Making Progress

[DynaMarine]

Still drop the starter and it'd be easy to bolt right up

[digginfool]

No Shane he doesn't have a Jw he has the flexplate that comes with the Lsa.

Still drop the starter and it'd be easy to bolt right up

I'm not sure who makes it but it looks just like the JW wheel. It definitely isn't what would be used in a car. Very heavy duty. Shane, you are correct. That makes all the sense in the world. I can't believe I didn't think of that. Thanks!

[digginfool]

I must say, that's a good looking gearbox! One of the first things I noticed was how silky smooth the gears are when I turned it by hand. Once I got the old box off, just for comparison, I spun it by hand as well. It initially was very smooth then got progressively tighter until very tight, to the point I was pulling pretty hard on the drive plate to turn it. Then, suddenly got easy again. After a couple of pulls on the drive plate, the tightness returned and the process repeated, just to get easy again. Whatever the issue is, it's definitely on the driven gear. I have to imagine that when I blew the engine, tremendous loads must have been put on the gearbox; I was running WOT and it came to a stop in seconds. The inertia of the prop would have been enormous at that point and I could imagine teeth being deformed. So, with that being said, I suspect I was buying a new box sooner or later (probably sooner) regardless of what ratio I was running. I would also imagine that a good amount of power was being lost to the additional friction. We shall see next week!

[Deano]

Ha Ha . . . There's all those dreadlocks again.

[digginfool]

Ha Ha . . . There's all those dreadlocks again.

Gives the boat that Caribbean character. Ya, mon. Irie, irie.

[Deano]

Maybe ya need a little Bob Marley art on the back of that starboard head.

[flying fish]

I've been playing with pitch and I've had some mixed results. When I had it pitched for 5,200 RPM at the Freedom Ride, I managed to hit 59.8 mph, but that was on the skinny water on Lake Cypress. Deep water was around 54 mph with 4 adults. This past weekend, I took a little more pitch out so that I was turning 5,400 RPM. Boat did not like that. Cruise RPMs went way up and top speed dropped to 49 mph running trails in 2A. I spoke with the guys at Sensenich and was told it's more about pitch than propeller speed with the NGR. Those blades run best when pitched between the 2 and 3 mark. With my blades pitched for 5,200 RPM, the blades are right at the 2 mark, just a little above the 2 mark when pitched for 5,100 RPM, just below when pitched for 5,400 RPM.

At some point, you are the answer man.

[flying fish]

How is the new gear?

[digginfool]

Had a little disaster and won't have any new information for at least a couple weeks.

[fl cracker]

Damn , you have a grand wrapped up in wire loom.

[Tony480]

Had a little disaster and won't have any new information for at least a couple weeks.

What kind of disaster?

[Scarecrow]

Probably that socket set going thru the prop.

[digginfool]

Had a little disaster and won't have any new information for at least a couple weeks.

What kind of disaster?

Probably that socket set going thru the prop.

What he said.

[dblj006]

Had a little disaster and won't have any new information for at least a couple weeks.

What kind of disaster?

Probably that socket set going thru the prop.

What he said.

Man that sucks.

[Deano]

Man that sucks.

Especially, when the other guy just told you he picked everything up.

[digginfool]

Okay. So, now that I'm back up and running with the NGRs, the 2.5 box allowed me to add 3 degrees of pitch and 300 RPM sitting on the trailer over the 2.38 (5,400 RPM at 14 degrees pitch vs 5,100 RPM at 11 degrees, measured 4 inches in from tip of winglet). This is what I was hoping for; I got the engine up where it's making some more power, added quite a bit of pitch and prop is turning nearly the same RPM. Can't wait to see what kind of improvements I'll see on the water. Hoping for better cruise RPM, a little more snap and come out of the hole better. We'll see! Also, just made me smile to feel that smoothness over the Powershift. I'm sure the Powershift was the chit when it came out but it just doesn't match the NGR. Science!

[digginfool]

Found a baseline dyno sheet from Nickey Chevrolet on the Camaro SS, which uses the LSA with very similar numbers in stock configuration to the CTS-V. At 5,400 RPM, the engine is making ~520 HP and ~505 lb-ft torque. At 5,100 RPM, ~495 HP and ~510 lb-ft torque. So, that 300 RPM does make a difference.

[digginfool]

Finally got the boat on the water with the new box and my NGR. I have to say that this is without a doubt the right setup. I had the opportunity to run the boat light, heavy and through tall cattails and it is a beast. Not only that, but the snap is something I've never had before, even with the BBC. I can cruise deep water at 3,500 RPM, skim the grass at 2,900 RPM and when I stand on the go pedal, it will jump. I'll probably play with pitch a little but not until I run with the GPS so I can get hard numbers on what's happening, as far as cruise speed, top speed, mileage. If anything, I think it could use a little more pitch; maybe 2 more degrees but I don't want to pull the engine down too far. These LS motors seem to like WOT around 5,500. More to come later.

[DynaMarine]

Can't hardly go wrong with the 2.5 and strong LS

[digginfool]

Can I say 'motherf***er' on here? I know shit happens and I have no doubt the issue is going to be taken care of but I swear; the airboat gods have something against my Diamondback. Thank God I have my sled. At least I'll still be sliding for the next couple weeks until my boat's back together. I'm starting to believe the AC guys might be right about us CM boats.

[flying fish]

Dang it man!

[Tony480]

What happened now

[digginfool]

What happened now

Changed the oil in my gearbox and a bunch of heavy filings and a broken tooth came out. Already talked to the manufacturer and I'm certain they'll stand behind their product but, dammit man! What are the odds?

[Tony480]

Wow! That sucks. How many hours were on it? Hope you get it fixed soon

[digginfool]

Wow! That sucks. How many hours were on it? Hope you get it fixed soon

19-1/2 hours. They said they would jump on it as soon as they get it but between the time to tear it down, pack it up, ship it, repair, return ship and re-install, I'm guessing it's going to be at least two weeks before the barge is running again.