2001 Seadoo Challenger 2000 - Mercury Engine 240 HP - what is typical fuel consumption

[jennsavage2001]

For people who own or who have owned this boat, please advise of how many gallons per hour it typically uses. On our first outing for 2.5 hours, we burned 20 gallons, we were just running up and down the lake, not pulling anything...is this typical? Seems a bit pig rich...I had the 1997 Seadoo Challenger with 2 ROTAX engines and when I first bought it, it sucked on fuel/oil usage. We had an engine serviced on it and it cut it way down. I just got the 2001 serviced to get it lake ready and "assumed" that service included a tune up so it would be up to specs on fuel usage. It seems to be pouring through way more than it should and I can only get a top speed of 42 MPH..which seems slow for a jet boat also. I have scheduled to get it back to the shop to see if it can be tuned up better.

 

[jennsavage2001]

O.K. I found on PWC someone stating that these boats should get about 5 gallons per hour and top speed is mid 50's so my boat is horribly underperforming. I would have thought a lake service on the engine would have included a tune up, but I guess not. So it is going back to the shop. The mechanic had mentioned it needed a new impeller ring/seal which was worn out...don't know if that impacts the performance...perhaps so.

 

[Tim75]

I have a 2001 Chall. 2000. The best thing I ever did was have the fuel injectors cleaned and matched. I used to have hesitation and stutter up to 5500 rpm. Max rpm was 5600. Now I have 6200 rpm and no hesitation. From idle to 6200 in about 4 seconds, smooth. Fuel economy significantly improved. Definitely was worth the expense. Not that hard to remove throttle body with injectors. Order new gaskets as soon as you begin the project. Fuel pressure- should be 35 psi at the shrader valve on top of the VST. My regulator was stuck, so I had 85 psi. Yeah, I used more gas. Fixed the pressure for another improvement.

Don't forget this is a large 2-stroke engine. 2-strokes are notoriously thirsty and you have a big one.

Wear ring clearance definitely make a difference. There are may threads here about improving that. Some for $500, some for $10. Jet drives are never as efficient as a prop. My boat maxes out at 46 mph with just me on board, 6200 rpm.

 

[jennsavage2001]

Thank you for your input. Our engine runs strong...I know it can do better on the gas...hopefully they can get it tuned up.

 

[rsatina2002]

I have the same engine as yours. Mine is about the same fuel consumption as yours. If I run full throttle with a full tank of 40 gallons, about 1.5. to 2.0 hours my tank will be in half, and I know this 2 stroke is always rich and fuel hungry engines, I didn't do any fuel injectors cleaning yet and I have mine change with new electronic fuel pump on VST, pressure is 36 PSI, change the port side temp sensor, change the air temp sensor, rebuild the ECU. When I have mine running on just slow to medium throttle on the sea port in Newport Beach, half a day with an average speed of 10-25 mph from full to half tank in 4 hours. Per Dr. Honda before, this engine runs o average of 20 gallon per hour on full throttle so if you are running full throttle or higher RPM's expect the fuel will deplete faster.

 

[jennsavage2001]

2000 Challenger 2000 vs conventional I/O prop

A user of this boat/engine stated in this lengthy thread regarding this boat that he can go all day doing mixed use activities and only go through 20 gallons of gas. Obviously if you are at full throttle all the time you would burn more fuel.

I had a 1997 Seadoo Challenger with twin Rotax engines and when I purchased it, it was getting really bad fuel economy. I took it to a mechanic to adjust and tune it and when I got it back it used HALF as much fuel..I suspect that the current boat I just purchased has not been properly maintained...as per other things I had to fix on it, so I hope that a good mechanic can adjust and tune it up so it can do better. I may not get half as much, but even 1/3 less would be a great fuel savings.

 

[turbosl2]

2000 Challenger 2000 vs conventional I/O prop

A user of this boat/engine stated in this lengthy thread regarding this boat that he can go all day doing mixed use activities and only go through 20 gallons of gas. Obviously if you are at full throttle all the time you would burn more fuel.

I had a 1997 Seadoo Challenger with twin Rotax engines and when I purchased it, it was getting really bad fuel economy. I took it to a mechanic to adjust and tune it and when I got it back it used HALF as much fuel..I suspect that the current boat I just purchased has not been properly maintained...as per other things I had to fix on it, so I hope that a good mechanic can adjust and tune it up so it can do better. I may not get half as much, but even 1/3 less would be a great fuel savings.

