Removing Supertraps? Really?

I saw another post about this- someone school me if i should have just posted on the original thread- but here is my question. We fight for horsepower up here to begin with. Seems that the boat would breath easier without them. When weighted for surfing the boat definetly sits 6-8 inches lower than usual. When underway the rubrail is just above water. If i removed the traps all together it seems like it would flood as the boat is sitting lower than normal. Uprade to flaps? Rock it naked? Hope the weekend is going well. Thanks.

I remarked in the other post about not having one for the summer. The boat did not have ballast in it so there was no chance it was going to to go up the riser. You could possibly be correct if the boat is weighted down you could have an issue. I would think about using flaps in that case.

Kind of thought so but i am no expert. Thanks for the imput.

The traps don't do much, if anything at all, to keep water out, so if it isn't flooding the risers with them, I do not think they will flood without them. Put enough balast in there to do that and it won't matter what you got for exhausts.

That said, I think you will be disappointed if you expect any noticable HP gain by removal of them.

The pluss side of the Supertraps is they can be tuned. Add some more discs if you want more exhaust flow.

ACF- definetly a realist- not expecting a 80HP gain or anything. Just not looking like an easy maintenance item as one bolt is rusty. When you say "tuned" - would that be for sound, performance, backpressure??? Are discs available for individual sale? Thanks

The more discs, the less backpressure. This translates to more exhaust flow, just like replacing the stock exhaust manifolds on a Camaro with a pair of high performance headers.

If you think about it, an engine is a lot like a big air pump. The faster it pumps, the more "air" it has to move. Bigger passagways, either intake or exhaust, allows it to move through faster.

When I say the Supertraps are designed to be tuned, I am thinking of performance, but just like a hotrod Camaro doesn't sound like Grandmas Caprice, it might sound different too.

Supertraps are also used in cars, and motercycles. You used to be able to buy additional discs for them through high performance automotive parts stores, I don't know if that is still so for these particular models.

If you can't find any new, it shouldn't be too hard to find some used with so many old Supras out there.

I misplaced a set for my boat a few years ago, and was able to buy some from a fellow in East TN (Maryville ?). Real good guy, and I think I posted something about it here, if you want to look it up to get his name.

Called him middle of the week, paid him with Paypal, got the parts before the weekend.

I recently came accross the set I lost, so as a last resort, I would sell you that set for what I paid for the replacements.

I say as a last resort, because I am not sure I can walk into my garage and lay hand to them right away. I have a dear sweet wife who has a compulsion to "clean up" after me. This is a wonderful thing in many ways, but it sometimes leads her to move things around, even in the garage, and put them in places that are very hard for me to figure out.

One time I got a half full can of peaches out of the fridge and set it on the table while I went to the cabinet to get a bowl. When I turned around the peaches were gone, and I was the only person in the room. Turns out, she had walked through the kitchen while my back was turned and "cleaned up" by tossing the can of peaches in the trash can on her way through.

I had a minute or two, and searched out the old post where I bought some traps.

"I suggest you contact Donnie Bennett at Bennett's Boat Repair in Maryville Tennessee. He has done a lot of restoration work on older Supras and may have a used rudder lying around. I looked all over the internet for a Supertrapp muffler I needed for my 88 Comp. Someone put me in touch with this guy, he had a pile of them. I sent him money through Paypal and had my part by the weekend. He impressed me as being a straight shooter, who knows his stuff."

ACF- thanks for the info. I have Donnie's contacts- he is a good resource for all things Supra. I guess I still don't fully understand how adding more plates would create more flow? When you add them, do the traps stick out further from the boat-thus creating more breathing room? Seems like flaps would breath better? I understand the air movement process in regards to the engine-but obviously not super traps. Again, thanks for the info.

IMHO there is barely any backpressure from FAE, flaps, or trapps that is going to make a difference in your horsepower.

horsepower not the concern really. I havn't ever maintenenced them and the starbord one has a tiny bit of play and a rusty bolt. Also without mod to the exhaust, nowhere for the flaps to attach as the pipe is almost even with the transom.
I would say i am more concerned to see that they are sealed correctly than anything else.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Supra-in-steamboat

horsepower not the concern really. I havn't ever maintenenced them and the starbord one has a tiny bit of play and a rusty bolt. Also without mod to the exhaust, nowhere for the flaps to attach as the pipe is almost even with the transom.
I would say i am more concerned to see that they are sealed correctly than anything else.

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That is a real concern. Last season I had to run my bilge pump once every twenty to thirty minutes to drain my bilge of 2" of water. I had the traps resealed, and now it's bone dry, minus some run off from the ice in the cooler.

Get them sealed, the sooner the better.

I agree with Mikey, as I said in my first post to this thread, I think you will be very disappointed if you expect any noticable gain in HP.

I ran my boat the first month I had it with the trapps off of it, and it didn't leak any water around the joint. Another point about this is I didn't notice any difference at all in performance when I put them back on.

Those are big exhaust pipes, and maybe this is not the best end of the boat to look for performance gains.

As for the traps being loose, or leaking, that isn't hard to fix.

The traps are easy to service. Take the screws out, they come off.

Put a bead of some good marine grade sealant around the joint of the pipe and tansom, add some plates to the traps if you want to, and put them back on. Replace the rusted screws with new stainless screws, and I would maybe add a very small amount of Gorilla glue to the threads if the screws don't get a good bite. The word small is important in this because you don't want that stuff to ooze out of the screw holes unless you want to permantly attach the traps to the boat.

I just took off FAE and had to rush order super traps from my dealer because we misplaced them
My dealer told me do not run the boat with out super traps or water could go into the engine compartment and do some damage (note this is on a 2002 22V supra launch)

He keeps them in stock if you need the info

Many many people have run with wide open pipes. It's not the greatest idea but it is not suppossed to hurt anything. SupraTraps or flappers are fine, either one.

Very easy to maintenance. Lots of junk accumulated between the rings. Thanks for all the input everyone.

I put red leds in the center of my supertrapps before I put them back on. They look sweet with red glow. Just kidding.

Anyone know if the threaded screw post that is connected to the cross bracket inside the exhaust pipe (they hold the super trapp) is replaceable? If so you go about removing it how?