Mercury Four Strokes
 

Hey,

I was wondering if anybody has an opinion on Mercury Four Strokes. Good or bad? I am debating on re-power options for my 18 SF and am curious. Even post up something a friend has said or anything. Looking at the 115 HP and up.

Thanks,

Mick

From what I hear..........there are some models that were manufactured....exact duplicates, by Yamaha. Some went to the black paint shop versus the grey paint shop..

are you referring to the verado series

Yes but also the 115 and 150 that are on their regular 4 stroke page on their website. I am doing some research to compare the verado 150 to the regular. Seems the big difference is the EFI. Which changes weight and cost.

Isnt the verado supercharged?

Yes

Be sure and check out the specs on the Verado. As an example per the Mercury web site the 250 hp is a 2.6 litre engine, supecharged and they recommend 92 octane gas, compatible with 87 octane. I'm not in favor of small displacement with turbo or superchargers to get the HP. As comparison the 250 HP Yamaha is 4.2 litre. Plus the Verado is real heavy. Heck I've got a Mercury which has provided me great service, just not sold on the Verado.

I haven't kept up with the new outboards, but this thread sparked my interest, so I visited Merc's web site. The new Merc 150 four stroke has almost twice the displacement of the 150 Verado and weighs 45 lbs. less. So why would anyone buy a 150 Verado? Hell, the new 150 4 stroke only weighs about 25 lbs more than the 150 Opti. Looks like it may be a good line for Merc if they've got the bugs worked out.
Dave

I have been eye balling that new merc 150 4 stroke for some time now as a possible repower for the 20 seacraft. Torn between that and the 140 zuke

strick

Dave and Strick,

I see what you mean....the new Merc is an in line four, 3.0L, SOHC, two valves per cylinder about as simple as it can get. Darn thing should be very dependable. I'm not really in the market for a 150 so I don't keep up with it too much, however looks like the four stroke's weight issues are being addressed by the manufactures. Oh yeah, from what I hear the Zuke is much harder to get parts and service for.