Be sure to check the actual tank, many of us notice the fuel gauge isn’t that accurate. For instance my fuel sender functions properly on the bench 0-90ohms as the float slides up and down but I have to put about 15gallons of fuel in it to move the gauge off E.

All I am saying is be sure to look at the actual 40gal tank and see if you used half as the gauge may show empty or 1/4left

 

[jennsavage2001]

My mechanic feels replacing the part below will improve speed and lower fuel consumption. Will let you know if it works. It had better, it is an expensive part.
18-2203 WEAR RING KIT SPORTJET

Can anybody verify what this part does and if it will improve performance/fuel consumption?

 

[jennsavage2001]

Be sure to check the actual tank, many of us notice the fuel gauge isn’t that accurate. For instance my fuel sender functions properly on the bench 0-90ohms as the float slides up and down but I have to put about 15gallons of fuel in it to move the gauge off E.

All I am saying is be sure to look at the actual 40gal tank and see if you used half as the gauge may show empty or 1/4left

We refilled the tank after 2.5 hours from full...took 20 gallons. So the gauge might not tell the story, but the gallons we used do.

 

[turbosl2]

We refilled the tank after 2.5 hours from full...took 20 gallons. So the gauge might not tell the story, but the gallons we used do.

That makes normal sense. Thats less than 10GPH. i dont think you have a fuel consumption problem

 

[turbosl2]

My mechanic feels replacing the part below will improve speed and lower fuel consumption. Will let you know if it works. It had better, it is an expensive part.
18-2203 WEAR RING KIT SPORTJET

Can anybody verify what this part does and if it will improve performance/fuel consumption?

Doubtful this will help anything but cavitation. I didnt verify this is the correct part, should be $550-$650. Inspect it and if its pitted fix it with marine epoxy. Here are my pics.

Fixing wear ring

I dont see any issue with your boat. 42MPH seems within range, there are alot of factors. Speedo being off, SOG is diff. Maybe the boat was loaded up, current? All seems fairly normal to me

 

[jennsavage2001]

Other owners are getting much better gas consumption and mid fifties speed.

 

[noviceskier]

Other owners are getting much better gas consumption and mid fifties speed.

have you inspected the wear ring and impeller for any visual damage/gap from the ring & impeller?

 

[jennsavage2001]

have you inspected the wear ring and impeller for any visual damage/gap from the ring & impeller?

have you inspected the wear ring and impeller for any visual damage/gap from the ring & impeller?

I unfortunately am not a mechanic. We had it in to a dealer (the only one in town that will work on these) to have an engine service completed. When we picked it up, they stated that the ring/seal was worn (boat is 18 years old) and needed replacement soon. After going out on the lake and burning 20 gallons in two hours we took it back to get it replaced. They feel that putting in a new one will resolve the high gas consumption.

 

[turbosl2]

I unfortunately am not a mechanic. We had it in to a dealer (the only one in town that will work on these) to have an engine service completed. When we picked it up, they stated that the ring/seal was worn (boat is 18 years old) and needed replacement soon. After going out on the lake and burning 20 gallons in two hours we took it back to get it replaced. They feel that putting in a new one will resolve the high gas consumption.

You can inspect it with a flashlight. See my link above, mine was badly pitted

 

[DomsX20]

My mechanic feels replacing the part below will improve speed and lower fuel consumption. Will let you know if it works. It had better, it is an expensive part.
18-2203 WEAR RING KIT SPORTJET

Can anybody verify what this part does and if it will improve performance/fuel consumption?

Before replacing anything. What is your RPM at WOT?

If your reaching RPMs at or above 6K, then you need to perform maintenance on your wear ring, or impeller. This problem is caused by an effect called cavitation. Essentially the gaps between the impeller and wear ring are too large and will not allow the jet pump to create enough thrust. Most people perform self repair on their wear rings by filling the grooves with JB weld, then sanding it smooth. There are several articles within this forum that can help.

If you are not reaching the proper RPMs, you have something going on with your engine. Possibly a temperature or air sensor. Other sources of low RPMs could also be due to low compression or poor fuel delivery at WOT.

#1 - Check your RPM at WOT
#2 - Perform a compression check. You want around 135 psi on each cylinder.

Report back and the people on this board can help.