

Did you happen to hear it start? It puts the 565 to shame lol.

 

[HST4ME]

I'd like to see the rams moved further back a bit, but it's going to be a great set up for mid hp boats. I'm kinda surprised Merc bailed on the BH. I bought a whole assembly and complete sets of prop pitches when they phased out years ago. Still all in boxes collecting dust in my basement.

 

[Blackmagic94]

What pitch are the props currently


Is the motor a 454 cid LSx based engine? I heard it and was amazed at how loud it was for a LSx

 

[renodaytona]

He’s part owner too? I thought Jake was the head honcho?

Owner of the Speedster, I met him back at Big Cat a few years ago, very nice guy.

I'm wondering what the HP limits are for these drives is.

 

[Marios Metalworks]

Sounds great in the videos

How do they know what x-dimension to use on a new drive like that? Trial and error?

 

[Bigbore500r]

Look at Illmor.....trying a different prop!

 

[ToMorrow44]

View attachment 1110153

The Ilmor uses a standard bravo bell housing too…I wonder if the helmet is the same? Can’t tell from the pictures but it’d be interesting if it bolts right in place of a bravo.

 

[Matt Mead]

Boat is LOUD. Mark seemed very happy with it, 2% slip and they are having bigger props made that will be done in 2 weeks.

Weird how little slip it has considering it's a "surface" drive. I'll admit, I don't know how much slip a surface drive application is supposed to have, but I could swear I've seen much higher slip numbers on all kinds of other stuff.

 

[welldigger00]

Hmmm. Im not very well versed on I/O boats, but, it looks like a regular out drive to me? Am i missing something?

 

[Matt Mead]

Hmmm. Im not very well versed on I/O boats, but, it looks like a regular out drive to me? Am i missing something?

It sits higher up, and has all the engineering required to do that well. The props are in a significant amount of air at top speed. I first learned about surface drives when I heard of Arneson. Watching videos of them working is a trip.

Hopefully the thumbnail loads too and you can see right away why it's different:

 

[Teague_JR]

The Ilmor uses a standard bravo bell housing too…I wonder if the helmet is the same? Can’t tell from the pictures but it’d be interesting if it bolts right in place of a bravo.

Similar but different...

True DTS, the shifting components are under that rear cover on the drive... thus why the steering pins are not all the way out back.

 

[welldigger00]

I’ve seen the arneson drive, but it appears to come straight out the transom, and they usually still run a rudder. So to see it look like a regular out drive threw me off. But what the hell do I know, im from California.

 

[Matt Mead]

The areneson makes sense it is up high when you look at it, and I agree this Ilmor just looks standard "prop to pad" height, but it has to be an optical illusion. I'm pretty sure the centerline of those props is up pretty high, otherwise I don't know what the heck they are talking about when they market it as a surface drive.

 

[QC22]

Is the motor a 454 cid LSx based engine? I heard it and was amazed at how loud it was for a LSx

Yes, been out for almost 5 years I think.

Edit: Almost 10 years https://www.boatingmag.com/boats/ilmor-mv8-570/

 

[traquer]

That's a badass boat and I met Mark when he had is old 24 Daytona before he built it up. Great guy. I saw that blackhawk drive did good, got him hooked!

I also heard how loud that engine is, and I was wondering why? I want!! Is it due to engine compression or exhaust? Because it doesn't sound like the sub 500hp engines I've had, they just rumble more than anything else and not too loud. It almost seems like his idle is super high, or there's an X pipe or something going on lol. What gives big power engines that loud idle?

 

[Matt Mead]

Maybe his exhaust has less water injected into it

 

[lavey jr]

I had the pleasure of rigging this boat for Mark and I am extremely stoked for him! It turned out bad ass!

I got to drive the boat on its shakedown run last Wednesday. We had some set backs with props so we made work with what we had which ended up being a miss matched set to get us on the water for a test. They were both 29 pitch, 3 blade round ear front and 4 blade cleaver rear. Ran the boat up to 80 mph at 4800 rpm, it revs to 6000 rpm.

Friday I got to drive the boat a good amount of the day and ran it back from Pirates. It was a little bit rough out and I was extremely impressed with how the 255 Speedster handled it! I felt as if the dual props helped a lot and keep the boat planted through it all.

When we first ran the boat out on the hose at the shop I was very shocked on how loud the engine is. I love it! The exhaust is straight through with two water dumps at the tips. The idle rpm is not high, idles at 650-750 rpm, it’s just raspy! Ilmor tells me it’s because of the compression and big cam profile.

