Hobie Turbo Fin Upgrade Questions - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Murray · 07-28-2015, 05:15 AM

Purchased an outback when they first came out.......probably around 2002. Considering upgrading mirage drive with Turbo Fins. Appears there is a version 1 and version 2 of the mirage drive. What upgrades are available for my mirage drive? Appears the current mirage drive(GT) uses ball bearings for easier peddling. Thanks

parkermann · 07-28-2015, 05:55 AM

FYI if you are planning on replacing the whole mirage drive, the 2015 does not fit in older outbacks. I have to shave down the sides of mine to get it to fit in my 2004.

monstahfish · 07-28-2015, 07:08 AM

To clarify, there are two plastic pins on the newer mirage drives that can be trimmed off to fit older boats and inflatables. These are alignment pins that were added to make installing the drive faster and easier. The other upgrades to the drive from 2002 are the roller bearings which are not ball bearings but actually rods constructed of an engineered plastic and are corrosion free. The drums at some point were reinforced where the pins go through for length adjustment and the newer spine has a different design that keeps water from splashing up through the well better. I think the only other difference is that the sprockets and masts are now threaded where they originally had a set screw. I may have missed something but hope that helps.

Iceman · 07-28-2015, 08:38 AM

You can purchase just the V1 turbo fin kit with the set screws or you can change out the sprockets to the V2 threaded or GT sprockets and then purchase the v2 turbo fin kit.

07-28-2015, 05:15 AM	#1
Murray Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Vista Posts: 326	Hobie Turbo Fin Upgrade Questions Purchased an outback when they first came out.......probably around 2002. Considering upgrading mirage drive with Turbo Fins. Appears there is a version 1 and version 2 of the mirage drive. What upgrades are available for my mirage drive? Appears the current mirage drive(GT) uses ball bearings for easier peddling. Thanks

07-28-2015, 08:38 AM	#4
Iceman Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 1-2 miles off the point Posts: 6,948	You can purchase just the V1 turbo fin kit with the set screws or you can change out the sprockets to the V2 threaded or GT sprockets and then purchase the v2 turbo fin kit. __________________

07-28-2015, 05:55 AM	#2
parkermann Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 63	FYI if you are planning on replacing the whole mirage drive, the 2015 does not fit in older outbacks. I have to shave down the sides of mine to get it to fit in my 2004.

07-28-2015, 07:08 AM	#3
monstahfish Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 421	To clarify, there are two plastic pins on the newer mirage drives that can be trimmed off to fit older boats and inflatables. These are alignment pins that were added to make installing the drive faster and easier. The other upgrades to the drive from 2002 are the roller bearings which are not ball bearings but actually rods constructed of an engineered plastic and are corrosion free. The drums at some point were reinforced where the pins go through for length adjustment and the newer spine has a different design that keeps water from splashing up through the well better. I think the only other difference is that the sprockets and masts are now threaded where they originally had a set screw. I may have missed something but hope that helps.