Which engine to get... 350hp or the 410hp?

[Sunscape fan]

I am talking to the dealer now about engine choices. I am wondering what the consensus here is. Should I go for the upgrade and get the 410hp? or stay with the standard 350hp. The torque specs on both are within 3-4lbs of each other. And since torque is what's gonna get you out of the hole and your rider up, do I really need the extra 60hp??

[WakeSwagger]

I am talking to the dealer now about engine choices. I am wondering what the consensus here is. Should I go for the upgrade and get the 410hp? or stay with the standard 350hp. The torque specs on both are within 3-4lbs of each other. And since torque is what's gonna get you out of the hole and your rider up, do I really need the extra 60hp??

I have the 350 and I'm more than happy. However, if I was going to upgrade I would step up to the s/c 555hp. Sorry if this made your decision harder. You are in a battle you just can't lose.

[Ndawg12]

I am talking to the dealer now about engine choices. I am wondering what the consensus here is. Should I go for the upgrade and get the 410hp? or stay with the standard 350hp. The torque specs on both are within 3-4lbs of each other. And since torque is what's gonna get you out of the hole and your rider up, do I really need the extra 60hp??

Torque is that close? What's the upcharge? The Monsoon is the most proven engine in the lineup from what I've seen and read.

[Bobby Light]

I have to tell you I was in the same boat when getting my 09'. Couldn't decide between the 350 and HH. Went for the HH and don't regret it at all, there is a difference in power. I say to for it, but its not my money.

[CJAY]

I'm at a little under 6k in altitude and the monsoon really struggles wiht wieght here, my buddy has a 400 raptor in his axis and it struggles with wieght too at alt. I'd go 555, though it's an awfully expensive upgrade

[nyryan2001]

I think it depends if you how serious you are about surfing. The smaller motor will be fine for everything except real heavy surfing. My buddy has a 23LSV with the 350 and he cannot carry the weight I carry with the 410hp for surfing...unless he was to get into repitching props etc. How much do you surf, and how much does a huge surf wave matter to you?

The only other consideration I would offer is resale. I went bats*** crazy NOV-DEC looking at 2-3yrs old boats. MC, Nautique, Malibu etc... and the ones with the big engines barely drop value compared to new...even with 500 hrs for example... ie folks want the bigger engines and are willing to pay for them. However, I could have piked up a 2010 23LSV with 25hrs with the 350, for way cheap... it had been for sale for months. I chose my boat around the larger motor. FYI my 6.0 at 23hrs has been flawless.

Big piece of info you left out... on what size boat?

[Bill_AirJunky]

The Monsoon is the longest running & most trouble free Indmar motor ever. Hammerhead has come a long way in the last few yrs, but is not even close to the same in longevity. If your packin a lot of weight, then go for the horsepower. But for any discipline other than surfing the Monsoon is the way to go....IMO.

[WakingMeHappy]

My initial thought was to say go for more power. But, after reading these posts sounds like the reliability of the 350 make it the wisest move.

[Sunscape fan]

Right now I have the hammerhead with 400hp. It's in a 23LSV. I am going to buy another 23lsv, this time a wakesetter though. I just checked the brochure and the 350 ETX/CAT has 397 ft-lbs of torque while the 6.0L has 400 ft-lbs of torque. I'm not going to go for the 555 simply cause I can't afford it. I'm not exactly sure what the upcharge is for the 6.0L, but it was a little over 6K for my Hammerhead. So I'm guessing somewhere in that neighborhood. That's a lot of money that I could either save, or spend on other goodies . Right now, I don't surf. I'm not gonna say I'll NEVER surf, cause I just don't know, but it doesn't really interest me as I kind of think it's a bit dangerous to be that close to the boat. But that's something for other current thread on here right now...lol. If I had buckets of money, I'd go supercharged just because it's cool...lol

[Bobby Light]

The Monsoon is the longest running & most trouble free Indmar motor ever. Hammerhead has come a long way in the last few yrs, but is not even close to the same in longevity. If your packin a lot of weight, then go for the horsepower. But for any discipline other than surfing the Monsoon is the way to go....IMO.

Hehe its ok bill I will still tie up with ya at the wow, ill even let you tow me in if my pos HH blows up.

Edited June 2, 2011 by 06vlx

[Bill_AirJunky]

Hehe its ok bill I will still tie up with ya at the wow, ill even let you tow me in if my pos HH blows up.

Yea, don't get me wrong. In recent years they obviously have the the HH down. But you have to admit, there have been a few of the early HHs that were sketchy at best. For whatever reason I just happen to have run across several with oil problems. They all were models from like 06 & earlier.

[nyryan2001]

I think there is some confusion here. The hammer head is not the engine he is talking about getting. The hammerhead is is a regular 6.2 400hp and he is talking about the 6.0 410hp. The 6.2 engine isnt avail anymore except in the SC 555hp config. So no maint issues going with the larger 6.0 motor, and from the sounds of it those issues were worked out of the HH yrs ago.

No known maint issues with the GM 6.0 that I know of, Nautique and Mastercraft have been using them for yrs, while Malibu first started with them in 2011.

