Engine size for R3

[Big Block Power]

This is a hard one. 430 vp new tech, direct injection. 6.2l
The weight savings is huge. But how long will these last at the rpms they are spinning them. If you want captains call the 8.2 is your engine. Mean and lean. I think torgue wise the 8.2 wins hands down and I think that's why VP won't post it. But they are heavy and they will use a bit more gas sure. But that's not what you're worried about buying a 430. Rpm wise the merc revs a 1000 rpms less. Old and true. I think speed and everything else is going to be about the same.
We have seen some VP engines hydrolock. I think most have been on surf models though.

[Richie]

Also the 6.2 will be screaming at you at wot where the 8.2 BB says keep pushing me baby I like this!!

Ok... one more time for the performance peeps.

Hell I’d just sit at the dock idling with a lemonade.

That sounds spectacular

[Richie]

This is a hard one. 430 vp new tech, direct injection. 6.2l
The weight savings is huge. But how long will these last at the rpms they are spinning them. If you want captains call the 8.2 is your engine. Mean and lean. I think torgue wise the 8.2 wins hands down and I think that's why VP won't post it. But they are heavy and they will use a bit more gas sure. But that's not what you're worried about buying a 430. Rpm wise the merc revs a 1000 rpms less. Old and true. I think speed and everything else is going to be about the same.
We have seen some VP engines hydrolock. I think most have been on surf models though.

Thanks for the write up, I’m thinking of 8.2 Mercury. Not a fan of high RPM power, prop charts show a legit 59 mph. Although time to plane is a half a second slower.

[Big Block Power]

This is a hard one. 430 vp new tech, direct injection. 6.2l
The weight savings is huge. But how long will these last at the rpms they are spinning them. If you want captains call the 8.2 is your engine. Mean and lean. I think torgue wise the 8.2 wins hands down and I think that's why VP won't post it. But they are heavy and they will use a bit more gas sure. But that's not what you're worried about buying a 430. Rpm wise the merc revs a 1000 rpms less. Old and true. I think speed and everything else is going to be about the same.
We have seen some VP engines hydrolock. I think most have been on surf models though.

Thanks for the write up, I’m thinking of 8.2 Mercury. Not a fan of high RPM power, prop charts show a legit 59 mph. Although time to plane is a half a second slower.

Please add captains call. Just so it has it. Put me down for your 10 year plan

We ready to talk about colors yet?

[Richie]

This is a hard one. 430 vp new tech, direct injection. 6.2l
The weight savings is huge. But how long will these last at the rpms they are spinning them. If you want captains call the 8.2 is your engine. Mean and lean. I think torgue wise the 8.2 wins hands down and I think that's why VP won't post it. But they are heavy and they will use a bit more gas sure. But that's not what you're worried about buying a 430. Rpm wise the merc revs a 1000 rpms less. Old and true. I think speed and everything else is going to be about the same.
We have seen some VP engines hydrolock. I think most have been on surf models though.

Thanks for the write up, I’m thinking of 8.2 Mercury. Not a fan of high RPM power, prop charts show a legit 59 mph. Although time to plane is a half a second slower.

Please add captains call. Just so it has it. Put me down for your 10 year plan

We ready to talk about colors yet?

that’s pretty good!

[Chrispval]

My two cents. Buy an R5 with a 380. Same price as an R3 with a 430 Merc. You wont be dissapointed, and in fact will likely love the big water handling of the 5 vs. 3. 1 season in my R3 has me needing a R5 or R7.
I think you will also have better resale.
I also think the 430 will leave you dissatisfied in an R. Cobalt builds a fabulous boat, but its just not optimized for speed. You will never have a 70 mph boat in an R series unless you jump to twins in A R30. Maybe I am wrong, but I haven seen many posting speeds over 60

[Big Block Power]

Thanks for the write up, I’m thinking of 8.2 Mercury. Not a fan of high RPM power, prop charts show a legit 59 mph. Although time to plane is a half a second slower.

