OK I ADMIT IT.......

[charlie_the_tuna]

well, i was fishing with a buddy on thursday (one of my favorite spots and thankfully our peace and quiet wasnt interupted by any of those pesky fish) and i decided to open her up for a second or two. well, she got up and danced but only turned 3600 rpm. guess she was running about 40 or better but the rpms seemed a bit low to me. the motor is a 350 chevy. anybody care to chime in?

[phester]

.....should be up around 4200-4500....so I've read

[charlie_the_tuna]

tell you the truth... if she runs in the 40's at 3600, i dont think i wanna run her at 4200 - 4500.
to dam fast for me.

[chumbucket]

But, if your motor doesn't max out at 4200-4600 WOT, you are overworking the motor and will cause problems down the road. It's not a good situation to have "enough speed for me" at less than the recommended WOT RPM's.
Find out the cause.

[msbhammer]

Charlie, Hmm, I think that boat is just way to fast for. Time to s ;D ;Dell her for half the price. ;D ;)

[regidog]

Phesters right, a 350 should run at 4200rpm if propped correctly. 3600 seems real low. Mine runs at 4200 and its over 25 years old.

[charlie_the_tuna]

ok, so where do i start?

[Franco]

Mine would rev to about 5200 rpm ( small block V8 GM/ Volvo) and it had run as fast as 52 mph on the fishfinder (before I had a good gps) I have the same fishfinder and it is accurate within 2 mph most of the time on my
new boat. I
I would do the following
1. Check the timing and then the spark advance
2. If it's a 4bbl, make sure the secondaries are opening.
3.Beyond that, I'd look at the outdrive gearing and prop. But other people know way more about the drives than I ever will.

[reelapeelin]

Charlie, has it EVER run more rpms and just started turnin' slower or has it always (since you got it) topped out at 3600?...if it's something that just started happenin', Franco's on the mark ;) ...on the other hand, if it's always done this, you may have the wrong prop on 'er ??? ...

[CT_V-20]

Charlie, WOT for my 5.7L EFI is 4400-4800 according to the owners manual. Start with a different prop

[charlie_the_tuna]

reelapeelin, this is the first and probably last time i will open her up. just dont see the need to go that fast anymore. on the other hand, if im losing performance or gas economy, i want to know.

[chumbucket]

Forget about performance and economy, you could be shortening the life of your motor.

[reelapeelin]

Charlie, listen to Chumbucket...it's not about ''goin' fast''...havin' the right prop is eqivalent to gearing and tire size on a car...wrong ratios will strain all your drive components and wreck the efficiency of the motor's life expectancy and fuel useage... ;)...