Mercury Revolution 4 prop

S

shilo

New Member
Jul 10, 2007
62
Ravenna, Ohio
Saterday I got out to test a Revolution 4 , 14.6x15 test prop. The boat is a 1990 220 CC with 5.7 260hp with Alpha. What a difference over the 14x17 aluminum prop! With 3 people on board and a full (58 gal) tank of gas, trim tabs full up and outdrive full down the boat comes up on plane very very quickly. Acceleration is excellent, this prop really pulls hard. At 3200rpm I'm at 26mph (gps) and with the aluminum I was at 25mph. At 4000rpm I was running 33mph and at 4700rpm WOT (just a couple times for a couple minutes to check performance) 39mph. The best the aluminum has done is 35mph. In 180 turns bringing it around real hard and rolling on the throttle, starting the turn at 3200rpm and exiting the turn at 4000 rpm , the blade never blew out and it pulled hard accelerating through the entire turn. I'm really impressed with this prop. It accelerates great, pulls hard and runs faster. This prop is operating in the 12% to 13% slip range. It does have a noticably different sound than the aluminum. Don't know if it's because of the 4 blades or how the exhaust comes out. I'm going to try a 17 pitch just to see how it compares. If anyone is considering a prop for their boat, they might want to test a Rev 4.
 
www.bblades.com Ask for Brett, he's the owner. Also offer repair, balancing, blueprinting, and custom work. I've got a Rev 4, 14.6x17 and an Enertia 14.5x17 on the way to see how those work on my boat. Brett said the different sound was from the 4 blades. Also, the Rev 4 was very smooth running.
 
Wow we picked up a pair of Rev 4s for a friend's Baja earlier this summer in person from Brett. He should remember me. The smoothness was very noticeable on the Baja 290 too. Thanks!
 
I'll be interested in hearing your results with the prop. That would be neat to be able to swing by his shop. He did mention that that the difference I noticed in smoothness, if I had the prop balanced it would be almost 2 times as smooth. The cost for balancing isn't that bad, so it might be something to consider in the future.
 
Shilo,

Please post your results regarding the Enertia - I'm interested.

Thanks.
 
Hopefully I'll get out to test them tomorrow or Sunday, weather permitting. Right now they're sitting next to each other in the house; the things my wife puts up with. The Rev 4 looks like massive brute force and the Enertia looks slender aerodynamic and fast. I'll let you know how they work.
 
shilo said:
Saterday I got out to test a Revolution 4 , 14.6x15 test prop.
Click to expand...

Shilo... I have been looking for a 4 blade, but never saw a 15 always 17 and up.

Did you notice any change in the WOT RPM going from the 3 blade aluminun to a 4 blade stainless steel? I am currenly at max RPM with my 3 blade aluminum and was under the impression that if I went to a 3 blade stainless, the max RPM would increase by about 200 RPM.

Thanks,

John
 
In general you will notice a reduction in WOT rpm with a 4 blade prop of the same pitch as your 3 blade. That is why they recommended dropping down in pitch when going to a 4 blade. Depending on if you are in the upper range of your WOT you may be able to use a 4 blade of the same pitch. The only way to really know is to test and see what they do on your boat. My original aluminum 3 blade ran 4600rpm @ 35mph with 27% slip, which is way too much. The Rev 4 14.6x15 ran 4700rpm @ 39mph with 12% slip. The Rev 4 14.6x17 ran 4200rpm @ 40mph with 11% slip. The Enertia 14.5x17 ran 4100 @ 39.5mph with 10%slip. So, they're all within 1mph of each other on top. At cruise 3200rpm the Rev 4 15" ran 26mph, the Rev 4 17" ran 30.5mph, and the Enertia 17" ran 30mph. The Rev 4 15" has great holeshot, comes up on plane right now, feels powerful, and holds great. On very tight 180 degree power turns - enter the turn at 3400rpm exit 4000rpm- accelrates through the turn. The Rev 4 17" doesn't feel quite as powerful, comes up on plane good, and holds great. The advantage the Rev 4 17" does have is great cruise speed. At 3600rpm I'm running 35mph which is what the boat used to do flat out. The Enertia 17" is a beautiful prop, but is too much for my boat. The WOT rpm is too low. It came up on plane alittle slower the the Rev 4 17" and didn't feel like it held as good as the 4 blades. It had more slip in the 2600 - 3000 rpm range than the 4 blades, but at higher rpm 3600- 4100rpm it had the lowest slip numbers 9 - 10%. I would really like to test an Enertia 16", they're available in 1" increments, but the way the Rev 4s felt I'm kind of wondering why bother. The Rev4 17" is alittle below WOT of where I'd like to be- 4400rpm, but I do really like the cruise and that is where the boat spends all it's time anyways. Other than testing props, I never use WOT. Bret @ BBlades said they could lab a Rev4 17 and gain 100-150rpm on top. Or they could lab a Rev4 15 and give it more cup to help its cruise speed. I would highly recommend testing a Rev 4.
 
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