The outdrive is very cool. It is full electric shift with solenoids on the drive under the rear cowl, along with an oil pump and oil filter. Not 100% sure of the internal specs but Ilmor tells me it is not cone clutch sifting and is all hydraulic shifting actuated by solenoids.

I’m overall very impressed with this package and look forward to dialing it in!

 

[Marios Metalworks]

Maybe his exhaust has less water injected into it

Googles “5.0MPI + reduce water jacket pressure”

 

[rivermobster]

They took a bunch of different ideas and put em all together.

Will be interesting to see how it turns!

 

[ToMorrow44]

The exhaust is straight through with two water dumps at the tips.

That’ll account for the noise! It sounds mean.

Nice work Chris!

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

I wonder what the HP range is for that drive. Mild to wild, or just mild? I wonder how well it would run in a deeper application (ie more holeshot, midrange and less top end).

Not that this is going to wind up on a boat someone might ski behind but we ski behind boats with Merc #6 (set deeper) pretty frequently and its do-able, so I wonder what roost this puts up.

I also wonder if this is going to pressure IMCO to step up their game on the SCX. They already have a dual downshaft SCX lower, how hard would it be to put each input on a separate shaft and turn two props?

 

[rrrr]

Talked to the Ilmor guys at the street fair, should get interesting after a little setup and testing! View attachment 1110182

Those transom straps aren't gonna do shit in a collision.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

Those transom straps aren't gonna do shit in a collision.

Especially with a cat, the trailer looks like a couple of ski jumps! Might clear your vehicle and the back of the semi you rear-end...

 

[Fun Times]

Saw Dave mention there's more to come but just got to wondering, in the future would Ilmor be selling the surface piercing drive as a stand-alone or package type deal with new boats made?

If stand-alone, to use this new designed drive, will the hull bottom of the boat need to be redesigned any to help utilize the surface piercing drive like it was recommended for the Blackhawk back in 1994ish?
I recall Eliminator and Merc basically working closely together to make the 22 Daytona run it's best under stock EFI power.

For reference points, here's a copy of Merc service bulletin Number 93-19 that offered recommended set up guides for the Blackhawk drives, https://www.crowleymarine.com/sb/2/2860

The following points should be considered when making the determination to use the Blackhawk Drive Unit:
• The Blackhawk Drive is designed for “Single Engine High Performance Sport Boats” that are 20-25 ft. in length, that run in excess of 65 M.P.H. .
• It is designed for boats that have a natural “Bow-Lift” (where the stern drive unit is not needed to lift the bow of the boat).
• The Blackhawk Drive is designed to operate with the propeller shafts running parallel to the water surface. The boat should be designed to run with a minimum wetted surface without porpoising at wide-open throttle (W.O.T.). To achieve this, “Delta-Pads”, “Notches”, or “Steps” are often used.
• Should Not be used on boats that have a “Hook” in the back of the boat hull or that have “Lifting-Strakes” that run to the back of the boat (which would lift the stern of the boat and drop the bow).
• The Blackhawk Drive Unit uses an “X” - Dimension that is 2-1/2 inches higher than the standard dimension used for the Bravo One Drive Unit (See “Transom Cutout” section in the Power Package Installation Manual for further information).

 

[Chili Palmer]

So basically this is a modified high performance Bravo 3 setup?

 

[BingerFang]

Dam this is a bitchin setup!

 

[Bpracing1127]

It has a 1.65 gear ratio too

 

[Gelcoater]

What pitch are the props currently


Is the motor a 454 cid LSx based engine? I heard it and was amazed at how loud it was for a LSx

I’m not too hip on all of GM’s alphanumeric codes but Mark did tell me it is a 7.4L 454

I wasn’t there to hear it on the hose.
The package itself looks pretty nice (although I’d never own a white engine...especially a GM) and the Chris team installed it quickly with no hiccups or road blocks.
Looking forward to seeing more of these filter into the mix

 

[SkyDirtWaterguy]

Bitchin boat but I thought outboards were all the rage and the future of performance boating??? And at this point in my life, quieter is better! LOL

 

[Gelcoater]

I thought outboards were all the rage and the future of performance boating??? And at this point in my life, quieter is better! LOL

If I were building a boat today I’d go outboard, but not everyone wants a boat that sounds like a sewing machine

 

[Joe mama]

If all boats at DS are outboards the parade through the channel will just be a stereo contest.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

I'm not well versed in this sort of stuff.

If this is similar to a Blackhawk drive... why don't they sell boats with those anymore? If it was such a good idea, wouldn't they have been selling them all these years?