Re: help me find a 454 mag
Hey, I told you that the 454 wouldn't show up much in the boats you are interested in!
Okay... seriously... the power curve and H.P. rating of the 496/502 is just more suited to the bigger performance boats. The 454 might be found as a single engine up to about 23 or 24' of deep V boat. But the bigger deep V's of the genre you are interested in (25'+) need what the 496/502 bring to the table: Bigger torque and bigger HP. At 425 HP, a 26' Baja with a 496 MAG H/O plays in the low 60's. If it gives up torque and power and has 'only' a 454, she is a boat that plays in the 50's. Performance boats tend to crack the performance boat niche when they are in the 60's. Actually, at 24', you might find some 496/502 engines because that's where the 496/502 start to make sense. Some 454's in them 24-footers though. However, at 25' and over... they just ain't dropping in 454's unless the boat is more cruiser oriented.
There is no proverbial 'book' on this. It's an intangible thing. Over 24' and you're getting the 496/502 (8.1/8.2L)... and below that, it's the 454 (7.4L).
And over 28' you're likely getting twins. Well... why? Why? Because.... you can run a 30-foot boat on 425 HP (496 MAG H/O), but at that point it's not a performance boat at 48 MPH. It just isn't (by some unwritten standard).
Performance boat manufacturers don't want their flashy flagship models out there lugging along at 52 MPH. They want their most popular 24-27' models zipping along at 63, 64, 65 and so on. And... so do their customers. Heck, their customer base wants 70 MPH, but often can't afford it. But, they don't want 52-55.
Catch 22: You want a performance boat, but you want an engine that makes it no faster than a really quick fishing boat.
Why can't you get a 2.3 liter engine in a Corvette? Why can't you get a 245 HP V6 in one either? Seriously... this is the answer to your question.
. The Vette would be more economical and it'd be plenty good at 245 ponies (it had less for many years anyway). But... you can't get smaller engines in the Vette. Why?
