Opinions wanted - 8.1 L Engine and Titan vs. Ilusion

[ice9v2]

I am looking at getting a newer boat and am tyically looking at 04-07 Wakesetter LSV's.

I am fairly serous about a 06 with the 8.1L and the Titan tower.

What are your thoughts on the 8.1L? I've noticed that a lot of people seem to prefer the Hammerhead over the stock 340 HP motor in terms of getting out of the water with ballast but is the 8.1L 425 HP engine overkill? Does it suck fuel like mad compared to the stock engine or Hammerhead?

As for the tower - the Illusion tower looks cool but does anyone have any pro/con to give on Titan vs Illusion?

Thanks for the input...

Well, I guess for graphics sake I'll go ahead and throw a poll on - but I'd also like some text replys

[Lance B. Johnson]

I am looking at getting a newer boat and am tyically looking at 04-07 Wakesetter LSV's.

I am fairly serous about a 06 with the 8.1L and the Titan tower.

What are your thoughts on the 8.1L? I've noticed that a lot of people seem to prefer the Hammerhead over the stock 340 HP motor in terms of getting out of the water with ballast but is the 8.1L 425 HP engine overkill? Does it suck fuel like mad compared to the stock engine or Hammerhead?

As for the tower - the Illusion tower looks cool but does anyone have any pro/con to give on Titan vs Illusion?

Thanks for the input...

Well, I guess for graphics sake I'll go ahead and throw a poll on - but I'd also like some text replys

I own a titan 3 tower and have no issues with it. It seems to get the job done with ZERO problems.

[Slurpee]

As cool as the new Illusion G3 looks I'd order my boat with the Titan 3. It's more accessory friendly, rock solid, proven, and it get the speakers up high and to the rear which is friendlier to the cabin occupants. Just my two cents.

[ice9v2]

As cool as the new Illusion G3 looks I'd order my boat with the Titan 3. It's more accessory friendly, rock solid, proven, and it get the speakers up high and to the rear which is friendlier to the cabin occupants. Just my two cents.

awesome commentary - thanks!

[MalibuNation]

Love my Titan II and would order another boat with a Titan if I ever order another boat.

MY OPINION, hammerhead is great for the 23 and smaller boats ... but if you got the money and want the weight go with the 8.1. If I was getting a 247 I'd go with the 8.1. Captain Obvious speaks again.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Illusion if your wanting the "Malibu look".

Titan if your a rider. Strongest tower made. Period.

How many boat manufacturers use Titan towers? (3 ?)

How many boat manufacturers use Metcraft towers that suck? (two that I can think of)

Edited August 25, 2009 by Bill_AirJunky

[larrys]

I have owned 5 Malibus since 2003. 3 LSVs and 2 VLXs. 1 Skylon, 1 Titan and 3 Illusions. 1 Monsoon, both Hammerheads and 1 8.1. My favorite motor was the 8.1 in an LSV. But, my favorite boat is the VLX Favorite tower is the Illusion. The Titan is a great tower also. All 3 of my Illusion's were rock solid. I experienced more stress cracks on my boat with the Titan.

Edited August 25, 2009 by larrys

[Bobby Light]

Illusion if your wanting the "Malibu look".

Titan if your a rider. Strongest tower made. Period.

How many boat manufacturers use Titan towers? (3 ?)

How many boat manufacturers use Metcraft towers that suck? (two that I can think of)

The titan tower being the strongest period is very debatable Bill. Since you own one I wouldn't expect you to believe otherwise.

[ice9v2]

thanks for comments & opinions - keep 'em coming

[shade]

My dealer urged me to not get the 8.1L or the HH in my 23 LSv. He said he was always concerned by low oil pressure w/ the HH and he said run time on a tank of fuel was nearly cut in half when you stepped up from the 340 to the 8.1.

These are important issues to me, but may not concern you too much. I haven't had any regrets w/ the 340, but I did switch to an OJ 475 prop.

When gas was $4/gal here last summer I was definitely glad I didn't have the 8.1.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Illusion if your wanting the "Malibu look".

Titan if your a rider. Strongest tower made. Period.

How many boat manufacturers use Titan towers? (3 ?)

How many boat manufacturers use Metcraft towers that suck? (two that I can think of)

The titan tower being the strongest period is very debatable Bill. Since you own one I wouldn't expect you to believe otherwise.

That & the fact that I typically have two 40 lb skis on my tower in a variety of water conditions. Plus I probably outweigh the average boarder by 50+ lbs. And have a list of foil riders I ride with do the same. Many of the Illusions, Zeroflexes & Monsters we've used have broken at some point from this kind of use. We definitely test the towers limits.

