Trib Article

[MarauderBoy]

The Sunday paper had an article about the new Aviator. This vehicle comes with our engine and I thought it was interesting to read about how torquey they thought it was. Max torque at 2k rpms. I'm sure that it is mostly programming and that it sacrificies power else where but is there any physical differences?

[Logan]

Not that I'm aware of, it's supposed to be the same motor, with the same ratings...

[03 Merc]

I believe the Aviator has the 5 speed auto with some decent low gears... That will improve the "seat of the pants" feel....

[Brian]

Aviator engine has a completely different intake manifold than Marauder. Low RPM (~2k) torque is 10-15 ft-lbs better than Marauder, but peak torque in the Aviator is less than Marauder. The Slightly better low end torque mated to a 5-speed gearbox instead of a 4-speed in the Marauder helps quite a bit. Aviator AWD version also has a 3.73 rear end. (The 4x2 version has a 3.55 rear end.) All of the above lend towards a very nice 'seat of the pants' feel for low end torque in the Aviator.

[LincMercLover]

The Aviator is making 300HP and 318lb/ft. The intake IS different NOW... My Dad builds them here in STL. They had to swap the intake for a variable runner intake to solve it's overheating problem. This also boasted the torque, seeing how it uses short runners from the start and long runners while in motion. I'm kind of wondering what something like that would do for the MM...

PS Logan: I dunno what happend, but it works now! :D