Please add captains call. Just so it has it. Put me down for your 10 year plan

We ready to talk about colors yet?

that’s pretty good!

Dreamsicle before they discontinue it. I apologize I built that with a VP years ago. Still dreaming through you guys. Lol

[Big Block Power]

My two cents. Buy an R5 with a 380. Same price as an R3 with a 430 Merc. You wont be dissapointed, and in fact will likely love the big water handling of the 5 vs. 3. 1 season in my R3 has me needing a R5 or R7.
I think you will also have better resale.
I also think the 430 will leave you dissatisfied in an R. Cobalt builds a fabulous boat, but its just not optimized for speed. You will never have a 70 mph boat in an R series unless you jump to twins in A R30. Maybe I am wrong, but I haven seen many posting speeds over 60

Hate to say it good point.

[Table Rockin]

My two sense. Buy an R5 with a 380. Same price as an R3 with a 430 Merc. You wont be dissapointed, and in fact will likely love the big water handling of the 5 vs. 3. 1 season in my R3 has me needing a R5 or R7.
I think you will also have better resale.
I also think the 430 will leave you dissatisfied in an R. Cobalt builds a fabulous boat, but its just not optimized for speed. You will never have a 70 mph boat in an R series unless you jump to twins in A R30. Maybe I am wrong, but I haven seen many posting speeds over 60

Hate to say it good point.

Also agree. There is no substitute for space and the 380 will perform mostly on par with the 430.

[ACM]

I am in the same situation, I will watch to see what other owners say. I’m leaning towards 380 Volvo or 430 Mercury.

I was even wondering if the VP 350 would be enough, but it's sounding like probably not.

I have the VP350 and it is more than enough. Actually, if you look at the torque/hp curves for the 300/350 you can see why many dealer stock boats sell with the 300. The engines follow the same curve until around 4,500 rpm then for the last bit the 300 flattens and the 350 climbs another 50 hp. That, plus a different prop provides another few mph.

This is my second Cobalt and I spoke to the dealer and someone at Cobalt about power choice. There was no question I was ordering a boat so no reason to lie and say the 300 or 350 was adequate to get me to a price point - they both said the 300 would be fine and if I regularly carried a full boat the 350 would a margin of additional performance. They both felt the 380 was unnecessary. I kept reading opinions here right up to the order lock date and just to be sure I wasn’t having second thoughts the dealer called me to double confirm the engine choice. He again said the 380 was unnecessary. That is what I ordered and have been completely satisfied.

My advice, if you are concerned, water test an R3 with both engines. Reading advice on a forum is useful to a point, but no substitute for a test drive.

Thanks for the feedback. My problem is that our dealership doesn't really have a boats. They're slowly starting to get some in, but they're already pre-sold. So, it makes test driving multiple boats much less even one nearly impossible. Very frustrating time to buy!!!

[Krob1114]

Nothing sparks debate here more than engine size.

Being a poor old man who had only dreamed of ever owning a Cobalt, much less a R series, much less brand new, we were more than happy to buy the stock 300. We did spend extra on the sound system, mooring cover, RGB lighting, soft mat, ects....but mainly because they were already on the boat...just like the VP 300.

We rarely cruise more than 35 mph. We've had a few weekends with 8 people, but most weekends 2-4 people. We've never had problem getting on plane. Not worried about re-sale due to the afore mentioned age. LOL.

[Kyboater]

Nothing sparks debate here more than engine size.

Being a poor old man who had only dreamed of ever owning a Cobalt, much less a R series, much less brand new, we were more than happy to buy the stock 300. We did spend extra on the sound system, mooring cover, RGB lighting, soft mat, ects....but mainly because they were already on the boat...just like the VP 300.

We rarely cruise more than 35 mph. We've had a few weekends with 8 people, but most weekends 2-4 people. We've never had problem getting on plane. Not worried about re-sale due to the afore mentioned age. LOL.

