D4-300 or D3-220 Dilema

R

RoyF

New Member
Joined
15 Oct 2020
Messages
18
Visit site
Hello All,

I've just joined the Forum after reading many of the posts over the last month or two to gain as much knowledge as possible.....

I have a question that hopefully someone may be able to answer?

My wife and I are looking to purchase our first Motor Boat. We have seen a couple of possibilities, both very similar in size and around the same price, but one has the Volvo Penta D3-220's, the other D4-300's. Now according to each broker, the one each of them has listed has the best engines, but I'm struggling to find the pro's and con's with each. From my research I can see that the D3-220 has the smaller 5 cylinder block, 2.4 litre, and seems to be a very popular choice around the 10 or 11m mark, the D4-300 on the other hand is the 4 cylinder 3.7 litre unit and is a bigger unit all round....

Is the D4-300 not so popular for a reason? With an extra 80 Hp in each engine, I would have thought the D4-300 would be a popular choice, but does the size and weight outway any performance benefit ? Or are they less reliable, more expensive to maintain etc etc...

Would apprecite your views on this as it will help us in deciding which way to go....

Many Thanks,

Roy.
 
Unless they've made access impossible I'd always go for the bigger engines on the basis that that they're faster and less stressed when cruising (particularly when the boat has a load of cruising gear on board and some fouling).

What boat is it?
 
volvopaul will be along in a bit I'm sure, but I understand that the d3 is based on a car engine, whereas the d4 is a ground up marine engine. Anecdotally I always saw the d3 as less reliable, I remember reading about issues with fuel filtration and turbos, having said that the d4 is not without its issues.

The d4 being larger displacment will be (a lot) more torquey and has more power , you can never have too much power :cool: . I dont think its correct to say that the d4 is less popular than the d3, it just about having the right engine for the job, although I guess there are scenarios where either the d3 or the d4 can be the right engine for the same job.

All other things being equal (but they rarely are equal) I would go for the d4.

I have a d4-260 in my boat (25 footer). They also built it with less the powerful d3, but I looked for an example with the d4.
 
Last edited:
D3-220 is much better than the "old" D3 was. It is based on a 2.4L car engine block, lighter, comparatively high revving, and with a variable geometry turbo which is fine if you use it regularly, possibly not so good if left unused sitting near salt water for months on end.

D4-300 is heavier, 3.7L, specifically designed as a marine engine, revs lower, conventional turbo with supercharger.

D4-300 produces a lot more torque than D3-220: 700Nm vs 460Nm

I might be be tempted by the D3-220 in a lighter, faster boat that was used regularly.
But the D4-300 would be better in something heavier that required more grunt to get going, and is the more substantial package.
 
A very important question is the year of the boat, the current D3 is a very different engine (apparently) to the old D3, which I think didn't have the best of reputations (Google it).

Either way, everything else being equal, I'd take the bigger capacity and more powerful engine every time. So D4 for me please.
 
I have the D4 300 and I´m very happy with the performance of them. At 2500/2600 rpm I get a cruising speed of 22-24 kn, burning around 70-75 l per hour with my Targa 38, max speed 34-36kn. They want to be used regularly (like everything on your boat ?...). Compare the engine hours with the year built. Less engine hours might not be an advantage.
I would go with the D4...
 
julians said:
volvopaul will be along in a bit I'm sure, but I understand that the d3 is based on a car engine, whereas the d4 is a ground up marine engine. Anecdotally I always saw the d3 as less reliable, I remember reading about issues with fuel filtration and turbos, having said that the d4 is not without its issues.

The d4 being larger displacment will be (a lot) more torquey and has more power , you can never have too much power :cool: . I dont think its correct to say that the d4 is less popular than the d3, it just about having the right engine for the job, although I guess there are scenarios where either the d3 or the d4 can be the right engine for the same job.

All other things being equal (but they rarely are equal) I would go for the d4.

I have a d4-260 in my boat (25 footer). They also built it with less the powerful d3, but I looked for an example with the d4.
Click to expand...
What no one has mentioned is the drive combined with steering set up , the D3 uses the old style DPSX , the D4 uses the far more modern DPH drive , this has the external steering rams , is a far more simpler set up than the D3 SX , the DPH can withstand far more torque as it’s also designed for the 6 cylinderD6 ,
The D3 also is on occasions more complex and costly to service than the D4 .
In my opinion there is only one answer.
 
My boat is 7m so small fry compared to most! She was re-powered from twin petrols to single D3 200hp in 2012 which is the new generation D3 and still current. Ive had no issues that seemed to bother the previous D3 version. For me the power and fuel burn in my sized boat is perfect. I get about 20lph cursing 2800rpm at 20kn. Max speed 38kn at 3800rpm and around 45lph which I don’t do often. I’ve had no dramas with the engine, I believe due to being used much as I possibly can with correct servicing. Can see if a larger boat the D4 would be the choice.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, that is all very useful info, I really do appreciate that........The boats we are looking at are a fair bit smaller than yours Scala, around the 36ft, and probably around half the weight..... Good point I never even thought of regarding the drives / steering VolvoPaul, thank you. I'm now doing a bit if Googling on those...... All great stuff, and I'm now leaning firmly towards the D4-300's.....So as Julians accurately put it, 'all things being equal which they of course won't be', the D3-220's boat will have to tick a few more boxes for me in other areas to be the preferred choice..... Whichever, I'll be back on here to let you all know what we finally buy....

Thanks again,
Roy.
 
Hopefully Scala.... that was my thinking, and just an incidental added bonus of course ;)......... But this is all in my side of the garage, the other side of the garage is comparing soft furnishings.... So if you see another post entitled 'Velour or Suede Dilema' or something along those lines posted by me..... I can assure you it will either be under duress or my account has been hacked .... :(
 
volvopaul said:
What no one has mentioned is the drive combined with steering set up , the D3 uses the old style DPSX , the D4 uses the far more modern DPH drive , this has the external steering rams , is a far more simpler set up than the D3 SX , the DPH can withstand far more torque as it’s also designed for the 6 cylinderD6 ,
The D3 also is on occasions more complex and costly to service than the D4 .
In my opinion there is only one answer.
Click to expand...

Has Volvo fixed the dreaded leaky steering RAM problems that plagued early DPH drives?
 
Good point well made........ with a pair of D4-300's, she might need a bit of soft furnishing luxury to hang onto !!!
 
CLB said:
Has Volvo fixed the dreaded leaky steering RAM problems that plagued early DPH drives?
Click to expand...

If it's the issue I'm thinking of, the problem was caused by external steering rams. Basically, unlike the trim rams, there was no way to leave the boat with the male part of the ram fully in (because if one side was fully in, the other was fully out). So with the male part exposed it would develop growth, crustacea and whatnot. Then when the steering was turned, the piston (not certain that's the correct word, the male part) would get pushed in and the rough growth would knacker the seals causing them to leak.

It was solved by fitting rubber gaiters to stop the marine growth.
 
CLB said:
Has Volvo fixed the dreaded leaky steering RAM problems that plagued early DPH drives?
Click to expand...
It was never fully solved, but the frequency of failure has been reduced quite significantly by fitting the gaiters and the cost of the rams reduced to 200 quid, so it's not a big deal anymore
 
  • Like
Reactions: CLB
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

I
Antares 10.80 Repower D3 220’s
2 3
Replies
42
Views
1K
Canopy Locked
Canopy Locked
A
HELP! Trapper 300 Restoration - Seeking Blueprints for a Unique Family Yacht!
Replies
2
Views
267
Neeves
N

Share this page

Top