Another Engine Size Question.....

[bigD1031]

Well I have another engine size question........tried search but it has not been very effective.

I currently have a 93 Galaxie Boat Works 18ft 5.0L OMC. Nothing fancy and as a matter of fact I have not had it that long. Basic two speaker tape player, no tower, needs a tiny bit of seem work on the interior.

I have a friend that is selling a 2000 four winns 170 Horizon, 4 cylinder volvo i/o, wakeboard tower, four blad prop, nice stereo and in great condition. I'm thinking about selling my boat to try and buy this one.

My questions are this.......

Will I miss the v8 omc that much?

What is everyones opinions on 4 cylinders and towing a wakeboarder?

What kind of gas mileage can I expect to get? (ie Is it going to be that much better than the v8?)

Guy says he can go about 36 wot, does that sound accurate? (Three people in the boat.)

Thanks in advance for you help................

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Another Engine Size Question.....

imho v6 4.3 is the smallest i would go. 3.0 for water sports it is underpowered.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Another Engine Size Question.....

I don't think you will be happy with the smaller motor.While it would deliver
somewhat better mileage than the V8 it would be at the 4 cylinders performance level.The V8 will deliver close to the 4 cylinders mileage if driven carefully.And will run at the 4 cylinders speed while loafing and getting close to its mileage.Hold out for a bigger motor.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Another Engine Size Question.....

I wouldn't miss anything if it has OMC on it. Expensive to repair if you can find the parts.

I agree that the 4 cyl will be much better on fuel consumption and as for towing,,,,,,,to me it depends. With small children it will be okay, but when you get adults on the toys is when you will notice that it is underpowered. Keep in mind that most toys are not surposed to be pulled at high speeds anyways.

Test drive and try it out first is my recommendation to see how the performance is. For low end torque to pull a load out of the water, you can always get a prop for that purpose.

Growing up, my dad had several props for the 120 mercruiser. Depending on what we was planning on doing, he would change the prop for that particular need. With a small pitch prop, it would pull 3 adults up on skis, but didn't have much top end which was about 30. With the bigger pitch, we could get about 45 out of it with 4 adults onboard. The boat was a 17' Glassmaster vee bottom.

 

[bigD1031]

Re: Another Engine Size Question.....

I know i will probably regret the loss of power, but the easier hit to the wallet from filling up less often sure would help get me a few more trips to the lake this year.

Anybody move from an 8 to a 4 or vice versa and see a huge difference in fuel economy?

Also, don't know how much of a difference this will make but my engine is the 5.0 omc, not the 5.0 HO omc so the HP on it I believe is 185........the four winns is also about 400lbs lighter than my galaxie........

I also don't slalom around here, lakes usually are a little too choppy (save that for the trips to the Sacramento Delta where we get a lot more glassy days and use my uncles boats) so I usually wake board, kneeboard and tube, don't know if I will miss the power as much doing these.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Another Engine Size Question.....

There is a mantra around here, and it goes:

Nobody EVER said I am glad I got the smaller engine.


Is the 4cyl capable of using less fuel, sure it is. Will you save half? NO, 1/4? NO. 1/10? now were in the right neighborhood. If you are going to use this boat for watersports as much as it sounds like, cruising economy will have very little effect on total fuel usage. With the 4cyl, when towing, you will spend a great deal of time at 3/4 to wide open throttle and begging for more.

 

[QC]

Re: Another Engine Size Question.....

Do NOT make this decision on fuel economy. If $15 a weekend changes everything, then maybe. But when you factor in all you spend to get and keep a boat, the fuel difference is not what you should be chasing. So let's say it is $15 (it won't be). In ten trips that's $150. How you gonna pay back any expenses that exceed $150? You can't. With that said, OMC are a pain, but don't change for fuel. Change for better performance, or bigger, or fits the family better. Fuel cost is a red herring. Everyone thinks that's what they want, but it is NOT what makes or breaks your weekends . . .

 

[bigD1031]

Re: Another Engine Size Question.....

Yeah, I see what you guys are saying....$15 won't make a difference, neither would $20 or $30 a weekend, $50 would though. The boat I am looking at buying is newer and has pretty much everything that I want on it is there, minus the engine, vs. my boat which has an OMC , needs a few things and a little bit of work.......but don't they always.......