ETX CAT motor?

[hiqualityH2O]

Hello,
We are in the process of ordering a Mobius LSV and we're considering upgrading to the ETX CAT motor. We like the idea of low emissions, however, there's concern we're trading lower emissions for less fuel economy.

Also, the standard 325 motor has a 3 star rating which is very good; is the upgrade worth the cost?

Any experience/opinions are appreciated.

Thanks!

[JoeTechie]

You can read more here:
http://www.indmar.com/ProductLine/Sk...340/index.html

As far as fuel economy... um... you are gettting a 340 HP engine for a Tow Boat.

It is not a Prius.

Enjoy the fun. And ignore that gaping hole in your wallet.



-Joe

[Wolf-]

As far as fuel economy... um... you are gettting a 340 HP engine for a Tow Boat. It is not a Prius.

Enjoy the fun. And ignore that gaping hole in your wallet.

-Joe

$3.50 (per gallon) x 5 (gph) x 75 (hours) = $1350 in boat fuel alone last summer (310 hp carb). With tow vehicle fuel we pushed $3000 in fuel just for boating.

We budget boat fuel over 12 months. The boating lifestyle has its cost.

[smokedog2]

$2000 at $2.00 per gal is 1000 gal. At 10 mpg = 10,000 miles.

10,000 miles at 50 mph is 200 hours on the road.

Thats just wrong.

Someone send Wolf some water.


SD2

[Buttafewcoe]

So if I left Charlotte @ 1:00 pm going to Cinci, and was traveling 60 mph, then smoke left Cinci @ 2:00 pm going to Charlotte and was traveling 55 mph where would our first pee break be?
.

.
B

[lowdrag]

As far as the 340 being worth the extra money, in terms of performance I'd say no. The 325 with the wakeboard prop should do everything you want it to.

If your really into the low emissions idea, then yes it probably is. It seems like theres not much difference from one motor to the next with these boats when it comes to fuel economy. I think with the huge amount of drag involved with a boat hull, all motors are going to hog fuel and the differences will be insignificant.

My personal opinion on the matter is that I'd give the system a year or two to see how it's going to work out. My main concerns are reliability and extensive cost to replace the cats if they end up having fouling issues in this application. My other concern is excessive heat buildup in the engine compartment. Cats have to be very hot to work correctly whereas without the cats the entire exhaust manifold is being water cooled. This may not mean much to some people but my current boat has had some vapor lock issues. Vapor lock on boats isn't as much a thing of the past as a lot of people will tell you. I'm just sort of cautious at this point and wonder if the added heat of the cats won't make vapor lock become more of a prevalent problem.

Bottom line is that it's a great idea and it sounds like Indmar is trying to stay ahead of the curve and possible future gov. regulations. I'm just not personally comfortable being the one to test these things out. Kind of like a lot of people don't like buying a new model vehicle until it's had a year or two to have most of the bugs worked out.

[Wolf-]

So if I left Charlotte @ 1:00 pm going to Cinci, and was traveling 60 mph, then smoke left Cinci @ 2:00 pm going to Charlotte and was traveling 55 mph where would our first pee break be?
.

.
B

10 years ago, I wouldnt have taken one.
Now? Every 2 hours whether i need fuel or not!

[hiqualityH2O]

Lowdrag thanks for the input. I agree, anything new requires time to work out the kinks. Also I had not considered the high temp. factor.
Thanks again!