Update on Engines used in Surf, Wake, and Ski boats for the 2021 Model Year.

We have previously discussed that many of the dealers as well as boat and engine manufacturers have been using potentially deceptive specs when talking about the engines used in our segment.  In an effort to get accurate information out, we posted engine testing results published by the California Air Resources Board.  If you have not seen our previous blog post please follow this link…

For 2020 there are some new engine offerings so we thought it was time to update our prior post.  First off, lets cover standard warranty terms because there have been some changes.

Brand                    Years                  Hours
Ilmor                       7                       1000
PCM                       5                       1000
Indmar                    5                        600
Malibu                    5                        500

2020 CARB Wake, Surf, Ski Boat Engine Test Results

CARB is the California Air Resources Board.  They require that every engine sold in California undergo EPA Certified emissions testing which also measures engine output in kW and Nm.  The conversion from kW to HP has been done in the above chart.  To convert Nm to the more commonly used Ft/Lbs., divide the Nm torque spec by 1.356.  So as an example, the 2020 Ilmor 6.0 MPI engine makes 550 Nm/1.356 = 405.604 Ft. Lbs. of peak torque while the PCM engine derived off the same platform makes 476Nm/1.356 = 351.032 Ft. Lbs. of torque.  As of today, Nautique’s web site is marketing that this engine makes 400 HP and 400 Ft. Lbs. of Torque.  

Form what we have seen, Ilmor and Indmar have been using CARB data in their marketing.  This has not been the case with PCM and the boat manufacturers using their products.  Malibu has also used marketing specs that do not match CARB/EPA Certified testing data.

Malibu’s web site stated that the 2020 M5Di makes 400 Ft. Lbs. and 360 HP while CARB found that engine to produce 373 Ft. Lbs and 345 HP.  Malibu’s web site says the M6Di generates 460 Ft. Lbs of torque and 430 HP.  CARB data shows only 386 HP and 446.165 Ft. Lbs. of torque.

We will keep updating marketing specs. VS. CARB Test Data because many boat buyers use this marketing information when making purchasing decisions.  For our segment, CARB Data is the only scientifically accurate measure that is equal across the brands and motors.

For comparison sake, We made a chart grouping the most common engines used by Ilmor, PCM, and Malibu.  The majority of boats sold by those manufacturers will have one of three engines based on the GM 6.0, 5.3 GDI, or 6.2 GDI.  To make comparison easier, we grouped them by base engine and listed the CARB test data compared to the marketing information used by MasterCraft, Correct Craft, and Malibu on their web sites as of 2/22/20.  We converted torque to Ft. Lbs. since that seems to be the more common unit of measure.

We have not referenced it previously, but a higher number of emissions stars is better and is achieved by lower levels of engine emissions.

As you can see some of the OEM’s are overstating performance measurements by over 10%.  

It was our original intention as it is now to publish information which can be used to compare products on a level playing field not thru the eyes of a marketing department!

The CARB data used in this post can be found HERE.