Indmar 2016 Change Summary & just cool info

[hethj7]

I ran across this tonight and thought others may find it interesting and/or useful.  

http://www.indmardealersupport.com/shop-talk-parts-news/2016-model-changes

 

And several interesting reads in this for the engine tech people here, including testing of HP requirements for heavily loaded boats vs. cars. 

http://www.indmardealersupport.com/service.php

 

OIL CONSUMPTION

Research, Support and Solution

In the past few years we have noticed an increase in discussion related to oil consumption in engines that are used in high load activities, namely wakeboarding and surfing. Indmar has always believed engines used in low speed, high load activities can have a tendency to burn more oil than unloaded engines. Indmar now has the data to support it and a solution for our customers.  We are supplying this information to you as a tool so you can inform and educate your customers on how they can better protect and properly service their engine especially if it is being used primarily under load. 

 
The chart below depicts engine loads for a car, normal boat operation (no ballast), surf and wakeboard (full ballast).  All of this data was derived from an LSA engine in a 24’ boat.  The Wakeboard testing was performed using a highly ballasted boat with 5700 lbs. of ballast, a common configuration for events.  Surf mode was tested using 2800 lbs. of ballast. The normal load curve was developed from boat testing with no ballast in the boat. The car data was taken from prior testing within the industry.
 
(Hethj7 note - Chart is in the link above, but I didn't take the time to get the graphic to show here) 

As you can see the horsepower required for wakeboarding and surfing is infinitely higher in comparison to a car or even in normal boating operation.  With our LSA test engine loaded we see that wakeboarding requires nearly 450 horsepower at 23 mph and surfing requires nearly 380 horsepower to push out 11 mph while the car requires a mere 75 horsepower to achieve 80+ mph.

During our *480 hour durability test we noticed that when engines under normal load (no ballast) reached 30-35 hours between oil changes they experienced greater oil consumption due to the breakdown of oil viscosity. Oil was changed every 50 hours per the owner’s manual and this was the findings and our collective takeaway:
 
*Engine also had appropriate break-in hours
 
After 30 hours – ½ qt. loss
35-38 hours -1 qt. loss
40-45 hours – 1.5 qt. loss
 
*Note With ballast added, the oil consumption could increase from the values listed above.
 
Oil viscosity breaks down much quicker in engines operating under greater loads, the most extreme during wakeboarding loads and speeds. With this information we are recommending that your service techs inform your customers that if they are operating their boats under these typical loads for wake sports they should change their oil every 30-35 hours. This will help reduce oil viscosity breakdown, increase engine life and minimize their concerns and experiences related to oil consumption. Boats that are predominantly used in normal boating or skiing conditions can maintain their 50 hour oil change regimen per the owner’s manual.
 
We hope that you found this research helpful and you continue to feel confident that Indmar will go the extra mile in maintaining that unique customer care and distinct customer service advantage. As always, we encourage any feedback to make us all stronger.

 

 

[dlb]

Thanks for the find and posting it for all to see.....

[pauley71]

haha ... maybe that's why I can't get all 8 quarts during a change!

Edited July 20, 2016 by pauley71

[MadMan]

I've only recently realized (since surfing is new to us) how much horsepower it takes to surf.  On my boat, you need about 3/4 throttle to surf, compared to 1/4 throttle to wakeboard.  The oil viscosity breakdown is the reason I only run straight weight oil (40w).  There are no viscosity improvers to breakdown.

Also, the alternator write-up seemed to by a bunch of reasons that Indmar would not warranty an alternator.  Does anybody have experience with this?  Such as, an alternator fails because of a faulty connection.  True, it wasn't the alternators fault, but you didn't just buy an alternator, you bought the whole boat, connections and all.  Who ends up paying? Malibu? Indmar? You?

  

[oldjeep]

Faulty wiring would be on Malibu warranty since the engine would come from indmar without a wire attached to the alternator. My guess would be that they had a mfg who was installing poorly.

[minnmarker]

That's really interesting about the power requirements and oil.  I don't see any noticeable drop in oil level but about half our hours are surfing so will start changing every 35 hours - that means this weekend or next.