750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

I'm going to try this again to get some more opinions. I'm trying to figure out which one to go with in a 36 gladiator. I originally wanted the Zuls and talked to a couple of guys who said their Zuls ran really strong and had not had any problems with their motors. However, my dealer has access to sterling a little better and can get parts for the sterlings and service them vs not being able to do that with the Zuls. Zuls are what i want.......Sterlings seem to make more sense.

Opinions??
Suggestions??

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

I would go with the Sterlings just to be different. Quality motors and very few in Gladiators if any.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

There was 1 36 with the Sterlings and the left hand drive option (don't ask me why I know this ??? :rolleyes: ) If you plan on having any service done with your dealer .... and he likes the Sterlings .... then there's your answer ! Where do you like ? Who's your dealer ?

JM

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

LEOPAJM,
I live in Oklahoma. My dealer is the Performance Group out of Dallas, Tx. I have seen that boat you are talking about. I really didn't like the looks of the sterlings in that boat compared to some of the Zul packages i've seen. I was up at the SOTW run in michigan. Your boat runs good!!.. I was in the 38 lightning w/ the tear away flag graphics w/ hood scoops.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

Thanks ! We love how she runs !!! Time for her to find a new home though ,... Time for a new one !!! Good luck with your choices !!!

JM

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

The Gladiator with the 750 Sterlings ran terrible when it was brought to the marina. Wouldn't idle, burned oil, and ran slower than the comparible Zul Gladiators. Took ALOT of tweaking and work to make the boat usable.

Also, a friend of mine has an 03 Top Gun here has the 750 Sterlings in it. Same problems. Wouldn't run at all when the boat was delivered. Took almost an entire Summer for the boat to run day to day. Couldn't get Sterling to help with much. Again, the performance was slower then the Zul 750 boats.

03 Top Gun w/750 Sterlings runs 96 mph.
03 Top Gun w/750 Zul's runs 105 (Powerboat Magazine, "Out of Control")

I needed some motor work done last Summer. I sent one of mine from Oklahoma to Richie (NY), I was running again in 2 weeks. He always answers the phone, and has answered countless questions of mine whenever I called.

and as far as eye candy, make your own decision.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

TwinStepGun,
Thanks for the info. Comparing those two pics is exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to detai!!!!

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

Here are some of TMP's 750 EFI's, 600CI overbuilt, simple paint, but has been extremely reliable, very pleased with the overall product, and they idle at 800 rpms, awesome at the docks. 1 year warranty :D

List of parts:

599 Dart Block
745hp @ 5500 rpms
763tq @ 4500 rpms

Lunati Pro Race crank
Oliver Billet rods
JE Forged Pistons
Dart Pro 1 fully ported and hand polished heads
Crane Hyd. roller cam and hardware
Cust. 14 qt oil pan
Cust. built multi port fuel inj.
2000 cfm billet throttle body
MSD ign.
Cust. built thermostatic oil system
Billet power steering pump,w/under drive pulleys for all accessories.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

Are you guys running bravo's with this power? Those Zuls are beautiful.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

I called Zul to talk to him about rebuilding my motors on my 33 Powerplay and he was super nice and took the time to talk to me even though his shop was closing for the day. I haven't quite decided what to do, but he (Zul) was definately a class act.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

mav, are you getting rid of the fountain :eek:

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

i believe so.....my boat is for sale if you know anyone interested.

How's your boat going??

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

man if that was mine i would not get rid of it, as for my cat it ran 97.9 on gps with 6 people and two full tanks , the second time i had it out. i believe when i get the hang of it it will do 105mph.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

what are you thinking of buying :D

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

Here my pick
ZUL !!!!!!



Let's just say that this boat runs :D
Rick OSG

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

thats what im talking about. :D by the way what kind of clock is that :D

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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. I would highly recommend looking into fuel injected engines. As much as you move the boat around to different locations the injected engines would give you much better manors. They will be quite a bit more money but if you are building a new Gladiator what the hell.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

CIGAX :D :D

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

OSG, not alot of room between that bulkhead and that port motor :eek:

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

well while were tooting horns............. :D :D

Here are my 625 Zul's.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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 :rolleyes: 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.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

[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! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :hothead:

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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 :eek: ) 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 :D 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.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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

Love,

BustedGun

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

Except YAMAHAS !!!!!!! :D

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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

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 ( :D :drink: ), and perhaps myself :D 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!!

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

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" :rolleyes: ) 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 :eek: ) environment.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

I think Sterling has a lot more championship under their belt with the Super Cat motors, naturally aspirated.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

Man, this sheds some light!! I always thought Sterling was "the $hit"!!
I just maybe they still are in the BIG HP motors!!

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

That's a fact.
However, how many motors does Zul have in a supercat? How about TMP?
If I was buying a spercat tomorrow, I would probably use Sterling (is any other brand legal by the way, I don't keep up with that stuff).
However, we're talking about a pleasure boat and not a supercat. I don't see what one has to do with the other.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

That is exaclty why there aren't more EFI setups. My good buddy tried an EFI system other than Mercs a few years ago. It NEVER ran right, and sometimes not at all. The biggest problem is that NO ONE knew how the hell to work on them. He had to fly a guy in from California to tune them, and they still weren't right when he left.

Bottom line, EFI is the future, but the future is distant.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

I agree with you on that one.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

I don't think you could go wrong with builders like Sterling,Pfaff,Chief and Zul. I'm surprised no one suggested comparing the components both builders would use and then compare price and service availability. I'd be careful with perceptions and generalities. I can't remember the exact numbers but I think less than 40% of Sterling's motors go to the hard core racers. There was an article about Sterling recently in PRA or Powerboat on just this. I've got 140 hours on a Sterling rebuild of my 800SC's. Knock on wood, but It never fails to amaze me with how well they run with just plug and oil changes. They start easy, run smooth and the temperatures are always on the low side of normal. I've called the shop a couple of times with questions and they've always took all the time required to answer my questions. Just my .02. As I said, I don't think you can go wrong with these two builders.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

Probably true.
Like I said, I have no experience with marine efi (other than Merc stuff), but hopefully it will be improving rapidly!

I know there are several sets of efi motors out there now, does anyone have any firsthand experience?

What about whipple, Merc 1075's, and others? Are they working?

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

I always thought of Sterling as the ultimate in engine builders. I had a friend that used to work there back in the Alcone days and some of the things I heard really impressed me.
I also remember seeing a post of one of the Saber guys that filled a motor up with water on Saturday and by Wed. the motor had been gone thru and dynoed. That was pretty impressive. Unless Sterling is one of those companies that only knows who you are if your spending over 100k a year with them and forgets about the little guy.
I do know I emailed them with some questions on my heads that were supposedly ported by them (old "B" class motor) and never heard from them.

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

What is the price difference between the 2 (or 3 including TMP) the 625-750hp bracket seems to be a HUGE market for for all of us speed freaks without the pocket book to go the 1100-1300 full race setups (or pleasure setups that need frequent rebuilds) obviously it's been discussed that merc has a hole in their lineup here, so custom is the only way to go. Most builders with the exception of Chief and TMP dont even put prices up on their websites. Anyone know why? It makes it kind of hard to compare motors and or builders dont ya think?
Or is it if you have to ask, You cant afford it? :D

Re: 750 sterling vs 750 Zuls............Again!
 

Jim and Jerry!!!!


Kiss my AZZ!! Rice burner boys!!!


Dan