Volvo KAD300 engines vs. D4's ???
Discussion
I'm looking at buying a Windy Grand Tornado or Khamsin.
Older ones have the KAD300 engines and newer ones the later D4 engines. There seems to be a significant price gap presumably reflecting the better fuel economy offered by the D4's (?)
What real life difference is there between the two?
Am i right in thinking the D4 has better low end grunt so will get going better, plus use less fuel (how much less, 10/20/30%?) but due to having numerous sensors can be a bit prone to throwing an 'error' and hence a bill (and aggravation) getting it fixed?
How do routine servicing costs, noise, refinement etc compare between the two?
I've seen a boat with KAD300's that's done less than 300 hours in 10 years but hasn't been used for the last 2 - should this worry me unduly? (Any potential purchase would naturally depend on the engines being checked over by Volvo and full engine/drive/bellows service)
Older ones have the KAD300 engines and newer ones the later D4 engines. There seems to be a significant price gap presumably reflecting the better fuel economy offered by the D4's (?)
What real life difference is there between the two?
Am i right in thinking the D4 has better low end grunt so will get going better, plus use less fuel (how much less, 10/20/30%?) but due to having numerous sensors can be a bit prone to throwing an 'error' and hence a bill (and aggravation) getting it fixed?
How do routine servicing costs, noise, refinement etc compare between the two?
I've seen a boat with KAD300's that's done less than 300 hours in 10 years but hasn't been used for the last 2 - should this worry me unduly? (Any potential purchase would naturally depend on the engines being checked over by Volvo and full engine/drive/bellows service)
There are a few different powered D4. With/without supercharger usually depends on applications with fishing and slow Boats having just a turbo and most faster stuff getting as supercharger as well. The 260up one came with a supercharger with the lower go ones without I think. The 300 came out after the 260 And was just a tick box extra power option. The kads were quite computerised with lots having electronic throttle and shift but we're essentially a computer controlled version of the old tamd engines. We don't have many problems with d4s, or at least no more than other engines, and at least in the whole The electronics 'can' help with diagnosis. Not sure on fuel savings, but they certainly burn alot cleaner than older stuff.
We have two D4 260's in a Windy 37 grand mistral, one in and a Windy 25 mirage.
They seem no more or less reliable than any other engine, both boats are approx 7 years old.
Servicing is the usual oil,filters and anodes most of the time, but every few years, you need to get the various intercoolers cleaned (x 3 per engine), which whilst not being a small job isnt a massive one either. If you dont do this then you'll start to see overheats when you go beyond ~3000 rpms. So worth looking out for this on a sea trial. Temperature will be rock steady below 3000rpm all day long, but as soon as you go over this, the needle will shoot up.
edited to add:-
forgot to say, the dph outdrives on the other hand have been a bit of a pain, well to be more precise the steering rams have been a bit of a pain. The seals would fail every year or two, havent had aany new rams for a few years, so maybe volvo have sorted out the problem now, at least they've reduced the price of new rams substantially
They seem no more or less reliable than any other engine, both boats are approx 7 years old.
Servicing is the usual oil,filters and anodes most of the time, but every few years, you need to get the various intercoolers cleaned (x 3 per engine), which whilst not being a small job isnt a massive one either. If you dont do this then you'll start to see overheats when you go beyond ~3000 rpms. So worth looking out for this on a sea trial. Temperature will be rock steady below 3000rpm all day long, but as soon as you go over this, the needle will shoot up.
edited to add:-
forgot to say, the dph outdrives on the other hand have been a bit of a pain, well to be more precise the steering rams have been a bit of a pain. The seals would fail every year or two, havent had aany new rams for a few years, so maybe volvo have sorted out the problem now, at least they've reduced the price of new rams substantially
Edited by julians on Sunday 23 March 19:04
Hopefully the KAD300's come on a DPG drive. The DPG, on the KADs, is one of the best outdrives ever made. The DPH, on the other hand, for the D4, is a bit iffy.
The KAD 300 is a bit belt-hungry, always carry a spare set, but possibly my favoutite engine is a KAD 44 with no electronics. You can fix those beggers with anything.
The KAD 300 is a bit belt-hungry, always carry a spare set, but possibly my favoutite engine is a KAD 44 with no electronics. You can fix those beggers with anything.
Edited by Fishtigua on Sunday 23 March 19:34
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