2003 Speedster

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James06

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Hello all. My name is James, I am located in the panhandle of Florida and have just purchased a 2003 Seadoo Speedster with the 155hp Rotax 4TEC. My question is, what are the mods I can do for performance. I have searched the internet only to find impeller mods. I would like to do an intake and other mods also. Any other member on here have that same model and could throw me a bone here?? Also, is this a good purhcase for $6500.00 with 50 hours,? boat has been garage kept, and belonged to a couple who has just lost their main source of income. Thanks for any tips on performance.
 
Welcome to the forum!....

Man, seems like you got a heck of a deal!....yeah, that's a great price. As long as it's in good running shape.
We've been talking about some modifications for the boats/pwc's....but the conclusion was, to do them, you take away from the life of the engine. When these motors were designed, the BRP research and develoment department spared no time in putting together one of the fastest most relaible engines to date.
That's like buying a new "crotch rocket" off the show room floor and asking the dealer, what can I do to make it go faster?...........
But if your really interested. You can go to http://www.rivamotorsports.com/ and see what they have to offer.
 
Thank you sir for the info, so your sayin, go faster, shorter life span on the engine?? No thanks Ill stick to the 51 mph and worry about other stuff. Just wanted to know if there was anything I could do make the engine run better (not saying it doesnt run bad) like syn oil, different type of collant(ie water wetter, engine ice) any tips would be nice. Thanks
 
Changes....

There is a very expensive "stainless" impellor on the market, that will increase your top end a little, without taking away from your hole shot. That's about the only real change you can make without affecting the life span of the engine. You look at the technology that went into the development of the 4-TEC engines and they are about maxed out. If you ever get into comparing the 4-TEC's in the last few years, you can ask yourself, how come I have the 1503 cc 4-TEC and it's only rated at 155 hp and some of these others are rated at 255. Well, they have been making changes to this 4-TEC engine from the day it was put into production. To make all this extra horsepower, outside of the addition of the supercharger, they've made internal changes to the bore, stroke and ratio, along with fuel injector delivery changes.
You got a fast engine, you can tweak a couple more ponies out of her with the changes in impeller pitch, for a cost. But I'd not really make any engine changes...........Solas is one of the top name brand aftermarket impeller suppliers.....you can go check them out too!.........http://www.solas.com/newweb/pwcproduct/products/sst_our.asp
 
Mods for Rotax 155

I came here for the same thing, hoping for some suggestions on getting a little more power out of my 2004 Speedster 200 which has a pair of the rotax 155's.. I haven't used GPS to test speed yet, will do that in a few weeks. With just me in the boat, on glass the onboard speedo reads up to 66.

The last 2 weekends I had 6 adults + child on the boat, still ran pretty well but wouldn't mind doing a few add-ons.

I have experienced building up performance engines (1 small block chevy and 2 twinturbo v6's under my belt), so I'm assuming the normal rules would apply - removing heat will increase power, breathing better will increase power.
I totally agree that the boys at bombardier put a lot of time into making the motor run optimal, however keep in mind all engines are mass market and if you can save $100 per motor by taking a shortcut when it comes to intake or exhaust it they do so. There's 4 huge canisters in the engine compartment that appear to be "Mufflers" - i'm wondering if theres an aftermarket version?
Also, has anyone switched their cooling system to "water wetter" + distiller water and a minor amount of antifreeze?
I can see alot of places that bolt on mods could produce more power (and make the engines run better), but I don't know all the parameters on how these boat motors are made. The new impellers look nice but I don't know the differences besides the marketing propaganda..
 
I am learning the hard way I bought a boat with too many mods and to many head aches. I have to agree with everyone else stay stock. if you want a faster boat buy a faster boat. use factory recomended oils and fluids. they will only recomend the best. :agree: :cheers:
 
Welcome INZANE....

I think that was how you spelled it. Welcome to the forum!....Those big for canisters have to do with the engines resonance. The exhaust systems are tuned, cooled exhaust, to make the engines more efficient and quiet.
I know your point on a mass produced engine but for some reason, I don't think that applies to these motors. Rotax was started in 1921, in Austria if I remember right, then moved to Germany. These guys have spent over 80 years making high quality motors for the aircraft, motorcycle, snowmobile, watercraft and numereous other applications, that cutting corners, would have kept them from becoming a world class leader in engine design.
With their patented RAVE (rotax adjustable variable exhaust), they have found a way to make the engine breath so good, it provides the highest output for the best efficiency of any other engine in it's class. How many 110 horse power engines have you been able to actually pick up and carry to your work bench?
My wife just came in.....I'll have to come back and edit this later.....BTW, my opinion will be a biased one to the Rotax, in case you haven't already noticed.
Now.....I'm at work, so to finish.
What I like the most about the Rotax, is that even though you can mod them if you want to race or for whatever reason, you can do it. But why?
If I could use an example, then I'll shut up. It's like buying a new Camaro. Yeah, the engine is fast, but I can make it faster if I buy the new Z06 engine they use in the Corvette. That's a mod. But If I buy the Corvette, would I want to do another mod?.....No....it's already high performance.
My point is the Rotax is already built to be a high performance type engine.
But, to each his or her own when it comes to "mods"...........
 
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Mods..

I can certainly see your points regarding mods. I don't want to start boring motors and changing cams or anything like that.

But many times engines, for any purpose, will have to be built to work in any environment they could possibly end up in, or things are made to err on the side of safety. If you know the parameters you're going to operate in, then running them a little closer to the edge may be perfectly safe.
Example would be, mods to make the engine run cooler or breath a little better, etc. On my car project, we went to lower thermostat, distilled water + redline and 20% antifreeze, and 1 step colder plugs, and had some power increases without sacrificing any longevity etc.

I do get your points, though. There probably aren't going to be any major improvements to power output because most of them have been already thought of, and in the marine industry they can push it to the edge a little closer than the car industry due to the different way insurances and emissions, etc would apply. 100hp per liter naturally aspirated is pretty damn good.

Part of the problem is, there are people like me out there that have a build a better mousetrap mentality. Everything that is invented must have something that you can tweak or improve on, and people like me want to find it, even if its obscure or not feasible yet.. :)

So educate me on impellers. Solas makes 2 models that fit the speedster 200. differences? What about switching to a solas impeller and the stainless steel wear ring - less sensitive to weeds and whatnot?
 
:cheers:I have read that the stainless wear ring only leads to premature impeller problems as the stock wear ring takes the blunt of most problems. this is only what I have read. It seems that it may be true to me. good luck. robin ps. a different impeler may give you what you are looking for. but I am not sure mph change is worth the $$:cheers:
 
Inzane...."modder"...

Inzane, your responses to these queries lead me to believe your pretty damn smart. I think you know exactly what your going after. But, now that I know we are talking about the M-2, Mercury engine, I'm not to sure what all you can do. I know they made two different models, one carbed and one injected. Carbed 210hp and injected 240.
It's a pretty tough engine, but hard finding mods for. Your best bet will be a mod on the impeller, but I don't think even Solas has a mod for that impeller. I"ll have to look around. The Solas intake grate may help a little, mostly hole shot, since it's suppose to keep cavitation to a minimum.:cheers:
 
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