What he said. Don’t get me wrong, I love more HP as much as the next one. But the reason I bought my first Cobalt wasn’t because it had 320hp and only having 300hp in my current one didn’t keep me for buying it. (If I only went off the feedback from this site it probably would have.). To each their own. I’m loyal to Cobalt because of everything else they offer that separates them from the competition. The same engines can be found in other mfg boats. I could have easily bought a much Less expensive boat with 400+ hp and 2 feet longer. I agree there is nothing worse than an under powered boat but I think a lot of time people are splitting hairs over hp.
I’ve received more compliments on my R3 this season than in my previous 11 yrs of boating including my 2005 220 and not one person has asked me what size engine it has.

[BobRae99]

Nothing sparks debate here more than engine size.

Being a poor old man who had only dreamed of ever owning a Cobalt, much less a R series, much less brand new, we were more than happy to buy the stock 300. We did spend extra on the sound system, mooring cover, RGB lighting, soft mat, ects....but mainly because they were already on the boat...just like the VP 300.

We rarely cruise more than 35 mph. We've had a few weekends with 8 people, but most weekends 2-4 people. We've never had problem getting on plane. Not worried about re-sale due to the afore mentioned age. LOL.

I think you make a good point. For me, just getting into a Cobalt R series regardless of engine size is an amazing experience. I am convinced that Cobalt doesn't under-power it's boats to reduce the price entry point and that the base engines provide more than adequate performance. For your use, a VP300 is perfectly adequate for how you use your boat. Aside from having 4 mph more top end than you with the VP350 in my boat, I expect our experiences are the same, despite the engine difference.

I'd suggest to the OP that even if he can't test drive an R3, it is a wonderful boat regardless of what engine you put in it. Our family has spent many hours floating in a quite bay, swimming, listening to music, waterskiing and just hanging out. I don't think we'd have any more fun if we had a VP430 it it.

On my next boat (likely an R6), I'll upsize to a 380 to keep the top speed in the low 50's range of my R3 and spend the extra money on a windlass - an option I didn't order for my current boat and which is sorely missed. I have no doubt BigBlock would throw the windlass overboard (along with all of that weight) and put the largest possible engine in because that is how he rolls.

[Big Block Power]

Nothing sparks debate here more than engine size.

Being a poor old man who had only dreamed of ever owning a Cobalt, much less a R series, much less brand new, we were more than happy to buy the stock 300. We did spend extra on the sound system, mooring cover, RGB lighting, soft mat, ects....but mainly because they were already on the boat...just like the VP 300.

We rarely cruise more than 35 mph. We've had a few weekends with 8 people, but most weekends 2-4 people. We've never had problem getting on plane. Not worried about re-sale due to the afore mentioned age. LOL.

I think you make a good point. For me, just getting into a Cobalt R series regardless of engine size is an amazing experience. I am convinced that Cobalt doesn't under-power it's boats to reduce the price entry point and that the base engines provide more than adequate performance. For your use, a VP300 is perfectly adequate for how you use your boat. Aside from having 4 mph more top end than you with the VP350 in my boat, I expect our experiences are the same, despite the engine difference.

I'd suggest to the OP that even if he can't test drive an R3, it is a wonderful boat regardless of what engine you put in it. Our family has spent many hours floating in a quite bay, swimming, listening to music, waterskiing and just hanging out. I don't think we'd have any more fun if we had a VP430 it it.

On my next boat (likely an R6), I'll upsize to a 380 to keep the top speed in the low 50's range of my R3 and spend the extra money on a windlass - an option I didn't order for my current boat and which is sorely missed. I have no doubt BigBlock would throw the windlass overboard (along with all of that weight) and put the largest possible engine in because that is how he rolls.

Bob I love you man. I would keep the windless. I like bling. I would never use it as I anchor in 3 ft of water.
I like your thinking Bob but highly disappointed in you for even saying a 380 for windless. You can afford the 430 just do 1 thing for me buddy
Honestly great advise on here. Mostly mine but I'm humble.
Good luck on your choice. 430!hint hint.