Solas Impellers, before and after impros pitch adjust

[dan144k]

Went out on Rend Lake today and tested re-tuned impellers. Was really nice out.
50 ambient, 50 Water temp, 1' waves, empty lake, and lunch at the resort for a drink and burger.

Last year 1-2013 I installed Solas concorde impellers as they came out of the box.
YS-CD-13/19 Solas Concord Impeller. YS-CD-13/22 Solas Concord Impeller
I thought it was a great improvement. Solved my cavitation problems. Out of the hole more pull than stock and top speed dropped from 50 to 45 MPH, but also at full throttle my RPM's would only go up to 7100 rpm's.

This winter 1-2014 I removed and sent in my impellers to Impros. About a $90 each to check and repitch. They have have done testing and have an in house custom pitch they use.
I got them back and installed, the out of the hole is a little less powerful but still really powerful (almost jumped and pulled to hard down low before) Top speed is back up to 50 MPH and RPM's are back at 7800. So I think sending them in to adjust the pitch during the off season worked out well. 1 person in boat and tank almost full, all gear on boat. I had the impellers done more out of curiosity then need. The boat ran great on the Solas impellers both ways.

I also had Impros repair and adjust my stock impellers which I plan to keep as spares, hopefully I will never need them.

 

[itsdgm]

Great to know. Thanks for posting. I'm sure quite a few guys could use that info.

 

[Scottintexas]

so why doesn't impros adjust the pitch (for those that want it) before they ship them? did you have to give them any specs from how they were operating in your boat?

 

[motorboater]

Same configuration I have from Impros and I really like it. I think I was seeing 51 MPH on mine. Maybe was smoother water or a tailwind, not sure. Also noticed a little better fuel economy and a lot less noise from the pumps. The holeshot is very addicting!

 

[Ronnie]

I'm about to squeeze the trigger on some solas impellers. What altitude are you guys with solas boating at? Do the impellers come with the anodized nut that mounts in front of the impellers or is that a separate purchase?

@motorboater , did Impros repitch the impellers or are you using them as they came out of the box?

I will try and give impros a call. I want a better hole shot but not at the cost of 10% of my top speed.

 

[motorboater]

Mine are a custom pitch. Give them a call, they have a lot of insight. Let them know you dont want to lose any top speed. You'll still have better holeshot because the Concorde impellers by design are more efficient and offer more bite than the orginal impellers. I didnt care that I lost a little top speed.

As for altitude I'm at 950-1400ft here in MN depending on the lake. I can get to 50-51mph at 950ft where I previously could do 52-53. I assume that at sea level I'd still be able to reach 53mph. Of course this always seems to vary based on conditions, and I rarely run that wide open anyway.

Not sure what you mean about an annodized nut. All I had to buy in addition to the impellers was the spline tool.

 

[motorboater]

Oh and @Ronnie .... This may have been mentioned before, not sure. I'm not here often to rememeber... your No Wake speeds will change. You'll be faster at all 3 NW speeds. I liked the change but you will need to change your habits there. You'll also have more thrust in neutral than you do now. In fact in some of the busiest no wake areas where people are very slow I sometimes will be running NW2 or 3 with the buckets in neutral position. It doesnt bother me at all, just keep that in mind. Dont expect your boat to sit still at idle.

 

[motorboater]

Lastly, the holeshot even with 1400lbs of ballast on board in our wakeboarding configuration is still great, even with a boat full of people. I'll run with that weight for a week at a time when on vacation at the lake. Really cuts down on the chop in rough water and improves response at NW speeds! I dont know for sure but I doubt the original impellers would bite as much in this situation.

I think its the best thing you can do to our boats, or at least is the best mod I've done.

 

[sysinu]

I am thinking of buying a second set of impellers with a little more pitch than my high altitude impellers, but every time I call Impro's I get their voicemail. I'm thinking the dealerships have a magic phone number to call them on .

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks for all of the information @motorboater especially what to expect/watch out for after the mod.

I just spoke to David at Impros and based on that conversation I ordered a set of custom pitched solas impellers and a spline tool. The total cost per impeller was under $400 so although I could have purchased the impellers cheaper elsewhere I like the idea of having it done right the first time. Going with stock solas impellers would likely cost me more in the long run since I would probably end up having to remove them to have them repitched anyway since losing up to 10% off of my top end speed is not going to work for me. My only regret is that I didn't prioritize this mod over many others I've already done.

