Hill 4 blade props

John342

Hill Marine Props are here!! Lets see what these props can do!

aero3113

Nice!!

Dream_Inn

Wow!  Nice polished ones there!

reneechris14

Shiny things always make things better.

MojosBoat

What pitch did you go with?

John342

@MojosBoat I went with 24P 4 Blades but remember this boat has 6.2, B3 2.43:1 Ratio, This boat was set up for Boulder Co. so its geared down & Propped down for High Altitudes.

J3ff

I wish I could get 30 and 4000 Rpm.. I'm more like 26/27 at 4000. Then again my rpm gauge changes when you tap on it.. 

aero3113

I got just over 40 mph @ 5000 rpm with Hill 4 x 4 20P . I felt like I could’ve pushed her a little more.

Liberty44140

I am sure that those Hill props are awesome, but I'll add that my 2006 342 with B3 and Merc 350's just didnt need them. I had 22P 3 blade props and she popped right up on plane with no issues. I cruised at 28-29mph at around 4000 RPM and topped out at 4800 RPM at 41mph. 

JimGuy341

aero3113 said:

I got just over 40 mph @ 5000 rpm with Hill 4 x 4 20P . I felt like I could’ve pushed her a little more.

What was your cruise RPM?

aero3113

3800-4000 RPM , 27-30 MPH

JimGuy341

That's what I get.  I'm always surprised when people talk about cruising at 30 mph at 3200-3500.  Even my local mechanic thinks 4000 rpm cruise is too high...but it is what it is.

J3ff

So the question is should we really be getting a steeper pitch... lower the rpms for more speed, I never really had a problem getting up on plane as it is. Pretty sure I have 22p, anyone have any way of calculating what speed difference there would be with 24p, assuming 30mph at 4000 rpm with 22p

tempted to try a 26p just to see what the limit is..I still remember how hard and LOUD the engine was before hills.. would be interesting to see what kind of power/speed could be made. 

John342

Hill Marine Props 4x4 24P are on & numbers are in. Saturday 8 adults, Gas Full, Water Full, 4 Small Ice Chest. Boat came on plane easy NO TABS. 4000 RPM's 30-31MPH . But I could still hit max RPM 5200+. I have a call in to Hill Marine about 26P's. I want to test 26p Loaded also before I commit!

J3ff

So you are in a 342, I'm in a 270 and see 25 to 27ish mph at 4000... makes me think I'm under propped at my current 20p props. What was your speed at 5200

John342

43MPH with that load!

Black_Diamond

The #1 when choosing pitch is to make sure you are in the WOT rpm range for your engines. Too much pitch you lug the engines, too little and you can over rev. 

For my 342, the 20P 4x4’s are the win. 

aero3113

Black_Diamond said:

The #1 when choosing pitch is to make sure you are in the WOT rpm range for your engines. Too much pitch you lug the engines, too little and you can over rev. 

For my 342, the 20P 4x4’s are the win. 

Same for my 330, numbers are right on the money. 5000 RPM at WOT.

John342

Waiting on my Vessel Mobile kit to come in. I'm not sure if survey was correct by listing that the Tachs read 300 RPM  Higher than computer hooked to motor. Both the 22p & the 24p run up to 5200 pretty fast but don't seem to climb anymore. But I didn't want to hold that RPM too long.

J3ff

Dam I'm so tempted to order a 24p and see what happens. 

I know that with the stock props my motor was 100% louder than it is right now.. I really feel like going with the 20p 4x4s was a mistake, especially with a 383 stroker. Dam.

Black_Diamond

I was shocked at how much quieter mine ran too. 

John342

I have one for yall! I noticed after I put HIll Marine on that the back deck drags more when getting on plane! I can feel it hitting waves/ripples when planing.

aero3113

@John342 , it should be the opposite. Your transom should pop up higher with 4 x 4 props. And you should notice that your bow doesn’t rise as much. Are you trimming your drive all the way down and are you using your trim tabs?

John342

All the way down. With just 2 people waves were 2' ish. Then again with 8 people & loaded. if water was smooth I didn't notice it.

J3ff

Yes, one odd thing which doesn't make sense to me is that with the stock props I had to use the drive trim and tabs to control the bow of the boat... after the Hill's were put on, drive trim does basically nothing and I only use the tabs to control the roll (the wind likes to roll the boat one way or another).... I think I may try to exchange for 22p and see what happens.