Today’s off the showroom floor bass boats are fast. Powered by a 250 hp these rigs can hit 70+ mph with a tournament load. For anglers that want to squeeze every foot-pound of horsepower out of their rigs, that’s still not enough. For those that want face-peeling top end speeds, there’s a new performance trend sweeping bassdom called flashing that is taking 70 mph boats and making them 75-80 mph boats.
“Flashing is changing the engine running parameters in the ECU/ECM (electronic control module). People flash for different reasons. Some want better fuel economy. Some want more torque for a better hole shot. But most flash for more top end speed,“ noted Robbie Patterson, 54, of Propeller Dynamics, one of the region’s most sought-after performance boat experts. “It’s one of the most popular services we are doing, especially in the offseason.”
Patterson and his team at Propeller Dynamics are performance gurus so they not only flash engines but blueprint propellers and fine tune engine and hull set ups on many boats. Currently they only flash Yamaha outboards.
“We use the Nizpro tune and only flash Yamahas. There are other companies out there flashing other engine brands, but we don’t have full confidence in them yet. Whether you decide to flash or not, there are multiple ways to improve performance of your bass boat and that is what we specialize in. We literally have people travel from all across the country to have us set-up their rigs. We also offer on the water driving lessons to help people get the most out of the money they just spent.”
We asked Patterson what it is about improving boat performance that drives him.
“Our customers spend a lot of money on their boats. So, maximizing their overall performance brings us great pride. The smiles per gallon are more important than miles per gallon.”
Patterson recently posted a video to his Facebook page that showed a flashed and tuned Falcon F20 running a legit 85 mph. W2 asked him about that project.
“The Falcon in the video was my personal boat that went from 71 mph stock to nearly 86 mph after our set up. The boat is currently set up to run 80-81 for the new owner. Most of the bass boats that we tune come in here running 70-72 and leave running 77-78. But trust me, there are several plain Jane looking boats in the area running in the low 80’s with our tune and set up work.”
The Petersburg area Falcon dealer that has been setting up bass boats for the past 35 years said most bass boat customers expect better hole shot, more mid-range punch and a 3-5 mph top end increase from the flash alone.
Other ways Patterson improves performance include modifying the propeller and lower unit, making sure the engine is at the right height and square to the boat and weight distribution. He even said something as minor as transducer placement on the boat can have an effect on performance.
“The faster you go the more the small things start to matter,” he told W2.
Patterson noted Propeller Dynamics has a 24-hour turn around for mailed in ECU’s or you can make an appointment, and they will flash your outboard while you wait.
Sean Clancy of Rogue Customs Marine specializes in Nizmo performance tuning. Clancy has been in the business for the past five years. He first became a Nizpro tuning customer close to seven years ago when he had his Yamaha 4.2L 250 flashed to 332 hp.
The first time he took the boat out with the added power he was so impressed with the increased performance that he inquired about becoming a dealer.
“Adding the Nizpro tuning offering to Rogue Custom Marine’s other product lines made sense as all of our products and services are geared towards outboard powered boats. Choosing to sell and install Nizpro was easy – they have been tuning Yamaha outboards exclusively for nearly 15 years and are the undisputed world leader in Yamaha outboard tuning,” Clancy told W2.
Less than five years later and Rogue Customs Marine is the largest Nizpro dealer in the world. Based in Richmond, Virginia Clancy and his team travel and cover in-person a Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey territory. They also cover all 50 states, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the USVI and parts of Canada through shipping.
Boat owners can ship their ECU units to Clancy and he will flash and ship ECUs the same day they arrive. For US customers he includes free roundtrip shipping of the ECU.
Clancy explained that Nizpro spends several hundred man hours developing and testing each and every tune. They are the only Yamaha tuning company in the world that owns and develops/tests their tunes on actual Yamaha outboards.
“Many tuning companies develop and sell tunes that were developed on a laptop and that were never tested on an actual motor. Nizpro has invested nearly $1M in their Australian testing facility and it owns one of only a few water-brake dynos in the world.”
Like Patterson, Sean further explained that the flashing process involves re-programming the computer on your Yamaha outboard (the ECU) that allows the owner to achieve maximum performance from an outboard. These gains come from a combination of “turning back on” power that Yamaha turned off in the ECU (in quite a few cases Yamaha markets the “same” outboard at different horsepower ratings) and making small changes to timing and air/fuel ratios through the fuel maps that govern and control the combustion process.
Fuel economy gains are achieved through the same process – Nizpro ensures the air/fuel mixtures are optimized at every RPM from idle speed to full throttle to achieve maximum power and maximum fuel economy.
And finally, Clancy notes the Nizpro tuning process also makes your Yamaha outboard cleaner and greener! Nizpro tuned Yamaha outboards produce fewer emissions than a stock Yamaha outboard.
“We offer upgrades for Yamaha outboards from F50 to 350 hp, VF90 to VF250. Our customers are typically split between wanting more power/to go faster and seeking fuel savings and more range. Most of our tunes feature power gains of 10-50% over stock and 15-20% better fuel economy,” Clancy said.
Flashing fees vary per outboard with a range of $750 to around $1,000 and the process does not void Yamaha’s warranty
“Yamaha has instructed their US dealers that the Nizpro tune does not void the manufacturer’s warranty and that dealers should cover all external mechanical or corrosion related claims. Any internal warranty claims are handled on a case-by -case basis. Rogue Customs Marine also includes flashing back to stock at no charge at any time,” Clancy explained.
While most of Clancy’s customers choose to have his team perform the service on their ECU, he also sells DIY kits that allow a customer to do the tuning themselves. The DIY kit includes a software license and necessary hardware/connectors to connect your ECU to a laptop to perform the flashing.
“Rogue Customs Marine always provides telephone/video support to customers choosing the DIY option if needed in addition to the provided written instructions. The DIY option is more expensive – for example $1699 including shipping for a 4.2L V-6 VF 200 SHO vs. $949 including for Rogue Customs Marine to tune it for you (either in person or with free roundtrip shipping).” Clancy told W2.