So yea, I'm biased, and have experience with the failures in other brands. Take a look around. We're not the only ones. Broken welds, bad bushings, cracks around the brackets. Titans don't have many of those problems. When was the last time you saw a broken Titan on a Malibu? Or a Nautique?

[Slurpee]

Aren't the engines choices going to be different for 2010 anyways? Monsoon and 8.1 are still around, but I thought the Hammerhead was being replaced or something.

As an aside, I put my Titan I on myself 5 years ago and have not had any problems with it like stress cracks or the like.

[Ndawg12]

Illusion if your wanting the "Malibu look".

Titan if your a rider. Strongest tower made. Period.

How many boat manufacturers use Titan towers? (3 ?)

How many boat manufacturers use Metcraft towers that suck? (two that I can think of)

The titan tower being the strongest period is very debatable Bill. Since you own one I wouldn't expect you to believe otherwise.

That & the fact that I typically have two 40 lb skis on my tower in a variety of water conditions. Plus I probably outweigh the average boarder by 50+ lbs. And have a list of foil riders I ride with do the same. Many of the Illusions, Zeroflexes & Monsters we've used have broken at some point from this kind of use. We definitely test the towers limits.

So yea, I'm biased, and have experience with the failures in other brands. Take a look around. We're not the only ones. Broken welds, bad bushings, cracks around the brackets. Titans don't have many of those problems. When was the last time you saw a broken Titan on a Malibu? Or a Nautique?

I can't say anything about the illusion based on experience except that it looks sweet. But my Titan has done everything I've needed it to do and it's solid, gives good headroom even with speakers on it, and I have not experiences any spider cracking (I think that's 95% related to the install with any type of tower). The only minor complaint I have about the tower is the powder coating scratches off pretty easily, but like I said I don't have experience with any other tower so maybe they all scratch easily, jm2c.

Edited August 25, 2009 by nemire12

[winddawg]

I have the 8.1l in my 2004 23LSV and really like it, I would buy the same engine again. I put an OJ 14.25 X14.5 prop on it and it will yank anyone out of the water with a boat load of people and ballast. That being said if you like driving with the hammer down you will be buying more fuel, drive it normal and I think you are only using about 10% more fuel. Like I said above I would buy the same engine again in a heartbeat. OJ has done a great job with that prop too because you really don't sacrifice any on the top end either.

The tranny and v-drive are 1:1 so when you are running 3500 rpm you are going 35mph with the prop mentioned above, which is a good place in the powerband for fuel. That being said when you drop her in gear she runs at 4.8mph, so not having the gear reduction in the powertrain at the low speeds is interesting. The engine is shoehorned (sp?) into the boat and changing the oil before I put a remote oil filter kit on her was a real challenge. The impeller changes are also very difficult because of the size of the engine exhaust, but it can be done and a six pack really helps.

The torque that the 8.1 puts out is incredible and people that drive my boat always comment on the power. If you like to wakesurf this is the engine for you.

My boat has the illusion X tower which has been replaced once when it cracked just above the towbar. The tower was one of Metcrafts early versions that had only one board rack mount per side. The boat now enjoys the newer illusion X tower (not to be confused with the XS) that allows you to have dual board racks on each side and the mast light on top. It is really nice having the extra board storage and mast light on top. I believe that the mast light was added in 2006. The newer tower also has the spring assist for raising and lowering the tower which is a nice feature that I don't use because the boat lives on a hydrohoist. The newer illusion x towers are much much heavier than the first gen and I see a lot more stress being placed on the gunwall at the mouting points. Keep the bolts tight on the mounts or you will have stress and glass cracks. I think the dual mounts for board racks were added in 2005?

If I am not mistaken Malibu finally put the rear tanks under the floor in 2005, why this engineering feat took so long is a mystery to me. The rear tanks in the locker instead of below the floor in my 2004 really take up a lot of room. Like me and many others you will end up removing the tanks and using sacs.

And now for my last point the wedge, I have the manual wedge on my '04. It works great and I like the way that it shapes the wake. I do not have any time behind a boat with a free floating wedge but I am told it is a nice upgrade from what I have and really makes a difference for wakesurfing. That being said I still want a power wedge period.

So my opinion is an 2006 or newer model because you get MLS under the floor (and make sure the boat you get has FOUR tanks two in the rear, one in the center, and one in the bow), the 8.1L engine, and the power wedge. I love the looks of the Illusion X tower, but also know that if you drive the boat hard and really want to load the tower down with boards, speakers, lights and other bling you will have issues if you are not carefull.