@sysinu , half the times I've called Impros I get voice mail as well. Since I was able to speak directly to them today I went ahead a places the order. The estimated ship date is two weeks from today (the day I placed the order) one is for the repitch work. I think They may only be open Monday through Friday 9 to 5 PST. Here is the number I called (909) 793 - 2900. Good luck if you call them again.

 

[motorboater]

Very cool @Ronnie ! With any luck you wont have the terrible experience I did getting the original units off the shafts! But just in case, dont start this project too close to any planned boat trip!

 

[Scottintexas]

Oh and @Ronnie .... This may have been mentioned before, not sure. I'm not here often to rememeber... your No Wake speeds will change. You'll be faster at all 3 NW speeds. I liked the change but you will need to change your habits there. You'll also have more thrust in neutral than you do now. In fact in some of the busiest no wake areas where people are very slow I sometimes will be running NW2 or 3 with the buckets in neutral position. It doesnt bother me at all, just keep that in mind. Dont expect your boat to sit still at idle.

@motorboater while you can't get a true neutral you if you do have thrust forward or reverse you can adjust how you buckets hang at neutral to reduce some of the momentum.

 

[motorboater]

@motorboater while you can't get a true neutral you if you do have thrust forward or reverse you can adjust how you buckets hang at neutral to reduce some of the momentum.

This is generally true, but not sure about that with these impellers. They just pull a lot harder at low RPM. I'm afraid that to compensate enough at idle the reverse gates would interfere at higher speeds. But I've never tried.

 

[Ronnie]

I'm looking forward to the upgrade. If I can't get the impellers off of the shafts I will take them to the Pwc shop I deal with and have them deal with it but I'm hoping that this won't be an issue for me.

My boat already creeps forward In neutral so I'd expect it to continue to do so just faster with aftermarket impellers. Rather than mess with the buckets which could reduce my top speed I plan to just adapt to the changes that impact the no wake modes that will come about from installing aftermarket impellers.

I also didn't think about the possibility that the ride will be quieter but would welcome that result with open arms.

 

[James Kyne]

Ronnie,
How have the new Solas impellers been since you installed them? How is the holeshot and top speed on the stock Solas'? I have a 2015 Limited S and am looking to replace my stock impellers. I actually sucked up quite a bit of sand that my stock impellers are now the wrong clearance in the wear ring. Do you happen to know the pitch on yours?
Stock pitch is 15.6 on Port and 14.7 on STBD. Thanks, Jay

 

[Ronnie]

The hole shot is much better (much less cavitation/slippage when going from idle to wide open throttle "WOT" quickly). My top speed increased a little as well, average .6 mph I can't remember if my prior top speed was 50.8 or 51.8 but it is 52 now. This is according to the boat gauges but of course is still subject to varying test conditions.

Going to pitch, the short answer is that I don't know what it is.

This seems to be a good business practice of impros. Anyone can sell impellers but not many can repitch them or even know how to measure the pitch. I just spoke to them about where I boat most and what I wanted to improve. They suggested the same model and pitch Solas for both sides and repitchd one or both of them. Again I don't know for sure, I asked but the rep was very tight lipped and I'd dealt with them enough to be confident that they would do a good job. As far as I'm concerned they came through as expected.

 

[James Kyne]

where they concerned where you boat because of salt vs freshwater or altitude? Im from Vacaville. Live in Pensacola now though. Where do you boat in the bay?

 

[Ronnie]

We didn't talk about fresh or salt water just altitude and whether I wanted better acceleration or top speed.

I boat mainly in the delta near Antioch but try to spend time at the Modesto reservoir and to a lesser extend lake berryessa and Sacramento and of course the SF bay itself, so basically at sealevel.

 

[Scottintexas]

@dan144k added to the FAQ if you get any further updates please edit this post,

 

[dan144k]

@Scottintexas this what you looking for?

If I was to do it again I think I would just get solas and put them in. Boat had great low end for surfing and never any cavitation. Still went 46mph.

Currently with the solas and repitched (port twice) I feel as if I get slight cavitation or a frothy jet (wave for 30 seconds) with weight when surfing. But still much better than stock.

Also when going to the solas I did not get anymore impeller banging when boat out of water, so you guys may not need new pump housing.

SPARE PARTS the solas cones can become difficult, very small allen screws which strip out easily. If ordering parts I would order a few extra cones for just in case.

When you assemble any impeller onto shaft use lots of neverseize, Yamaha manual says white locktight paste (WRONG) use neverseize.

Link Below If you ever have to change shaft and seals at rear beaing point, shows how to build a press.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/impe...een-impeller-duct-replacement-explained.4027/