R7 380 vs 430 - any hands on?

[Ballvice]

And you're very correct. There is little to no storage. The A25 has more than the R7.

Not sure I'm going to like that about giving up my regal.

[Ballvice]

Amy insight on the Cobalt accent lighting. Do they sell it as a Kit - wonder if it's easy to install?

[Big Block Power]

We use our onboard cooler for storage. Will never have ice in it. I think Cobalt in general is lacking in good useable storage. Everything is the shape of the hull. Makes it difficult to lay stuff flat. I'm referring to my older model boat. I have not looked that close to the boats your looking at so I could be wrong on that. They are going for the wide body feel inside the boat. We really miss the storage on the sides of the Crownline. It was great to stuff your shoes or towels in the side pockets.
Also the 8.2 only uses 4gph @ 3000 rpm more than the 6.0 yes 300 lbs more. Not much info on real consumption or torque on the 6.2. New tech will be nice. But loaded up and a heavy boat bb has its advantages also. Plus living 30 miles from merc you have to support them.

The 6.0 & 6.2 each Make 380&430hp no difference there. The difference well come in how they perform. 6.2 well win in that. They are more efficient and have better torque. That's the tech in them. But they will have to prove themselves first.

[Skiingstrongman]

I definitely think the head eats up mega storage space. That's one of the reasons I prefer the A25 over R5 but once you go to A28 vs R7 they both have a head. Personally I have an unhealthy collection of RTIC coolers so I prefer that. I use the onboard coolor for storage of my cleaning materials. But the difference is I am slipped so I am carrying the coolor from the car no matter what so it's actually an extra step to load the stuff in the cooler for me.

Regarding engines I guess time will tell. The pitch on the new Volvos is to dispel the displacement argument. So I can't say but these guys know a heck of a lot more about engines than I do. I do know that I have the merc 5 liter 300 HP and my father has the older 7 liter 300 HP in his boat similar size mine is a tad heavier. He smokes my boat. He picks up 5-6 mph top speed which probably is a combination of a faster, lighter hull (226 vs 230) and larger engine. The biggest difference is my loss of speed is pretty linear. I lose 5-6 mph top end with 2 people vs 10 people with gear he loses maybe 2-3 loaded to the max with people and gear. Also he uses close to 20% more fuel. But just to be clear these are older engines he has a 2000 Volvo in his 2001 I have a 2010 in my 2010

[Tuscany]

I personally like a portable cooler because I can load it with food, ice and drinks in my kitchen, and then one trip into the boat...and we're ready.
Thinner gunwales means less storage. I get where Cobalt is going, and if given a choice, I'd rather have the interior room.
I guess I'm going to buy a soft side cooler to drop into the boat.

IMHO, Horsepower figures are misleading, and are simple categorized sales pitches and do not tell the story.
Tell me what the torque figures are, and I'll tell you how the engine will actually perform. Cam grind/timing along with high compression make torque, and where it appears in the rpm range is from cam timing. VVT is a huge advantage in broadening the torque range.
Since torque numbers are misteriously non existent, we don't have a lot to compare.
Anyone find a torque graph that I may have missed?

[Skiingstrongman]

I agree with you. We don't hear it as much with stern drive since the options are far more limited but with outboard engines you will regularly hear this is a strong 200 and this is a light 175 for example for that exact reason. There are motors marketed with the same HP that one significantly outperforms the other in a particular situation loaded/unloaded, calm/rough, stepped/nonstepped etc.

[Ballvice]

I called Cobalt yesterday and they have all of this - I bet I could have asked him better questions to get those.

Note the HP in the engine options for the R7. 300 and 350?

[Tuscany]

I called Cobalt yesterday and they have all of this - I bet I could have asked him better questions to get those.

Note the HP in the engine options for the R7. 300 and 350?

I'm not getting what you are saying here..

[Tuscany]

I agree with you. We don't hear it as much with stern drive since the options are far more limited but with outboard engines you will regularly hear this is a strong 200 and this is a light 175 for example for that exact reason. There are motors marketed with the same HP that one significantly outperforms the other in a particular situation loaded/unloaded, calm/rough, stepped/nonstepped etc.

I can drone on about engine building.
Like the 6.0l, the difference between the 380 and 430 will probably be head flow and cam lift and duration. Head flow always helps in a big way, but higher lift and duration can be a double edge sword by possibly moving the sweet spot up into the RPM range where most of us family boaters seldom use, unless you like to run WOT. That's why a mild cam is used for all around performance, and high lift for top end rpm racing. Again, I would love to see a torque graph between the two.

I would love the 430 if the torque curve was down low to mid, but the imo, I don't get the dramatic price difference... there is no 11K worth or performance parts difference. I don't see a turbocharger/intercooler set up..
Probably a 2-3k upgrade would be about right.

[Ballvice]

I called Cobalt yesterday and they have all of this - I bet I could have asked him better questions to get those.

Note the HP in the engine options for the R7. 300 and 350?

I'm not getting what you are saying here..

I called Cobalt to get the info on the Time to Plane and top end (WOT) - for the 380 and 430 - they have all the data - I didn't ask for Tq - but if I would have asked - I bet he would have shared it with me and I could have posted it - sorry ;(

FAIL

[Ballvice]

I don't think I can justify the cost difference - and yes - you guys can yell at me -

If I'm not pulling one of the kids - then the boat has 2 speeds - STOP and WOT -

I like to get there - fast

[Tuscany]

What was the time to plane difference?

[Big Block Power]

Yea you just left us hanging.lol

[Ballvice]

Time to plane was 1.3 sec difference - with the 380 winning out.

[Ballvice]

I think it was 3.1 vs 4.4 sec.

Not a huge difference - but enough -

Top end was 3-4 MPH faster. I would have thought more.

I drove a 2015 380. It was a 40kt boat - not a 50 MPH boat -

I drove a regal 2800 - it hit 51 MPH - quickly.