Monsoon 340 or Hammerhead 383

[Bobby Light]

My 03' hammerhead did not require premium.

Both the 383 HH and Monsoon recommend 89 octane.

[wakeboy]

With knock sensors in modern engines, you can pretty much run any engine on any gas and it will be fine. It will effect your power output but not at a real noticable level though.

[Roselaw1]

I never ran premium in my 03' and never had a problem - not even a ping. I know premium was recommended but not required. I had a 97 black scorpion that required premium and it would ping horribly if used 87 octane.

[wakeboy]

That is what knock sensors do for your engine. They detect the pinging and retard the ignition timing enough so it stops pinging and runs at the optimal level for the gas being used.

[WakeGirl]

You'll pay for it either way, either at the pump by buying mid grade or by seeing decreased fuel economy when running 87. My last 2 boats both had Hammerheads & I was able to see a measurable difference in both economy & performance if I ran regular, so I rarely did. Both engines ran like raped apes & were very reliable, so maybe I was lucky. Don't know, don't really care.

I could go into my own long winded theory as to why the 383 has a higher proportion of problematic engines than the Monsoon, but I won't. I've done that in other threads, so if you want the details do a search. It boils down to this - it is my opinion that if you're an enthusiast or gearhead & know what to look for, then go for the Hammerhead. If you're not & you don't, then go for the Monsoon.