bob

Obviuosly both builders are super qualified. A friend recently purchased an 03 cig with some 800+ Sterlings, had Sterling go thru the motors as part of his purchase and paid extra to change heads, etc (about $40K extra). When he picked the boat up from the dealer the a/f mixtures were way off and it would hardly idle. Tried to run the boat and it barely ran. Spoke to Mike D and he sent him new jets, 1 down Ran the boat probably 8-10 hours and by 5 hours he had a ton of blow by out the valve cover breathers. All in all it was a sad setup. Engine compartment was full of oil/soot and it looked terrible. I know Sterling can do better than what they did there. I used Zul once to have him dyno and tune my current blower motors and they start/run like the are electronic injection. I called Richie a couple times with minor questions and he was very nice to deal with. Haven't needed Richie since but he has made contact with me to see how life is so he doesn't seem to become a stranger like most. I would go with Zul.

Biggus

iTrader: (1)

Phil from Lip-Ship rigs his Cigs with the Zul product and he is THE man as far as I am concerned.

If they are good enough for Phil to put them in his boats, they must be the best there is.

Kurt.

OldSchool

[QUOTE=ExcaliburHawk40]If you are stuck between these 2 builders i would go with Zul. Havent heard much about Sterling customer service, especially when you have problems. [QUOTE]

I would go with Zul as well.

I've heard about Sterling's customer service from a handful of people. It's real simple... when they blow up, they will sell you another one!

WickedWon

My .02 again, when it comes to NA pleasure boat engines ZUL rules. Sterling's expertise is in full race NA's and BIG HP blower packages. If ya run'm like ya stole'm Sterling's shine and make ALL the HP All the time. (in blower motors there's hp and then there's hp that goes away when you take them to the mat and leave them there for oh....50 miles ) All of the cooling and engineering tricks that make Sterling's big HP live are damn'ed expensive and are designed for a sick group who have little or no common sense when it comes to throttle position Again just my opinion !!!

BTW I've had Sterling's from 750hp "B" motors to 1100+ 653CI's, none of them were much to look at cause like all racers ( remember Sterling is a race shop that sells race motors ) ya spend it on the inside not the outside in racing.

Rice Hauler

Just chiming in....
But I feel that Wicked Won has hit the nail on the head.
It really comes down to NA or Blown. And in my experience the NA's were the way to go. less maintainence and great idling and drivability.
The comments on the board all seem to mirror my experience and also the experience of friends that have had the sterlings. So make you own choice. As for the graphics and eyecandy. That's probably gonna be up to you in the end.
Best,
Rice Hauler

Half Nutz

ALL ENGINES SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

BustedGun

WickedWon

Get a fist full'a YAMAHA'S BABY ! .....sorry Dan, couldn't resist

LEOPAJM

Except YAMAHAS !!!!!!!

SummerObsession

I don't have any experience with either company.
However, I do have a little race engine experience.

I would have to think that being an ex pro stock engine builder, Zul would definitely have the advantage when it comes to naturally aspirated stuff. Sterling seems to have the big HP blown stuff figured out.
As far as eye candy goes, well, that's just a bunch of well placed paint, could be done by either company I'm sure.

The one that interests me the most are the TMP motors. Although Zul no doubt knows carbs inside and out, why aren't more people using fuel injection? Carbs are antiques. In fact, the entire induction system is decidedly low-tech! True, at WOT they are just as efficient and make as much or MORE hp than efi, but other than WickedWon ( ), and perhaps myself who really runs at WOT that much??
Most of us have to idle through no wake zones, dock the boat, cruise at 3500-4000 rpm's to make the women happy, etc.
I have carb motors in my cat now, but only because it came that way. It WILL be changed some time soon.
Be different, pick the TMP motors, have them dress them up in any way you see fit, and let us know how you like the efi!!

WickedWon

EFI is the future and Merc's gonna prove it but........ it's also going to ruin a lot of boating days when thay don't work. Right now I carry a spare sparkbox, coil, bowl gaskets, power valves and hand tools. If that sucker quits ( I said quits not "breaks" ) the odds are I'll have it running in a half hour. My friends experience with the new HP 525's in the Dragon have shown how helpless we all are when it decides not to run. The myriad of unique sensors and ECM's is more than most of us will be willing to purchase and carry much less diagnose. It's definitely the future but servicing them is gonna be a ***** especially after they've spent a few years in the marine (saltwater ) environment.