40 or 50 for Tornado 4.8

[hyperlon]

Seeking advise and opinions for the next engine... Getting tired of carbs so looking to upgrade from 4stroke carburated to 4 stroke EFI on a Tornado 4.8.

In-budget EFI options 40,50,60 hp but the best offer looks like to be a newer than others 40hp Mercury EFI. Will there be a noticable difference between 40 and 50? Or would it be better to go for 60

[jeffstevens763@g]

60

[chipko]

If budget allows I’d go 60 also. The Merc 50 is the same 995cc 4 cyl block as the 60 so won’t be far behind as torque will be similar. Most Merc 40’s are the 747cc 3 cyl blocks although I think Mercury did also do a 995cc 4 cyl version.

We have a Mariner 60 on our 5m XS and performance is fine, although wouldn’t want any less. Propped for towing, but lightly loaded it tops out at 33/34kn and cruises all day at 22/23kn at 4000/4500rpm.

[spartacus]

60hp every time or whatever the transom rating is. I've got a Tohatsu carbed 60hp tweaked to 70hp on the back of my RIBcraft 4.8. Runs fine with 15" pitch prop, but perfect with a 17" pitch. All depends on weight of boat, number of people on board and what you want from it.

[hyperlon]

ok this is really helpful no votes for a 40 and as 50 and 60 have the same price and weight I guess its going to be 60 then. But the steering cable is only rated for 55hp is that going to be a problem? Or do I need new steering as well and if so which one..

[jeffstevens763@g]

as a comparison i had a 50 hp evinrude two stroke on this and it planed well with 4 up i changed to the 60 hp yamaha high thrust four stroke it was mind blowingly fast.
as spartacus states go as big as possible if budget allows

[two stroke mick]

Have 60 hp on a 4.9 m valiant rib I have to agree that 60 hp is a good size match for this size of a boat

Tsm

[pagick]

I have a zodiac mk2 futura sib. I found a used merc 40 efi the performance was disappointing. It really was a buzz kill to my excitement I had for my new boat. Sold it and got etec60. Now I love my boat.
“More is More”

[lakelandterrier]

I'd always go for the largest engine you can afford within the hull / transom rating for general use (different if say a safety boat on a lake).

If you go for less you'll always be wondering "what would it have been like if I'd gone for the extra HP?"

Extra power is always useful to have in reserve

[smallribber]

I have a 60hp on my 4.5 Rib, a 15 HP on my 3.6 Rib and 115hp on each of a pair of 5.2 m Fletcher bow riders.

Based on this I agree with most others on here that on a 4.8 m Rib if buying new I would go for a 60hp. 50hp would be ok but you would be missing out on the WOW factor as you push the throttle forward.

On my 4.5 m Rib (60hp) at Full throttle it is a little scary and you tend to throttle back a bit. I think you need this feeling to really enjoy your toys

On the other side of the coin I have a 135 hp inboard in a 19ft sports cruiser and I sort of always feel I would like more power

In short go for the 60 yolu will not regret it

[9D280]

I've not crawled the specs, but assuming the three are all the same lump with varying degrees of de-rating, I would also vote for the 60 if the transom can take it.

Most of the reason I have a clamshell is the age of my hull I can only put something like 110Kg on there. (from memory) Even an autolube Yam was at that weight - so no capacity for an aux.... The Clamshell was the lightest 60 I could find.

On a similar theme I used to have an SR4 with a Suz 25 on the transom. Tweaked it to 30, and the extra 5HP was very noticeable, especially if I had 2 on board with me.

If you have more gee gees you can always throttle back. If you are already flat out, you can't magic extra HP from nowhere when you have extra passengers!

[tebay91]

We have a 60HP on our Valiant 4.9. Goes very well.