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sportster powerplants


jltelco

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hello to all, I'm new to the forum and interested in buying a sportster lx. I was wondering if anyone had any preferences on the powerplants that were offered. Mainly the 310hp indmar(carb), 335hp indmar(efi) or mercruiser(efi). I know this is an entry level boat but it falls into my price range and still gives us what were looking for. We will be using the boat for family recreation on the ohio river and lakes in ohio. I just sold my checkmate and can't wait to buy an inboard. Any input on the powerplants or boat would be appreciated. thanks

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MalibuNation

You never can have too many ponies and I'm a big fan of efi. Any barefooting?

How big is your family, crew and what will you be using the boat for? Might consider a v-drive as a bigger boat that can give you a decent wake for skiing and on the other have give you a bigger wake for other sports. My 2 pennies - Jim

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I ski behind a sunseter LXI with a 310hp indmar(carb) very often and it does fine. Its a bit slower pull out on a slalom but I am no small puppy. I have also been barefooting with it. I am not an accomplished footer but I had no problem.

I have the indmar 320 LCR in my boat and love it. I very often ask people not to give me full throttle at once on launch.

I also ski a CC 196 with I believe has a 265hp rated power plant and it is very strong. It is a smaller boat so the lower HP does not hurt it at all.

If your not on a small lake or course skiing that you need to be up and out of the water now, I think you will find any of the power plants to be sufficient.

I love EFI and would chose any power plant with EFI before a carb boat but a carb boat is simple and if kept up is fine.

I also had a inboard with a Mercruiser. It was 315 HP with EFI 8 years and 450 hrs never a problem other than an Impeller

witch is a part you need to service on any inboard make model has nothing to do with it.

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i ran a '99 sportster (i may have indicated a 2000 in a different topic, my bad) w the 310hp power plant.

i currently run a response w 320lcr.

both are more than sufficient for slalom/ barefoot and, if you keep ballast below the cert. label, you won't have a power problem boarding.

the only negative w the 310 is that it is slow to warm up on the very cold mornings.

plan on 5 minutes of warm up time before pulling it off the trailer.

go to efi and pull it off the trailer as it starts.

not much storage but i loved the sportster.

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You will never regret getting a boat with fuel injection (EFI). Carburated boats can have some issues with cold and hot starting. If the carburator is kept in good condition they usually do not come up, but with EFI you eliminate that maintenance item. Driveability between FI and a carburator can be very similar, again as long as the carburator is maintained properly and kept in tune. FI eliminates that too.

In my opinion fuel injection also adds some safety to the boat. Less fuel vapor in the engine compartment and you don't have to worry about a float in the carburator getting stuck that can present a potential fire hazard. Marine engines require a flame arrestor intake assembly, but there is still a risk of fuel going everywhere if a float sticks down.

Also some people have issues with carburated engines when surfing. The standard marine carburator is not designed for high lean angles so you can starve the engine for fuel in some extreme situations. I doubt the response LX has enough free board to lean over far enough for problems but it has been mentioned on this site.

I think many people will defend a carburated boat, they can perform flawlessly, and I agree. However when it comes down to getting the most time possible out on the water you want to minimize potential maintenance items. FI becomes an easy choice.

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martinarcher

Totally agree. Our carb has ran great, but it has been rebuilt and tuned once in the last 20 years. EFI is a turn key and go system. If you're not familiar with a carb I would recommend EFI. If you know how to tune carbs I would say either way would be fine.

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I run the LCR 320 in our 2005 sportster LX. It has plenty of power for anything that you may want to do in this boat. I also would look to the EFI is possible. On a side note - I dont consider the Sportster LX and "entry level" boat. It may have been the smaller boat in the Malibu line up when they made it but my 2005 was MSRP of 40 k after the tower and all the add ons. It may be the enrty level Malibu but any boat that is 40 k plus to me is not an entry level boat. Just my opinion.

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Some storage under the front but limited.

I have a 04 w/34o monsoon and it will pull me up without my head getting wet,buy thats hard on the body, by the way Im 220lbs.

Plus the monsoon motor looks neat. I can slid the observer off the seat every time

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