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monsoon vs. hammerhead


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I've be reading alot about the HH, but not the monsoon. Is the monsoon under powered or is it still a good engine? I hope I didn't screw up by getting the monsoon. How much more does the HH cost?

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I would be hard pressed to say anything with the Monsoon is "underpowered" unless you're in one of the big boys like 25LSV. I had a chance to try several of the new 'bu's during the Malibu Demo Days last weekend at Coldwater Lake Marina in Michigan. Our driver/host was a dealer mechanic who had a lot of experience with the various motors and new the details of which one had what upgrades by year etc. While the '05 Hammerhead and the LS1's are obviously both great motors with their own ideal applications, he described the various Monsoons as near bulletproof and evolutionary in terms of refinement and annual reinvestment. I just bought an '03 Sunsetter LXI from them with the Monsoon 335, which has great torque and power, plenty of speed for this kind of boat. I am trading in my 94 Echelon LX with the Merc Magnum Ski TBI and the Monsoon has way more punch and smoothness than that one. The '04 and '05 M340's just have a new set of lighter exhaust manifolds to replace the cast iron ones. Saves 65 or so pounds and 5 more hp. There is lot's of information on this on the "old" board, including excellent commentary/comparison from Peter at Smooth Water Sports.

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What kind of boat, how will it be used...boarding, slalom, barefoot?

I have the Monsoon on my 03 RLXi and am extremely happy with it for skiing and wakeboarding and a little kneeboarding. Plenty of torque. Pulling Edwin longline barefoot off the tower (with no one else in the boat) it seemed to do a good job.

Having said that, just rode in a VLX with the HH. It's a rocket and sounds like a caged animal. If I did any barefooting, I give the HH alot of thought.

Upcharge...can't help you there.

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Having said that, just rode in a VLX with the HH.  It's a rocket and sounds like a caged animal.  If I did any barefooting, I give the HH alot of thought.

Upcharge...can't help you there.

The Monsoon is an excellent engine and will fit most applications. There are plenty of guys on this board who have the Monsoon in there newer LSV's and VLX's. It is bullet proof as said above. I have ridden in a few and they work great. I don't think BU would offer it as the standard engine in these boats if it didn't.

The Hammerhead 383 is an upgrade. It has more power OTH and pulls big time in the mids. Barefooters should love it! In a wakeboarding boat, it is able to get up just a little quicker fully loaded, and I've noticed it holds speed a little better. Heck, 340hp against 400hp, it ought too. One other thing I like is when were just cruising, is the ability to put the "Hammer down" and let it rip. Yahoo.gif

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I have the 380hp HH in my WSDD. Off the bottom I don't think it pulls anyharder then the Monsoon, but from the mid range on its awsome. I have heard that the new stroker HH is real real strong off of the bottom. Stewart has got his and by his accounts I can't wait to get a ride.

Joe

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Right on!

Personally in a ski boat I'd go with the Monsoon, in a bigger boat that you'll add any ballast to I'd go with the HH (of course that's sitting in the cheap seats & not knowing what the current upcharge is for the HH ;)).

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Monsoon is a great motor and for most is all you would need. The hammerhead, well, it is just a beast. Tons of power and torque with extra weight and feels/sounds like a hot rod. I love mine, but would have been happy with a monsoon also (had them in 3 prior boats)

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Yeah, would love to have the HH in the next boat, but very difficult to justify for my application. Still, the vroom factor weighs heavily on my heart. . .

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I have the 8.1 in my Chevy Avalanche 2500. It uses more oil than the small block and sucks down gas like it's going outta style. Great torque though for towing, which is what probably makes it nice for a loaded wakeboard boat. Not sure it's worth the extra weight, but when you're already filling the boat with water to board anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter much.

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If you're going to run alot of weight in a standard Wakesetter V drive or you're considering the bigger LSV or Sunscape, consider a hammer head. They had problems, but I think those have been resolved.

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The problems came in the old hammerhead, the new one is great, but I heard malibu is sold out since gm has not been able to keep up with demand.

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My dealer told me today that there are production delays at the CA factory due to unspecified probs. with the HH. Has anyone else heard this? If so what are the probs? Blowup.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

In two seasons I did 177 hrs in my 2003 Response with 335 Monsoon and apart from the throttle cable coming adrift of the Perfect Pass, it never missed a beat.

This time the LX has the 383 Hammy and it is grouse. At idle the motor is so cammy it hunts; put it into forward and the hunting is transferred through the prop.

It is the sound though through the straight stainless tips that makes the hair stand on end. My mates CC 196 sounds like a sewing machine alongside with both exhaust banks of the 6.0litre feeding into a single outlet.

He also thought his 375 was quick until the Bu showed the way!

All good kids stuff, eh?

Edited by andyb
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We have a 325 Monsoon in our '02 WS LSV. It is an excellent engine. I swappped out the prop with an Acme 537 which has a 16 vs. 17.5 inch pitch for the stock 383.

There is all the holeshot we need and plenty through the power range. We never go all out so I could careless about topend.

The difference is cost is about $3500 for a HH383. At $2 per gallon that's 1750 gallons of gas. Shocking.gif

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We demo'd boats with both Monsoon & HH. We got the HH because we foot on a 23' v-drive. Otherwise, it's probably overkill. I'd buy the HH again, even with the $4k uplift. With 11 hours on the HH, it performs like no other boat I've had. Fantastic engine.

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