Suzuki df 200 v6 2006 model prop size and operating revs range

[VictorGozo]

HI
Guys
I am new here and am not sure if this is the proper place to post. I have a 200 suzuki df v6 , 2006 model on a 22 foot ranieri italian make boat. The outboard is revving 4900 rpm with the current prop and the boat reaching around 38 knots. Now i read that this outboard should reach between 5500 rpm up to 6000 rpm. I use the boat for cruising normally at 3300 rpm where its doing around 22knots and rarely go wot. Is there any advantage with this setup? Am i doing more efficient cruising in the 3500rpm range? or am i wrecking the motor as its being constantly overloaded at all rpm range? The boat accelerates fine and have had no issues so far..even when fully loaded with people fuel and water . However some people are telling me that the motor should be revving more and the boat should be able to go faster.
Any one can enlighten me on this ?
Thanks

[Hoosmatroos]

I think they are wright. Sounds like your motor is over propped. What size and material prop do you use? You have to select a prop that brings you at WOT within the recommended rpm range. Best to the end of that range. I also have the DF200 from 2007. At WOT i did around 5500. Went a pitch lower and it was spot on. Better top speed and also better acceleration.

[VictorGozo]

Hi My current prop is stainless steel 3X16X21.5 R, i guess yes it is a bit over propped, even though the engine has massive displacement and seems to be comfortable at the lower operating range

[Hoosmatroos]

I also had that prop and now have one pitch lower. Runs even better. My boat is a 22 foot Sessa Key Largo (also Italian). My top speed is about 85km/h that's 46 knots

[VictorGozo]

Hi guys after a year I decided to purchase a new prop..a supplier in the USA has quoted me a 3 X 16 X 19 prop costing around USD 425 + some other use 250 in transport and custom charges..the suggest prop is this one
https://www.generalpropeller.com/lfs3-r19-pcl200

From the local dealer I was quoted a slightly smaller propeller made by Suzuki 3 X 16 X 18.5
Which costs the double around euro 833+ euro 150 hub kit..
Which one would you go for?

[Hoosmatroos]

Personally I would go for the first one. From the picture it looks almost identical to the Suzuki prop. Is there a possibility to test the prop? So if you're not in the sweet spot that you can change it to a lower/higher pitch.

[VictorGozo]

Thanks Hoosmatroos. I will consider this prop . However after doing some other research and digging into other forums i found out that i can try raising my motor one hole up. At the moment the motors antiventing or cavitation plate is exactly parallel with the hull bottom. I have 13 inches of space between the hull and motor leg, which should allow me to raise the motor ( theoretically ) by at least an inch up.Its bolted to the 2nd hole so have plenty of room go up and still water intakes will be submerged. Will rasing one hole up add up some rpms? My boat is heavy and the bottom of the hull never exited the water completely! I also have seen on youtube some guys running some props out of the water literally .. Anyone has had positive experience by raising the motor up?
Unfortunately the suzuki dealer ( or any other dealer ) in malta wont allow any trials... You have to buy the prop to try it ,which i think its not fair. There must be some sort of collusion between marine suppliers on this .

[Moonlighter]

Thanks Hoosmatroos. I will consider this prop . However after doing some other research and digging into other forums i found out that i can try raising my motor one hole up. At the moment the motors antiventing or cavitation plate is exactly parallel with the hull bottom. I have 13 inches of space between the hull and motor leg, which should allow me to raise the motor ( theoretically ) by at least an inch up.Its bolted to the 2nd hole so have plenty of room go up and still water intakes will be submerged. Will rasing one hole up add up some rpms? My boat is heavy and the bottom of the hull never exited the water completely! I also have seen on youtube some guys running some props out of the water literally .. Anyone has had positive experience by raising the motor up?
Unfortunately the suzuki dealer ( or any other dealer ) in malta wont allow any trials... You have to buy the prop to try it ,which i think its not fair. There must be some sort of collusion between marine suppliers on this .

There is a sticky thread near the top of this forum that discusses how to correctly set engine height and select the correct propellor.

Suggest you have a read of that as it tells you how to tell if your engine height is correct - and it is NOT to look at the anti-vent plate in relation to the keel.

[VictorGozo]

Hi guys ..after some time managed to try another prop this time a stainless steel 3 X 15.6 X 19 ..results were a bit disappointing.. throught the operating range I got 2 knots less than my 3x16x 21.5 prop. Top speed was also 2 knots less @ 36 knots .however the motor reached higher top end revs @ 5600 rpm. With my original prop it did 5300 rpm fully trimmed ,4900 partially trimmed ,with top speed unvaried ) reaching a top speed of 38.2 knots. .assuming it's ok for me to do 2 knots less at the whole end of operating range.
Which prop is best in the long term for motor longevity and fuel economy ?

[17 SeaPro DF70A]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. This thread is appropriate to my question. I recently repowered a 17DC with a DF70A. The dealer set me up with a 14" stainless prop with 18pitch (3**14X18P). After break in I found that WOT only reached 5100 RPMs. I knew this was incorrect and the shop was happy to swap to a different pitch. After some research/math, I knew I could go to a 16 pitch, or even a 15 pitch. But I was talked out of the 15 pitch as it may be too aggressive. So the new results with a 16 pitch prop (3**14X16P) takes WOT to 5600. I did pick up a little speed, but generally planing and handling characteristics remained unchanged. I can cruise @ 30 mph at 4800 RPMs. For my set up, each inch of reduced pitch added 250 RPM. (note: these stats are with just me and the fuel. When I add 3 passengers I lose 200 RPMs)

So the question is, should I want to move to a 15 pitch? That in theory would take me to 5850 RPMs @ WOT, but I would not expect significant changes in any performance. Would I just be spinning the motor faster for similar speed therefore burning more fuel? Or is a greater range of RPMs healthier for the motor long term?

[Moonlighter]

Hi there

At the top of this forum is a sticky thread about props and engine height, well worth a read for you.

You should aim to select a prop that gets the engine revs At or close to 6000rpm at wide open throttle, trimmed out to optimum.

This will give you the best balance of speed, hole shot, fuel economy and cruise speed.

And most importantly, this will avoid the engine lugging, which is a sure fire way to shorten its service life.

So in short, its a combination of getting the engine height set right FIRST, then selecting a prop that gets the revs up to where they should be. The sticky thread explains this in some detail.

[17 SeaPro DF70A]

Thanks so much for the reply.

Forgive my lack of understanding, I don't see a sticky thread. I see "tags" on the original post?

I think my height is correct. The cavitation plate is about an inch higher than the line of the keel, and the math tells me I have very little slip (actually that is the lowest it can go) . I'm really wondering if it's worth a new prop to get the RPMs above 5600 at WOT. A little more speed is not my concern, but service life is.

Motor height.jpg

[Murray]

https://www.suzukioutboardforum.com/...the-right-prop

The link to the Sticky, Engine height...