Do we really need a 6l to get 409hp?

[DW]

@jefverstrom: do we need 6 l to get 400-450 hp, no as it can be done using boosting technologies as mentioned or even hybrid technologies not applied as of yet.

 

Is there a better way than a super cheap, incredibly durable, reliable and bullet proof V8 for the marine environment? Right now, I would lean towards no, although not for any technical reasons. First, if you offered a high tech, lightweight boosted power unit for the DD market, the penetration would be really small. The only potential takers would be the hard core slalom gang as the rest of the market does not care about weight. Then, add in a ~$5k penalty (don't forget all the ancillaries need to be developed and someone has to pay for it and the base engines are much more costly), potential for less reliability (more and less proven parts), added cooling for the engine box for the resulting small wake change and I will bet you eliminate most (almost all) of the market.

 

A large reason for the demise of the ubiquitous SB-V8 is driven by government regulations in the auto industry, the marine industry is not facing the same level of scrutiny at this time. The reason the marine industry is starting to shift away from the SB-V8 is simply supply. They certainly don't want to change as the old small block engine was very inexpensive for the marinizers (Indmar, Mercruiser, Illmor, PCM) and also the complete engine was cheap for the boat manufacturers. Fuel economy and emissions in particular are not the key parameters for the marine world, cost and reliability are. One thing to think about if you have a small, boosted engine, what is the impact of losing the impeller? Not only will the repair bill be staggering, but the thermal issues under the engine box will be pretty significant.

 

Lastly, the new F1 engines produce significantly less power over the race distance than last years versions. They really don't get better fuel economy per say, they use a lot more KERS power and the cars run a lot slower than last year so over a lap or race take less power to do it. Not only that, they sound horrible!

 

[E_T]

@eficalibrator‌ twin ?? I'll take that just because I am a vette guy myself. What would a little alien have to do to take that sucker around the block