340 Owners

[susanandlance]

Can any 340 owners share their knowledge on performance of the 340 w/6.2's (377 c.i.) vs the ol' Iron tank 7.4's (454c.i.) w/the V-drive set ups?? I looked at a 340 this weekend w/the 6.2's. Thanks in advance!! I def. want the v-drives cause the boat will be marina stored, outdrives are just a nightmare left in the water.

 

[vandal]

The 7.4 are great power wise. 6.2 seem to sell at big discount of 10 to 15000.00.

 

[rcknecht]

I have fresh water cooled FWC 7.4 MPIs and they run fine, no problems so far knock on fiber glass... The 6.2 are mostly Raw water cooled... I prefer the FWC engines, living in a salt water area...

 

[Knot It]

I cant speak with any authority on this but will surely pass along the info I got when I asked a similar question about the 340 w/ 7.4 mag mpi v-drives.

[h=2]Re: NEW '01 340 Owner here!!![/h]

Knot it,

We have had our 2001 340 for 3 years and have put 360 hours on the engines. We have spent 7 to 8 days at a time on the boat. Our longest cruise was 830 miles. You should enjoy your trip down the Illinois River. Please see fuel burn/speed/range chart that I made. It is very close to what you will see from your boat. Have fun.
Speeds by GPS
Fuel Flows by computer connected to engines.
RANGE IS 215 GALLONS
RPM MPH GPH MPG RANGE
700 3.9 2.0 1.95 419
1000 6.0 3.6 1.66 358
1200 6.8 4.4 1.55 333
1500 7.9 7.0 1.13 242
2000 12.4
2500 18.6
3000 16.9 24.0 .70 158
3200 20.5 26.6 .77 164
3400 24.1 30.6 .79 168
3500 25.0 31.0 .80 172
3600 26.4 33.4 .79 170
3800 28.0 34.8 .80 172
4000 29.5 38.0 .77 164
4300 32.6 47.6 .68 147​

 

[VinceR]

We have the raw water cooled 7.4 engines with v-drives. Our 340 performs very well. I do not have any experience with the 6.2 engines. However, the 6.2 engines do not seem to be as popular as the 7.4s. Even though we dry store our boat we prefer the v-drives over out drives on this size boat. However, out drives will give better gas mileage. We have had our boat for over 3 years.

 

[susanandlance]

Thanks for the info everyone!!!

 

[Ididntdoit]

the 99 - 02 340 w/6.2s will perform better than an '02-07 320 with the same engines due to the fact it has less deadrise (most people seem to be happy with their v-drive 320s - some wern't and traded to 340s - touchy subject here) - as far as an '03-08 340 is concerned - I don't think you can even get it with 6.2/v-drive - if you could it would be a real dog

 

[susanandlance]

Do you guy's know when they started putting the 496's in the 340's?? And is the rumor true about the 496's having crank or rod bearing problems??

 

[Ididntdoit]

Th problem with the 496s that I heard about were wristpin related - as in the pistons desintigrated - these motors used cast internal parts (crank, pistons) and, especially in heavier boats, sometimes had problems. the 496s have a much longer stroke than the 454s (thats where they get the extra cubes/torque and that puts even more stress on the rotating assembly as RPM rises - In the "olden days" all of the HP motors (magnums, etc) had forged pistons, cranks, and 4 bolt mains for longevity purposes - these parts add no power, just cost more $$$

all of the above said - I dont think any 496 problems are chronic - the BBC is an extrmely robust motor and most people seem to get many many hours out of them - like everything mechanical, maintenance is key.

 

[susanandlance]

Thanks for the info Ididntdoit, probably best to just stick w/the Ol' reliable 454/7.4's, had one in my Baja 212 and i couldn't have asked for a better/tough motor. thanks again!!

 

[Ididntdoit]

I don't think you can go wrong either way - For an automotive/hot rod application I prefer the 502 - the big bore/4' stroke combination offers better HP potential - not as popular in the marine enviornment as torque is king and the siameese bore block can be troublesome.

 

[susanandlance]

I don't think you can go wrong either way - For an automotive/hot rod application I prefer the 502 - the big bore/4' stroke combination offers better HP potential - not as popular in the marine enviornment as torque is king and the siameese bore block can be troublesome.

I have a friend that re-powered his 350 DA w/502's, it was also a favorite of Fountain boats and Bajas i believe.