[Molarbu]

I am talking to the dealer now about engine choices. I am wondering what the consensus here is. Should I go for the upgrade and get the 410hp? or stay with the standard 350hp. The torque specs on both are within 3-4lbs of each other. And since torque is what's gonna get you out of the hole and your rider up, do I really need the extra 60hp??

Wait a second, I thought your wife put the kybosh on the new boat. There is something you need to teach us.

[pennery]

Wait a second, I thought your wife put the kybosh on the new boat. There is something you need to teach us.

Thats what I was thinking.. Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission right?

[Sunscape fan]

Wait a second, I thought your wife put the kybosh on the new boat. There is something you need to teach us.

Lol. Well it's not quite a done deal. I spoke with her again and she tentatively agreed. I have to do all my homework and find out exactly what a new boat will cost us factoring in our trade. She still holds the final veto vote if it's too much of a difference....lol. That's why I am wondering about the engine choice. I know it's a pricey upgrade. It might soften the blow a little and bring the difference in price down a bit if it's not really something I need. That being said, I don't want an underpowered boat. I want to be able to easily get the rider up and the boat on plane. If the 350 won't do the job then I'll move to the 410. But there's literally only a 3 ft-lb of torque difference!

Stick with me young Padawan, and I'll teach all the tricks to the trade. (actually, I'm just married to a wonderful woman!!!)

Edited June 2, 2011 by Sunscape fan

[Bobby Light]

I think there is some confusion here. The hammer head is not the engine he is talking about getting. The hammerhead is is a regular 6.2 400hp and he is talking about the 6.0 410hp. The 6.2 engine isnt avail anymore except in the SC 555hp config. So no maint issues going with the larger 6.0 motor, and from the sounds of it those issues were worked out of the HH yrs ago.

No known maint issues with the GM 6.0 that I know of, Nautique and Mastercraft have been using them for yrs, while Malibu first started with them in 2011.

No kidding, ya think. He wants to know if the higher hp motor is worth it or not. That's the point I was making. The HH has more tq than the 6.0 so maybe its not worth the upgrade like the HH was.

Edited June 3, 2011 by 06vlx

[Ndawg12]

Wait a second, I thought your wife put the kybosh on the new boat. There is something you need to teach us.

Ha! I think I called you out in your other post about not having your CFO/wife's permission I'm too lazy to look back but what are you going use your boat primarily for? A $500 Acme 1235 prop is probably cheaper than the motor upgrade. That will limit your top end to (I'm guessing) 38-40 mph but in a 23lsv your probably not worried about that...

[Sunscape fan]

Ha! I think I called you out in your other post about not having your CFO/wife's permission I'm too lazy to look back but what are you going use your boat primarily for? A $500 Acme 1235 prop is probably cheaper than the motor upgrade. That will limit your top end to (I'm guessing) 38-40 mph but in a 23lsv your probably not worried about that...

Lol...yes, you did call me out...(thanks for that by the way ) I have the CFO's permission now, at least permission to take it to the next level. I'm not worried about top end. I will never take the boat to WOT. I don't believe in that as it's way to hard on equipment. We use the boat for wakeboarding and some waterskiing, but not much. I haven't surfed in my current boat and while I can't say I'll never surf, I can say I'm not interested in it right now. It seems a bit too dangerous being that close to the boat. But I know that those who surf rave about it.

[jrz1]

Go big or go home!

[MichLivin]

I say go for the 410 hp. I have a 2011 LSV and i did the upgrade, its worth every penny imo. I had 12 people on the boat with all 4 tanks filled and my friends were amazed on how the boat could move.

The engine is a well known engine as Mastercrafts and Natique have been using them fro years so reliability is not a concern for me.

[dlb]

Get the Monsoon, get her some diamonds with the spare cash. That way you get your boat, you are happy and so is she.

You'll look good on the water, and even better when you take her out on the town....

[Boatman]

Lol. Well it's not quite a done deal. I spoke with her again and she tentatively agreed. I have to do all my homework and find out exactly what a new boat will cost us factoring in our trade. She still holds the final veto vote if it's too much of a difference....lol. That's why I am wondering about the engine choice. I know it's a pricey upgrade. It might soften the blow a little and bring the difference in price down a bit if it's not really something I need.

My advice is to figure out what the exact cost is both ways. Then start out with the upgraded price. If she freaks out explain that there is another option that you would be happy with and will save a bunch of money. Show her the Monsoon price compared to the upgrade and it will look so good she can't say NO. A side effect of this is YOU will look like a conscientious

shopper with your budget formost on your mind. That said, if she doesn't freak out, you have permission to get the big engine.

Trust me. I've been down this road many times and it is your best shot for a new boat. Good Luck!

[Baddog]

My initial thought was to say go for more power. But, after reading these posts sounds like the reliability of the 350 make it the wisest move.

But, but, remember: there is no replacment for displacement.

[jk13]

3 ft lbs at what rpms? They may be peaking out 1000rpms apart. Probably not, but maybe. Also, that is peak torque at one rpm, and there is probably a large difference at all other rpms. I'd like to see the graphs.

I have never found myself wishing that anything I've owned or driven had LESS power. But maybe that's just me.