Solas 10/16 feedback

[mn_reeds]

Who is running one of these, what is your setup (motor/nozzle size/tailcone), and how do you like it?

Dug around on the forum a bit and couldn't find alot of info on this specific prop. Chris has these on his BF sale and I'm trying to figure out if I grab that or not.

My setup - general flatwater and boat chasing:
'96 RN
B-pipe
62t/61x - 84mm bore - 760
dual 38s - 140M, 75P
ADA head - 38cc 760 domes @ 195 psi
solas yb-cd-13/17 small hub impeller
80mm reduction nozzle - stock tailcone

 

[MTRHEAD]

If it’s a YQ 10/16 it’s a very good prop.

 

[MADMAT]

Oh man I'm all ears here! I have been running a Solas 13/16-3mm (13/17 repitched from Impros) bored nozzle, stock cone) for a decade and friggin love it! My brain can't even fathom anything better across the board honestly.....hooks up, PULLS, top speed of 49mph.

But on this 96 I am building I want to try something different and I know everyone is running hookers now but I still know nothing about them.

9/?

I did ride a 10/16 prop'd ski once and was not impressed at all but I have no idea what else that ski had going on (schnozzle, cone?) so.....

What hooker hits hard and quickly with a bored nozzle and stock cone.

 

[MADMAT]

OP we have super similar specs too for what its worth.

 

[mn_reeds]

Thanks madmat - just realized I had a typo and my prop is a 13/17. Is your prop the same model - ie a small hub that you just had cutback 3mm and repitched?

I just finished putting the ski together and got 2 tanks through it before it got too cold here. The engine ran really crisp but I felt like the impeller was slipping and I was frequently hitting the rev limiter.

 

[MADMAT]

Thanks madmat - just realized I had a typo and my prop is a 13/17. Is your prop the same model - ie a small hub that you just had cutback 3mm and repitched?

I just finished putting the ski together and got 2 tanks through it before it got too cold here. The engine ran really crisp but I felt like the impeller was slipping and I was frequently hitting the rev limiter.

Yes. Back in the day it was the bomb so I can't figure out exactly how anything can be better? I am all ears though!

Mine is a 13/17 repitched to 13/16 and cut back 3mm.

Stock pump, bored nozzle, stock cone.

I am B pipe with a bored manifold and head pipe and 718cc with mild porting and 195psi. This setup still blows my mind after a decade+ of riding it.

I don't know man....this is a tough call for me. I am about to order some prop for this 96 but it is a 62t 760 and I hate that part of it too.

Fast ski though with that combo (760/44's/14.5/18.5) but not playful enough. In my experience I can't make a stock 62t 760 playful but I feel like a nice low prop will at least make it close enough and not cost a fortune.

 

[kevbo]

Who is running one of these, what is your setup (motor/nozzle size/tailcone), and how do you like it?

Dug around on the forum a bit and couldn't find alot of info on this specific prop. Chris has these on his BF sale and I'm trying to figure out if I grab that or not.

My setup - general flatwater and boat chasing:
'96 RN
B-pipe
62t/61x - 84mm bore - 760
dual 38s - 140M, 75P
ADA head - 38cc 760 domes @ 195 psi
solas yb-cd-13/17 small hub impeller
80mm reduction nozzle - stock tailcone

Your pump is overloading the engine. You want to get the rpm near 7000 for best response and pull. The safest place to start is boring the nozzle, that is cheap and will make the ski pull harder. I could never tell any difference between short or stock cones. As far as props go, ALL Solas superjet impellers are too much load for a stock cylinder engine of any size. The old small hub 13-17 concord needs to be pitched down a little. The new large hub YQ series use the same casting for all pitches. I have a new 9-15 that measures almost the same as the 12-18. I can see where the factory bent the leading edge down slightly so it will need a little less work. These are great impellers once they are pitched down a little. It may be cheaper to buy a Hooker if you cant bend props yourself.

 

[mn_reeds]

@MADMAT - Our setups are close and I guess it reinforces that fact that everything has to work together. I struggle to believe a 3 mm cutback and 85mm nozzle would make me like this current prop but it could be that easy.