My.02 cents.

-Dave

[Malibudude]

Illusion if your wanting the "Malibu look".

Titan if your a rider. Strongest tower made. Period.

How many boat manufacturers use Titan towers? (3 ?)

How many boat manufacturers use Metcraft towers that suck? (two that I can think of)

The titan tower being the strongest period is very debatable Bill. Since you own one I wouldn't expect you to believe otherwise.

That & the fact that I typically have two 40 lb skis on my tower in a variety of water conditions. Plus I probably outweigh the average boarder by 50+ lbs. And have a list of foil riders I ride with do the same. Many of the Illusions, Zeroflexes & Monsters we've used have broken at some point from this kind of use. We definitely test the towers limits.

So yea, I'm biased, and have experience with the failures in other brands. Take a look around. We're not the only ones. Broken welds, bad bushings, cracks around the brackets. Titans don't have many of those problems. When was the last time you saw a broken Titan on a Malibu? Or a Nautique?

No debate, it's simply backed up by everyone I know that has/does a Titan says the same thing.

[WakeGirl]

Larry is isn't the first that I've heard of with stress cracks from a Titan, but he's one of only a very few. Ask about Metcraft towers & stress cracks.....see what you get from that question.

I've had Skylon & Metcraft, my next boat will have a Titan even if I have to change out what's there when I buy it. Hopefully they'll still be around to build towers.

[Slurpee]

Larry is isn't the first that I've heard of with stress cracks from a Titan, but he's one of only a very few. Ask about Metcraft towers & stress cracks.....see what you get from that question.

I've had Skylon & Metcraft, my next boat will have a Titan even if I have to change out what's there when I buy it. Hopefully they'll still be around to build towers.

Amen. I said as much to my dealer today and he thinks I'm crazy now that he's taken delivery on som 2010s and seen the tower. From the pics I think I still favor the T3 though.

[Brad3607]

I have a 25 LSV and the only engine option was the 8.1 and I love it as it has more power than you could ever ask for as I can get the boat on plane with 2000 lbs of ballast in like its nothing, howerver I have only done this a couple times as I dont like to run with that much weight in the boat. We are using it for surfing and very minimal wakeboarding and being in the 2500 RPM range is perfect for this engine. The engine runs strong and smooth but is not a gas hog by any means. I am actually shocked at how little fuel it uses.

[WAKE-RIDER-01]

The 8.1L is the way to go if your boarding and surfing alot IMO. I have an Illusion X tower, and I have to duck to get under it. (I'm 6'0). I've slammed into it many times, and would probably want a Titan for the next boat.

[ice9v2]

I have the 8.1l in my 2004 23LSV and really like it, I would buy the same engine again. I put an OJ 14.25 X14.5 prop on it and it will yank anyone out of the water with a boat load of people and ballast. That being said if you like driving with the hammer down you will be buying more fuel, drive it normal and I think you are only using about 10% more fuel. Like I said above I would buy the same engine again in a heartbeat. OJ has done a great job with that prop too because you really don't sacrifice any on the top end either.

My.02 cents.

-Dave

Awesome post Dave. thanks for the insight

[ice9v2]

Many thanks for all your input - It looks like I'm going ahead and doing the deal for the 06 LSV with the 8.1L and the Titan tower and should have it by next Tuesday.

It sounds like it's going to be truly awesome.

It has the Quad tanks and power wedge so I'm assuming that will be enough for good wakesurfing,etc...

[johnsvt]

Many thanks for all your input - It looks like I'm going ahead and doing the deal for the 06 LSV with the 8.1L and the Titan tower and should have it by next Tuesday.

It sounds like it's going to be truly awesome.

It has the Quad tanks and power wedge so I'm assuming that will be enough for good wakesurfing,etc...

yes, but additional ballast is always good, congrats

[Bill_AirJunky]

Many thanks for all your input - It looks like I'm going ahead and doing the deal for the 06 LSV with the 8.1L and the Titan tower and should have it by next Tuesday.

It sounds like it's going to be truly awesome.

It has the Quad tanks and power wedge so I'm assuming that will be enough for good wakesurfing,etc...

Right on. Great boat if you have a big crew. We just took one to Shasta & there is a ton of room & kicks up a sweet wake.

[Slurpee]

Pictures!!!

Congrats!

[stewart]

Congrats! I have an 06 247 with the 8.1L and it has been a great engine.