Yamaha engine reliability at high RPMs?

[FunTech4Real]

I like to drive my boats near max RPMs for hours at a time. My Scarab 165 has a 300 HP Rotax engine and I drove it around 7100 RPMs (which makes it go about 50 MPH) for the majority of the 150 hours that it has on it before the engine blew up (literally a big hole in the engine). The dealer has had the boat for nearly a month now and we are still waiting on a warranty approval. The boat was maintained exceptionally well, so it has me wondering if that 300 HP Rotax engine is really designed to be driven around 7100 RPMs 90% of the time. The engine is made for jet skis, and in a jetski 7100 RPMS from that engine will have you going over 65 MPH. I don't think many people ride their jetski over 65 MPH 90% of the time they are driving it.

I also have two Seadoo Sparks with 90 HP naturally aspirated engines. I ride these things even harder, at full throttle about 95% of the time that I'm on them (because they only go 45-50 MPH at full throttle). My two Seadoo Sparks have a combined 400 hours of engine time, and I've only had 1 minor engine issue that entire time.

I recently got a Yamaha 222XE with the twin 1.9L naturally aspirated engines. I like to cruise at 45+ MPH, which is around 7200-7400 RPMS. Is driving the boat like this 90% of the time going to make my engines blow up? I know that these engines were first introduced a couple years ago, so there's likely not a lot of information on them, but the previous generation Yamaha engines were around for about a decade and were very similar. Does anyone know how well the previous generation of 1.8L naturally aspirated engines would hold up being driven that hard?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I like to drive my boats near max RPMs for hours at a time. My Scarab 165 has a 300 HP Rotax engine and I drove it around 7100 RPMs (which makes it go about 50 MPH) for the majority of the 150 hours that it has on it before the engine blew up (literally a big hole in the engine). The dealer has had the boat for nearly a month now and we are still waiting on a warranty approval. The boat was maintained exceptionally well, so it has me wondering if that 300 HP Rotax engine is really designed to be driven around 7100 RPMs 90% of the time. The engine is made for jet skis, and in a jetski 7100 RPMS from that engine will have you going over 65 MPH. I don't think many people ride their jetski over 65 MPH 90% of the time they are driving it.

I also have two Seadoo Sparks with 90 HP naturally aspirated engines. I ride these things even harder, at full throttle about 95% of the time that I'm on them (because they only go 45-50 MPH at full throttle). My two Seadoo Sparks have a combined 400 hours of engine time, and I've only had 1 minor engine issue that entire time.

I recently got a Yamaha 222XE with the twin 1.9L naturally aspirated engines. I like to cruise at 45+ MPH, which is around 7200-7400 RPMS. Is driving the boat like this 90% of the time going to make my engines blow up? I know that these engines were first introduced a couple years ago, so there's likely not a lot of information on them, but the previous generation Yamaha engines were around for about a decade and were very similar. Does anyone know how well the previous generation of 1.8L naturally aspirated engines would hold up being driven that hard?

I don’t have one of the boats with a 1.9L engine, but, I haven’t seen anyone on here have a problem with one yet. Other than around 2015(?) the 1.8’s, the predecessor to the 1.9 L engine those engines seem to be pretty bullet proof, again based on what I see here. Around 2015 some of the 1.8’s had cam chain failures.

Engine life can usually be tied directly to the amount of gallons of fuel burned, so if you’re running an engine at or near max rpm’s you’re burning more fuel per hour, so you could expect less hours of life. Keep an eye on the oil color, when it starts getting really dark change it then as opposed to the hours on your oil. Use the best oil and filters you can get, a full synthetic oil and either Amsoil or Mobil 1 oil filters, and let the engines AND the oil warm up fully before you run it wide open, don’t just idle away from the dock and stick your foot in the fan. I’m not sure what the service interval is on the valve lash for that engine, maybe 200 hours, but if you’re running it that hard you might want to have the valve lash checked or check it yourself at 50-60% of the service interval for a benchmark. Let the engines cool at idle for several minutes before shut down too. I also run non ethanol fuel and use Amsoil top end lubricant with each fill up.

https://www.amsoil.com/p/amsoil-upper-cylinder-lubricant-corrosion-inhibitor-ucl/

That’s not a direct answer to your question but it’s the best way I know of to maximize engine life.

 

[zipper]

I can’t speak for the 1.8’s or 1.9’s, but the 1.05 l MR-1’s spun at 10.5k rpm’s wot and around 48.6 mph, best I saw. I ran ours up there when the lake was glassy. More time spent around 8k rpm going 35-40 mph with up to 1 foot waves. They were loud and conversation was a yelling match at wot, lol. Never had any problems with the marinized mr-1’s. Their motorcycle cousins spun much higher. I understand you are asking about a different motor, so maybe an apples to oranges answer.

 

[Babin Farms]

Cruising at or near WOT for hours at a time? I’m not sure any consumer grade pleasure boat engine is “designed” for those conditions and my guess is that any engine is going to have some sort of issue enduring that type of use eventually.

 

[Neutron]

I dont know anyone who runs their skis or boats at max rpms for 90% of its run time. Anyone with the ability to scan the ecu can see where you spend most of your rpm range and might void a warranty if they see such data. Car manufacturers void warranties all the time based on the data in the ucu.

 

[jmargo]

I'm just trying to figure out how to spend 90% of the time near WOT.

 

[Neutron]

The OP has left the conversation i guess

 

[YoDaddy292]

People can argue but NO motor is going to last as long being run WFO 90% of the time. It is the equivalent of driving your car across the desert freeway in a gear lower than overdrive at 5000rpms.

 

[FunTech4Real]

People can argue but NO motor is going to last as long being run WFO 90% of the time. It is the equivalent of driving your car across the desert freeway in a gear lower than overdrive at 5000rpms.

My Axis T220 has a GM motor that is designed to be used in a car with a transmission that has 5-10 gears. In a car, that motor is typically riding in the 2,000-4,000 RPM range most of the time (5,500 RPMs max). I know that if I drive my Axis at 5k+ RPMS all day that the motor is not going to last, because its not designed for it.

The motors in my Yamaha 2222 are specifically designed for jet skis and boats. They are designed to rev to high RPMs, and they hardly even put out any power until you reach 6,000 RPMS.

 

[YoDaddy292]

Cars and Yamaha boats are apples to oranges as far as rpm’s go. I understand that. As far as running it near 7,000 rpm for constant cruising? You’re asking a lot from her. Top speed is still not the cruising speed of any boat. To cruise at 45 comfortably it should be a boat that tops out near 60 or more. It probably won’t break it but engine life will be reduced.

 

[Acard7]

Hey in the end it's your boat, and you'll be a great tester for the longevity of these new engines.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

A lot of sea doo people just run at W O T and do over the norm some at 80mph and more . This is a customers video showing it using my new trident steering and going 80 m p h with no chine walk and not throwing him off in turns these people are very hard on their skies I just received a couple of videos sent to me by a customer who is trying out the new Cobra Jet Trident Super Steering on his super charged Sea doo and... | By Cobra jet steering | Facebook