Where do you run your b-pipe screws? I had my pipe out and verified that both the bottom and middle were fully closed and am running the top at 1/4ish turn open just below sizzling with a FCV on the stinger. For completeness I am also running dual cooling both going to the manifold, front ADA outlet overboard, rear ADA outlet to bottom of pipe.

@kevbo - My tach didn't arrive in time for me to get real rpm numbers but it will be on for spring tuning. Based on your feedback the solas 10/16 would be too much load either way and I should get a 9/15. While I don't mind bending props I don't have the gauges and would rather just buy the right impeller straight out.

Any other feedback from hooker owners? Would the Solas 9/15 be close to the hooker 9/15?

 

[kevbo]

Unless Solas made some changes, their 9-15 is too much load as well. The Hooker 9-15 and 10-16 share the same casting with slightly different bends at the leading and trailing edges. These are about right without modification. The Solas YQs need a lot of work and they arent the easiest to bend. The distance between the trailing edge and the blade above should never exceed 1.5" on any impeller. Ive got some 62T cylinders pulling good with this dimension set at 1.3" and an 85mm nozzle. Any more load just made it sluggish getting on the pipe.

 

[MTRHEAD]

Unless Solas made some changes, their 9-15 is too much load as well. The Hooker 9-15 and 10-16 share the same casting with slightly different bends at the leading and trailing edges. These are about right without modification. The Solas YQs need a lot of work and they arent the easiest to bend. The distance between the trailing edge and the blade above should never exceed 1.5" on any impeller. Ive got some 62T cylinders pulling good with this dimension set at 1.3" and an 85mm nozzle. Any more load just made it sluggish getting on the pipe.

Excellent post! Very true - my Impros bent 12/18 to 10/16 puts less load on my my motor than the as purchased 10/16
i have found each degree using a clear ring gage is about 140-160 rpm. My 10/16 from Impros (from previous owner of Impros) performed best in a stock SJ all the way to a full bolt on part boat (no porting). Works excellent in our race spec blaster too which Is a full 62t with all the bolt ons.

forgot to add - I’ll take a properly bent YQ over a hooker any day for normal riding

 

[MADMAT]

forgot to add - I’ll take a properly bent YQ over a hooker any day for normal riding

That sure is my feelings as of now!

 

[MADMAT]

@MADMAT - Our setups are close and I guess it reinforces that fact that everything has to work together. I struggle to believe a 3 mm cutback and 85mm nozzle would make me like this current prop but it could be that easy.

Where do you run your b-pipe screws? I had my pipe out and verified that both the bottom and middle were fully closed and am running the top at 1/4ish turn open just below sizzling with a FCV on the stinger. For completeness I am also running dual cooling both going to the manifold, front ADA outlet overboard, rear ADA outlet to bottom of pipe.

@kevbo - My tach didn't arrive in time for me to get real rpm numbers but it will be on for spring tuning. Based on your feedback the solas 10/16 would be too much load either way and I should get a 9/15. While I don't mind bending props I don't have the gauges and would rather just buy the right impeller straight out.

Any other feedback from hooker owners? Would the Solas 9/15 be close to the hooker 9/15?

I know it sounds silly but man it all matters! That bored nozzle made a tuning difference to me for sure 100%.

Same with cones...I back to back tried stock and stubby and stubby RUINED my pump tune! LOL.

 

[mn_reeds]

Appreciate all of the feedback and based on comments am going to go with the yq-cd-10/16. I spent the last couple of days re-reading old posts and piecing together an action plan.

- @MADMAT has convinced me that it would be a disservice not to modify the yb-cd-13/17 and run it for comparison. I'll get it cutback 3mm and bore my nozzle to 85mm for a baseline.

- Fabricate the hitch mounted receiver bending jig I ran across on the X and take some load out of the new yq-cd-10/16. Not sure what the delta between the leading and trailing edge is stock but will target something closer to 1.3" as kevbo outlined.

Are there any budget pitch gauges outside of DIY? It looks like the Jettlab ones are no longer available and while they look super nice the Watcon rings are more than 1/2 the cost of the prop itself.

