'04-present X-Star owners, what engine???

Which engines are ya'll running? Pro's and Con's? I'm thinking about the L18 or the LY6, any input? Thanks a lot...

my fam has the L18 i think, if thats the one with 525 ft. lbs. of torque, the guy at the dealer said we didnt need it, but that engine definetly fits the boat, he said it would be over powered but it isnt, i would go with that one, its great for yankin people outta the water

I have the MCX 350 it does the job well. I think I would have like some more horses. At higher alt it is a little slow out of the hole but I can fix it with a different prop.

We currently have the 400HP motor which I think is new for this year. It jumps on plane quick and we run it pretty heavy. It gets on plane like an X1 with the MCX. The high altitide at Bullards Bar definitely challenged it though. We had to run it slightly lighter, but at the lake, the wake is bigger than the Delta.

Prior to this motor we had the 8.1 big block in the Bone Crusher. That motor was unbelievable, but sucked gas like nothing else. Affording it is one thing, feeding it is another. If you could control your urge to drop the hammer everytime you pulled someone up, it would probably do very well.

I've ridden behind a very heavily weighted X-star with an MCX also. It took a little longer to get on plane, but it still did the job. The owner repropped it though. Travis Moye will tell you the MCX is sufficient.

Ryan,

I think it depends a lot on how often and heavily you are going weight the boat. I have the MCX with the 14.25x14 on it, and think that it handles most situations really well. I can easily run a little over 3000lbs in ballast and 4 or 5 people. If I put 7 or 8 people it starts to struggle a bit and I have to drain some ballast. But, I only run heavily weighted less than a quarter of the time. If I ran fully weighted like that ALL the time, I might look into something else. But, I would guess most people don't run that much weight all the time, and if they do, they probably don't need to. So unless you are running really heavy or at super high altitude you should be fine with that. If you want a little more juice go with the LY6, I would say the L18 for most people is overkill.

I have had two 8.1 L's and just bought the LY6 in my new boat. The LY6 IMO is a much better motor. It gets way better fuel mileage than the 8.1. It also seems to have just as much torque when the boat is weighted down. On top of that a better price tag.

After having the L18 in my '04 and in my '07 I'm just about convinced to go with the new 6L in '09. I had the previous 6L in my '03 X-30 and liked it but wasn't all that impressed. Funny that it's just recently dawned on me that the 8.1 just hogs gas. I can run through 40gal in a day easily. I love the torque and what not, but I think it's simply not worth the initial investment, nor the consumption when it really comes down to it. If you read some previous posts about this topic, I'm the biggest advocate for the Big Block, but I guess presented with a engine that has almost the same power(LY6), and less consumption I might be sold.

What about the Diesel that MC is currently offering? Does anyone have any experience with it and how does it compare to the talked about motors? (not trying to hijack here)

Patrick, thats a good point. I wonder if it is even an option on the X-Star. Anyone know for sure...?

Is the LY6 motor the same as the ZR6 from PCM?

"Is the LY6 motor the same as the ZR6 from PCM?"

The LY6 is not at all the same as the ZR6, except for displacement.

The ZR6 is a stroked "classic" 5.7 GM block, along with the Indmar 383 Hammerhead used on Bu's. The same block most inboards use nowadays.

The LY6 is a Gen. 3 GM block like all the new Checy/GMC trucks use. It has aluminum heads, variable valve timing, coil near plug ignition.

Good reading here, HP and torque values:
http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/engines/specialized/marine/index.htm

The ZR6 is not listed here nor is the Indmar 383 used on the Bu's. Indmar and PCM customize these engines on their own.

I got some good intel this weekend that Indmar is going to drop the L18 big block. I was told the LY6 and 383 work so well that they decided the L18 was not an effective option due to gas consumption, noise, vibration, cost etc.

Wow, I must say thats interesting to hear about the L18 Ron. Not shocking, but interesting. According to the GM brochures it's a 100ft pounds of difference in torque across the board between the 8.1 and the 6L. Wonder what Indmar specs the torque #'s as.

I to am in my final stages of ordering an 08 X-Star and have to make a decission on which motor. I won't be running extra ballast nor do I have more that 3-4 adults in the boat at a time.
I was going to go with the L18 but with the rumour that it may be dropped I am now unsure.
Is there any downside to ordering my boat with the LY6 versus the L18 such as resale value etc.?
Can any of the dealers comment on the motor most ordered with new 08 X-Stars?

Thanks

Your never going to get the $ out of the L18 on the resale end. For your application I would say it is defiantly overkill if you never run extra weight or more than a couple of people. I would venture to guess that 2/3 - 3/4 of X-Stars out there are running the MCX, and are more than happy.

I had the '04 star and I'm now in an '06 - both had the MCX in it. I like to run the stock tanks full, 2 550's in the back, and about 10 people in the boat. I have the new XMP edge prop on my '06 and it's worth it's weight in gold. I was propped down in my '04 but I had problems getting out with the weight I had in it.

With the '06 using the edge prop it runs at about 3800 RPMs and has no problem getting out of the hole. You can opt for the bigger engine (LY6?) but in all honesty the MCX will do the trick with that new prop.

Not trying to give all the praise to OJ for their new prop... I've heard great things about the ACME prop too but I haven't tested it out.