engine size

Gentlemen,
I'm building a 6-A in Georgia and trying to decide on engine size.
I'm 190lbs and my wife is 130lbs. Several RV'ers say the 150 hp will do great for us and others say spend the money for the 180.
I'd like to hear from some RV6 folks on cruise and climb with the 150 and 180hp.
Thanks,
Frank

Frank,

Check Van's site for the numbers. They have been very close, if not right on, to what people are getting.

The 150 HP has the poorest fuel burn. It will use more pounds of fuel per HP produced than the 160. The 150 will be more likely to have lead fouling from the 100LL than either the 160 or 180. The 180 is the most fuel efficient engine of the Van's recommended engines using the least pounds of fuel per hour per HP produced.

If you are buying the engine new from Van's, they do not list the 150 so it would need to be ordered. The difference in price between the 160 and 180 is only $300 for Constant Speed versions or $600 for the fixed pitch version. If you use the data from the FAA TCDS, there is only a 8 pound increase in weight going with the 180 HP engine.

The 180 HP RVs have a higher resale value.

I have been flying a 160 HP CS RV-6A for the past 11.5 years and 2,230 hobbs hours. IT is a lot of fun but I would rather have the 180 HP CS.

Van's Web site has performance numbers for all three engines.

One thing that's stuck in my head about engine size is... you don't see many people with big engines lamenting their decision. You do see some people with smaller engines occassionally wish they'd bought bigger.

Unlike the 180/200 debate, here you don't have to worry about can/can't do mogas. I'd go with the 160 or 180 if I could comfortably afford it, but do whatever you want to do and be happy!

The 180 is hard to beat..

....and the one we bought came off a flipped Comanche....never have regretted it either. I usually climb at 140 MPH and 1500 FPM and cruise at 2500-2600 depending on altitude and get close to 190 MPH and can get 201
wide open for more fuel burn.

That said, however, a 160 horse RV ain't no slouch either but on hot days with the wife aboard and baggage, the 180 really handles it very well.

Regards,

Nevermind engine size, you've now mentioned your wife's weight on a highly-traffic'd forum...uh-oh!!!!

Jim P said:

Nevermind engine size, you've now mentioned your wife's weight on a highly-traffic'd forum...uh-oh!!!!

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You are soooo right!

Go with the 180HP, absolutley no intent to insult anyone, it's just more fun! Better resale when the time come also.

Geico266 said:

You are soooo right!

Go with the 180HP, absolutley no intent to insult anyone, it's just more fun! Better resale when the time come also.

Click to expand...

ALL TRUE. I have a 160 HP and wish every flight that I had the bigger engine. Side by side I consume the same fuel as the 180 to go the same speed.

Get the 180! There will be no regrets! I have some.

Climb rate difference

Using 75% instead of 100% just because I never see 100% in real life, I computed the climb difference at 1600 pounds. The answer is about 300 feet per minute. 180-160=20.

20 HP x 75% x 33000 foot-pounds-per-minute / 1600 pounds = >300 feet per minute.

I'd go with the 180.