 

[kevbo]

Most of the load is at the last 1" of the blade, thats where all of the water ends up. The small hub 13-17 (as I remember) needs only its trailing edge raised. I use a vice with aluminum jaws to hold the impeller. I now have a custom wrench for grabbing the blade but had good luck with a brass hammer in the past. I have a YQ 9-15 in front of me and it looks like Solas bent the leading edge down slightly when compared to their 12-18. The rest of the prop is the same. I expect the 9-15 to still be too much. I would bore the nozzle and get a tachometer for starters. As the prop is bent flatter it will become more responsive and pull harder. Top speed wont change much.

 

[mn_reeds]

Rather than start a new thread I thought I'd just resurrect my old post. I just swapped the 10/16 on a couple weeks ago and while it is better than my previous impeller the low end thrust is just not there. When I nail the throttle there is no hesitation from the engine and rpms will shoot all the way to 6800+ It almost feels like it is slipping and if I back off a bit and get back on it takes off.

FWIW I installed a brand new pump seal, verified wear ring clearance is good with a feeler gauge, and am running the impeller without a washer so it is as close to the stator as you can get out of the box. I've got a protec nozzle bored out to 85mm with the stock tailcone to finish it off.

- Could this impeller still be too much load killing responsiveness?
- Max RPM during testing is 6890 w/ a stock 62T CDI - should I actually hit 7100?
- Is the protec nozzle worse than stock?

'96 RN
62t/61x - 84mm bore - 760
Case and cylinder porting
B-pipe mod chamber - 47mm headpipe bore, bottom closed, middle closed, top 1/8 turn, fcv to stinger
dual 38s - 140M @ 1.5turns , 75P @ 1.5 turns
stock F/A with a single screen
ADA head - 38cc 760 domes @ 195 psi
solas yq-cd-10/16 big hub impeller
85mm protec reduction nozzle - stock cone

 

[kevbo]

I've had grate bolts that broke through the inlet shoe cause the pump to blow out at low speeds. I consider Protec nozzles at 85mm to be very good, they seem to work great. Your problem is commonly caused by an excessive pressure drop somewhere in front of the impeller. A .quick test would be to install a smaller nozzle and see if anything changes. I have experienced Hooker 9-15s do this with more powerful engines, even with a flawless inlet. It may be possible that the leading edge of your prop is a little too steep.

 

[mn_reeds]

The ski has an aluminum pump shoe and it looks to be very well sealed. It also came with a protec moflow intake grate which looks like a worx 201 with the outside fins setback from the center.

The pressure drop makes sense - while I've verified my midshaft doesn't leak water could it leak air under massive suction?

The engine was a full rebuild and I've got about 4 hours on it now. The jetting is dialed in and the motor rips from bottom to top with no hesitation anywhere. I've got a y62t zeel that I'll be putting in shortly but wanted a solid break-in baseline. The zeel will be running the wax v3 curve and the rev limit set at 8k. I'll have to likely re-adjust the carbs but my assumption is that it would just mask the overall pump situation.

 

[kevbo]

How much forward speed does it take to keep the pump from going flat? I have had skis that would do this at zero speed but were fine with any forward movement. It seems like large hub impellers are more susceptible to losing everything at once where small hubs fall off more smoothly. Adjusting the rev limit higher won't help at low hull speeds.. I recommend setting it a little over peak smooth water rpm if you aren't racing. You will experience a little more "landing on the brakes" but your crank will last a lot longer.

 

[mn_reeds]

Just a little bit of forward movement is really all that it takes. I've just defaulted to feathering it out of a dead stop but assumed it should be better.

How much does hull/ski weight matter? This thing is waterlogged and due for a refoam but I didn't want to take the time right now. It was 368 lbs full of fuel but that is with a wamilton hood/nose piece and -4 AC racing Al pole.

Hopefully I can swap the zeel in this weekend and see if I can track down a stock nozzle for comparison.

 

[kevbo]

I have weighed some square nose SJs at 340lbs range with gas. There was one RN there but I forgot what it weighed. I have worked on a ROC hull that had the same problem you are describing, It had an old R&D race engine and a Hooker 10-16. As I remember we increased the pitch a little and the problem went away. I have bent Solas YQs to turn around 7000 with ported 701-760 engines and so far they all work great.