Toyota Epic X22

[wotan2525]

I always liked these boats. The Toyota engine is supposed to use half the gas of a push-rod V8. I always wondered about the starters, alternators, etc. It's fuel injected and most of the other parts are the same as what they put in the cars. That being said, your failure rate for the starters would probably be very low compared to what we see with these Mexico rebuilt units we all put in our boats.

EpicMarine.com has the owners forum and is pretty active.

[vvfdfirefighter]

I always liked these boats. The Toyota engine is supposed to use half the gas of a push-rod V8. I always wondered about the starters, alternators, etc. It's fuel injected and most of the other parts are the same as what they put in the cars. That being said, your failure rate for the starters would probably be very low compared to what we see with these Mexico rebuilt units we all put in our boats.

EpicMarine.com has the owners forum and is pretty active.

I guess motor/ecu parts would be my main concern in a boat like this. The trans is a hurth and if I recall correct, they are still used today many by mercruiser.

[comp92]

my old boss at Toyota Motors had one. it sat in the shop all the time, thing never ran. too hard to get parts as stated above.
Toyota has always been about quality but not in the boating world. there is a reason you never see them on the water. they are rare or in shop.
stick with what you see. if there are 8+ supras on the lake, there are probably 8 people that will offer you a tow to the dock when the Toyota brakes down!

[ramzak]

I wouldn't buy a foreign boat. Plenty of good American boats with American power that will perform better. Avoid the foreign junk. Tiny engine, expensive parts, poor availability. Try getting a marine Starter on a weekend for that boat, or any other common failure item. Not gonna happen, and maybe not even by next weekend. Chevy or Ford power and any good marina or even Napa can get you that starter either same day in stock or next day worst case. Been there done that with Volvo engine in a relatives boat.

Bottom line, I buy American whenever possible be it used or new. Only time I buy foreign is with things that there just isn't an American option.

Totally disagree. Boats with Marinized car engines are so behind the technology. They use old outdated V-8's that get horrible fuel economy for the performance they give. I just bought an F-150 Eco Boost, V-6 Twin Turbo, more power than any truck I have driven and great fuel economy to boot.

Reliability??? American cars have a history of poor reliability. I was so excited when this boat came out with a Lexus engine, I thought "finally, a reliable boat!"

The parts problem is correct though.... Wish they never stopped making them.

I cant wait for boats to catch up to cars with technology, reliability, fuel economy, etc...

I felt that the Toyota Epic was the first boat to attempt that.

[92SupraComp]

Now, that eco boost of yours. Its only warranted to 60K miles for a good reason. Twin turbos from factory are not reliable! Since when is ford ever know for reliable twin turbo motors? Also, a simple V8 has more displacement and can handle more stress. People who disagree with "no replacement for displacement" are still wrong. A V8 with 350hp vs a V6 with 350 hp for ex. Which is easier to get 350hp out of and which will produce more torque needed for towing?Which can better handle long periods of stress from towing? Theres a good reason why semi's have HUGE diesels that could produce much more power than what they actually produce.

My friend has a relative who does stress testing on american car engines. We are taking the motors that will be released 4 years from now. When the final revision of the ford eco boost came in, when they stress tested it at normal driving, it wasn't very happy after 80k miles. Now towing, he said around 60k mile the motor was spent. Funny, we were just talking about this tuesday...

[cadunkle]

Totally disagree. Boats with Marinized car engines are so behind the technology. They use old outdated V-8's that get horrible fuel economy for the performance they give. I just bought an F-150 Eco Boost, V-6 Twin Turbo, more power than any truck I have driven and great fuel economy to boot.

Reliability??? American cars have a history of poor reliability. I was so excited when this boat came out with a Lexus engine, I thought "finally, a reliable boat!"

The parts problem is correct though.... Wish they never stopped making them.

I cant wait for boats to catch up to cars with technology, reliability, fuel economy, etc...

I felt that the Toyota Epic was the first boat to attempt that.

Nearly all boats have marinized car engines, even that Toyota boat you like. It takes a certain amount of power to move a given hull with a given weight through the water. To greatly simplify, do it with a bigger engine at a lower RPM or do it with a smaller engine at a much greater RPM. Fuel consumption will not be tremendously different at the same MPH. What is unreliable about a small block Ford or even a small block Chevy? These are engines that will go several hundred thousand miles in a car and lest plenty long in a boat. They are both simple and reliable designs that are very similar. BBF and BBC differ greatly, with BBF being superior, but still they're simple and reliable engines.

As for efficiency, your typical boat engine is so de-tuned that it's not going to be tremendously efficient. Up the compression, improve intake and exhaust and swap for a cam best for your usage and you'll see tremendous performance improvements and fuel consumption improvements as well

That eco boost will not go several hundred thousand miles like a 351w or 460 will, especially if you're towing heavy loads frequently. Too much HP per cubic inch and still low on torque compared to a normal sized engine. Look at SBF, 302 blocks split in half around 450 HP and as you approach that power level it's not nice to drive, doesn't idle smoothly and won't last long. If you want that kind of power a 460 is just getting started and will idle low and smoothly, giving potentially hundreds of thousands of miles before needing a major rebuild. 700 HP before a factory crank will fail, blocks can take a lot mroe before they become the weak point.

My point is, for reliability in an application that requires a lot of power and particularly torque, such as trucks and tow boats, you're far better off with a greater displacement engine with stronger components.

[Zim]

If you think boats are behind on technology, you're still running a carbed 351. The new motors are tried and true, but are definitely NOT lacking on technological advances.

[beat taco]

I didn't see how it could be more efficient. In fact the most efficient GPH boat I owned was my '91 Centurion Falcon. I called it my old tractor due to its reliability, the old 351 just ran and ran, year after year. The new owner has still never rebuilt the carb. It used 10-15 gallons a day, now I use 20-35 gallons a day.
I know it's a weight issue but I'm just saying, that old boat was great and I'm still fond of her. Especially the color

[dirtydawg]

my carbed 351 is behind on technology, just the way I like it. It's tuned right so its not bad on gas, makes plenty of power and I can tinker with it. Ah but who cares,
of course I would rather have a brand new 450 hp fuel injected boat.

[vvfdfirefighter]

This is one of the funniest things I've ever read on this forum. You knock American cars and their reliability but then talk about owning a Ford V-6 with twin turbos.
Give me a break! I cannot take anything else from this post seriously.

I do give yota a thumbs up for trying a different approach on powerplants. Honestly these engines are quite available and installed in many boats overseas as from what I can read. Sure I tthink we could use an upgrade in our engines. Honestly, I still see many boats running 4Bbl carburetors, in my case a 750 cfm Holley! Yes she sucks the fuel but I've also got a 454 with a 1:1 velvet drive. Marine engines are "behind" their times however I don't exactly have 5G sitting around to but diagnostic equipment.... So maybe is lose lose Ha.