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is it worth upgrading to a newer 4-stroke?
- Thread starter bighvygsx
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brock1
New Member
supercharger= more maintenance ,,,, turbo= not as much,,,,, natural= basic maintenance ,,,,,, 2 stroke === PRICELESS ,,,, I guess if it were me buying a four stroke it would have to be a turbo since i love performance and less maintenance .... But i have a hard time getting aweay from the good old two stroke
I guess it depends on what you want and what you can afford. For me I like sport riding, and I like the size and weignt of a 2-stroke. I will have to admit there are advantages of a 4-stroke, all out power and top speed, and also they get much better gas mileage.
Personally I don't like the SeaDoo 4-strokes, they're just too big, too heavy, if I were going to spend that much money I would just get a SeaDoo boat.
I probably shouldn't say this on the forum, but honestly if I were going to buy a 4-stroke today, I would buy a Kawasaki. They are smaller, lighter, and priced more reasonably.
Lou
Personally I don't like the SeaDoo 4-strokes, they're just too big, too heavy, if I were going to spend that much money I would just get a SeaDoo boat.
I probably shouldn't say this on the forum, but honestly if I were going to buy a 4-stroke today, I would buy a Kawasaki. They are smaller, lighter, and priced more reasonably.
Lou
BMANN06
Well-Known Member
I've got about 4 hours playtime on a 4tec and about 10 hours of labour, that I've recently purchased, i'll give yah my 0.02.
First I'll never sell my two stroke speedster if the motors blow up I may just roll to the 4 tec jet boat though. I purchased a GTI that had the engine removed and disassembled completely, so as far as working on them I find its just as easy as the the 2 stroke although there are far more parts (internally) with the 4tec.
In terms of maintainence on the engine:
I think they are about even ... cleaning up rave valves is actually probably easier than changing the oil on a 4tec. (you have to use an oil extraction pump which takes forever ... its a PITA). There is also a closed loop cooling system with the 4tec that has pros and cons, but it needs to be flushed out every once in a while too. So I'd call it even with the flushing of the cooling system on the 2 stroke.
Maintaince on the pumps:
The same setup so no gains or losses for either engine type:
What I like about the 4tec:
1. much easier starting. Just press the start button and go. (No horsing around with choke/throttle like on my 2 strokes)
2. no injection oil (saves money)
3. better fuel economy (saves money)
4. better emissions (i'm not a greenie but we know its a good thing)
5. the 4tec should outlast a 2 stroke hour to hour if properly maintained
What I like about the 2 stroke
1. Parts are easily obtained and cost less
2. There is only 1 sensor (high temp) we all now how some electronics on modern engines fizzle out like alka seltzer when wet.
3. Get up to to speed faster
4. Exhaust smells better (my woman wanted me to add this)
This is of course my opinoin based on my experience .. take it with a grain of salt
Smokymance
Active Member
What kind of maintenance are these SC 4 stroke motors in need of? do you have to rebuild the SC every so often?
brock1
New Member
superchargers need to be rebuilt every 100 hours even if they show no obvious problems. As for the 4 TECH engines i still have an issue with a four stroker in something that is made to be ran WOT all the time and doing spins and overreving all the time.... the way i look at it is that it basically has a car motor in it and what happends when you continuously high rev a car???? Eventually it blows .... that being said i do agree with seadoolou on the brand... seadoo 4TECHS are extremely large and expensive... if you want to spend 12,000 on a PWC then you might as well buy a boat.. kawi brands are smaller and they are known for their reliability ....im not a brand loyal guy for the most part when it comes to toys other than the fact that i would only ever buy a seadoo 2 stroke and nothing else.....
Gamerse
New Member
I wouldn't buy a supercharged seadoo until the price bottoms out, the maintenance has to be a headache. If I had a supercharged seadoo, it would not be for long. I would convert to turbo. My daily beater has over 2,500 hours on the original turbo. My stealth R/T turbos had over 2,000 hours, and outlasted the engine. (long story short, timing belt idler pulley died) Claims based on driving 60miles=1hour, actual time is probably MUCH higher.
Turbo is superior in a pwc. People that go out to play, change rpm something crazy. A supercharger is never going to be happy under those conditions. A turbo will not be bothered by this. It will just re-spool and go. There are no gears to strip, no washers to disintegrate, and at worst when it fails, you'll just be embarrassed by a bunch blue smoke from the exhaust.
If you do go, go N/A 155+ or turbo.
:cheers:
Ernest
Turbo is superior in a pwc. People that go out to play, change rpm something crazy. A supercharger is never going to be happy under those conditions. A turbo will not be bothered by this. It will just re-spool and go. There are no gears to strip, no washers to disintegrate, and at worst when it fails, you'll just be embarrassed by a bunch blue smoke from the exhaust.
If you do go, go N/A 155+ or turbo.
:cheers:
Ernest
BMANN06
Well-Known Member
Hey Brock, I don't necessary agree with this. You are right to some degree, but marine engine manufactures do take the block from Auto Mfgs. And put their own crank and cam in to ensure longer life as they are desinged to run at constant high revs.
Agreed!! I have the N/A 130 and its underpowered for sure ...
brock1
New Member
yeah i see your point and i have no arguement with the fact that those particular engines are designed that way and its ok to run them hard....BUT.... i just cant see one being able to be ran like a 2 stroke can....maybe im wrong but its just m,y thinking ....2 strokes are meant to scream and run all balls constantly ....the way i see it is that 2 strokes want to play hard and 4 strokes are for cruising....
BMANN06
Well-Known Member
Maybe not underpowered (poor choice of words) ... but the ski certainly doesn't have the "scare factor" she is a family ski though ... bein' a three seater. I bought it to sell ... I guess my point is I am not surprised that they came out with a Supercharged version.
bighvygsx
New Member
It was actually a question. Hp to hp are 2 strokes stronger. For instance in the dirtbike world when they started mixing 2 and 4 stroke u had to have a 400+CC 4sroke to be in the 250cc 2 stroke class so is a newer 130hp 4 stoke Seadoo not as powerful as my 110 hp 2stroke 787 rfi?
BMANN06
Well-Known Member
I agree ... I started a thread awhile back to get an understanding of it ... There is a guy on my lake with a GSX i think it's got a 951 or a 787. I'll trade him up and do a comparison and post results. Here is a link to the thread I started awhile back.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?37528-2-Stroke-HP-vs.-4-Stroke-HP&highlight=
Gamerse
New Member
Bikes are a good analogy. The four strokes did not catch up for a while because two strokes made more HP per cc, have less moving parts, and subsequently weigh less.
Why is your 130hp fourstroke slower than my 130hp two stroke? Well, weight. Look at the dry weight of two strokes, only the "SUV" skis topped 650lbs. Everything else is in the 300-600lb range. All the fourstrokes start at 630+lbs, and those are the light ones! Most new seadoos start at 700lbs.... I rode a yamaha 1100 fourstroke three seater in the gulf this year, 110hp pig.... That is all I can say about it, piggy piggy piggy.
:cheers:
Ernest
Why is your 130hp fourstroke slower than my 130hp two stroke? Well, weight. Look at the dry weight of two strokes, only the "SUV" skis topped 650lbs. Everything else is in the 300-600lb range. All the fourstrokes start at 630+lbs, and those are the light ones! Most new seadoos start at 700lbs.... I rode a yamaha 1100 fourstroke three seater in the gulf this year, 110hp pig.... That is all I can say about it, piggy piggy piggy.
:cheers:
Ernest
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