Velvet drive.... someone school me....

[Brokeboatin221]

So I'm new to vdrive boats in a sense and don't know much about the velvet drive yet have one in my garage. Would like to know more about it as compared to a turbo 400 and such. Appreciate any info such as how many gears and what not. Mine came from a spectra 24 but will probably be ran in my spectra 20. Thanks guys!

 

[wsuwrhr]

What do you want to know?

No comparison to a 400. No "gears". They are pretty simple. forward reverse and neutral.

Brian

 

[Brokeboatin221]

So kind of like a powerglide in a sense.

 

[wsuwrhr]

Not really, considering a Glide has two forward speeds.

So kind of like a powerglide in a sense.

 

[BamBam]

So I'm new to vdrive boats in a sense and don't know much about the velvet drive yet have one in my garage. Would like to know more about it as compared to a turbo 400 and such. Appreciate any info such as how many gears and what not. Mine came from a spectra 24 but will probably be ran in my spectra 20. Thanks guys!

As stated in the other reply
a TH400 is a heavy duty 3 speed automatic transmission (P-N-R-3-2-1)
a PowerGlide is a 2 speed automatic transmission (P-R-N-2-1)
a Velvet Drive is a fluid driven (similar to an automatic) transmission that only has one forward gear (F-N-R)

From my understanding they do not take as much power to drive (parasitic loss) as a TH400 or Glide but are limited to 1 forward speed. It depends on your set-up. How much HP is the motor going to make, what gears in the v-drive, how much prop etc. etc.

In the end the TH400, the Glide and the Velvet drive are all 1:1 final ratio (in stock form)

Hope this helps a little bit.

 

[Racey]

Velvet drive IMO is almost always preferable to a TH400 unless you don't have the low end torque to make the hole shot. The great thing about a velvet drive is the 1:1 reverse, so they work way better in the harbor than a TH400, or powerglide. Also neutral is a full release in a velvet drive, most TH400s leak some power in neutral and the prop shaft will spin a bit.

If you have some reasonable gears in the 20 spectra you should have no problem with a velvet drive, My buddy had the old Terrible Habit 20' for years, it just had a stocker 454, velvet drive, split case casale, it worked fine, you would have to go all in to pop a skier, but they were all big guys 200+lbs. Boat probably ran about 55, so probably had a gear ratio in the teens.

They also work pretty well in blower motor setups with bigger gears, as long as the boat isn't too heavy, a 20' spectra will have no problem in that regard. Velvet drives are strong little units, they can handle one hell of a beating.

 

[sintax]

They also work pretty well in blower motor setups with bigger gears, as long as the boat isn't too heavy, a 20' spectra will have no problem in that regard. Velvet drives are strong little units, they can handle one hell of a beating.

Racey,

I regards to the above statement, have you seen them last paired up with a healthy blower engine? What would you say would be the reasonable HP limit where you'd worry about reliability?

 

[wsuwrhr]

Racey,

I regards to the above statement, have you seen them last paired up with a healthy blower engine? What would you say would be the reasonable HP limit where you'd worry about reliability?

I seem to recall Racey sayin the tranny in a #6 was a velvet box.....

 

[sintax]

I seem to recall Racey sayin the tranny in a #6 was a velvet box.....

I know they can be built up to handle a ridiculous amount of HP, there was a company out in FL that I saw was building them. I just really dont know anything about them, but I have one in my boat so i'm trying to gather some info.

 

[Racey]

Racey,

I regards to the above statement, have you seen them last paired up with a healthy blower engine? What would you say would be the reasonable HP limit where you'd worry about reliability?

Yep, BAM marine does upgrades on them, there also used to be a place in (Louisiana i think?) called Huber Marine. No problem running well over 1,200 ft lbs of torque. Most boats with #VI drives are running upgraded velvet drives, at least that is how it was for years, I'm not sure if Merc has something else now that they have the quad valve motors.

https://bammarinetransmissions.wordpress.com/

 

[Blownbillybob]

The Bam and Huber’s trans are highly modified depending on HP rating beefed up gears and shafts and they don’t sell parts???

They are very easy to rebuild and need no special tools any trans shop should have no problem!!!

I’ve add 1 steel and fiber to forward drum and have found an oversized piston which adds 400 ft lbs of load to forward pack. Another thing to check is pump pressures to make sure u have proper PSI in forward gear. Doesn’t matter what u do if the PSI is not there it will not hold with big power!!!!!!

 

[sintax]

excellent info @Blownbillybob

 

[Brokeboatin221]

This is why I started this and thank you guys for all the info. I will be running a 460 stroker motor na for now. If I win the lotto or get a sugar mamma then blower is in the future.... thanks for all the good info. Who do you guys recommend to properly go through one in southern ca? Also need someone to go through my champion box and re seal and what not. Thanks again guys!