Mirage Plus

[Tclark18]

Please educate me. I am thinking about getting a "used" Mirage prop for my Alpha 1 Gen 2, 5.0L EFI. 225 Sea Ray. I would like to get a better hole shot with more than 4 people on my boat. I currently have a 48-16316-19 prop, It works very well other than when trying to get on plane quicker with extra weight on boat. The recommended prop by "my mechanic" is a 15.5 x 17 Mirage. Question is the mechanic say's he needs to get the "older" style hub kit. Saying that the "sleeve" is not plastic. By the description could anyone tell me how old the used prop is?... He wants 400 for it....Does the above sound right?

 

[dtfeld]

Moving from a 19" pitch to a 17" pitch will certainly help your hole shot. You don't say what the WOT is, but as long as it in the range of 4400-4800, you should be fine, but with this change, you should be trending towards the top of that range. I would be more concerned about the condition of the prop/blade/hub as opposed to the age of the prop. You can look on ebay for an idea of what the value is for a prop like that.

 

[Tclark18]

Moving from a 19" pitch to a 17" pitch will certainly help your hole shot. You don't say what the WOT is, but as long as it in the range of 4400-4800, you should be fine, but with this change, you should be trending towards the top of that range. I would be more concerned about the condition of the prop/blade/hub as opposed to the age of the prop. You can look on ebay for an idea of what the value is for a prop like that.

Thanks...My WOT is 4400-4800 currently. I was just told that the "older" style hub if it is an older prop are prone to failure. Is this true?

 

[Scott215]

I have a 215 weekender 5.0 mpi alpha 1 Gen 2 with a 17 pitch stiletto prop three blade and even without the trim tabs down that boat comes out of the hole on plane very quickly

 

[Wanderer 290]

First off I believe the Mirage 17p is a little larger in diameter so the performance will be a little better for hole and the top end difference will a little less. Point is the because of the diameter change it is not apples to apples. I did the exact same swap so my opinion is based on those results.
As for the hub the “older” style is solid so more durable but less forgiving. The plastic hub was designed to absorb impact.

 

[paulswagelock]

I would not worry about which hub. The newer hubs run for years and years without failures on higher horsepower applications.
$400 for a used Mirage plus is on the higher side so it should be in perfect like new condition.

 

[scoflaw]

Prefer the square bore prop with plastic hub. Old style rubber hub is expensive to replace.

 

[Lazy Daze]

In reality it's only going to give you a very slight hole shot improvement. You are MUCH better off installing Smart Tabs for about the same money. They will give you a VERY noticeable increase in hole shot (and they have other benefits, too).

IDEALLY, install a set of hydraulic trim tabs for even more benefits and controllability. But Smart Tabs are less expensive and you will be VERY happy with them.

Do you use FULL down trim for your hole shots?

Is the hull bottom and running gear CLEAN? Even the slightest slime growth will affect performance quite a bit.