The Mercury numbers for the 3 liter 260 hp V6 which is realistically a more apples to apples comparison with a 250 4S outboard, is that same 24-25 knots at 8.6 mph in a Sea Ray 250 SLX with an manufacturers claimed empty weight of 5900 pounds and a Mercury claimed "as tested" weight of almost 7700 pounds.Althou the prices seem to be coming down a little, cost is still an issue with the diesels and weight is an issue in boats not originally set up for I/O propulsion,but that would also be the case with a gas I/O setup. The one "problem" with the VW/Mercury engines is that it is almost like the old days where you had to go with a big block gasser with you wanted 300+ hp. That is obvious not the case with the modern outboards and small block Chevy MPI inboards today. With that said, the V6 VW and inline 6 BMW's which are realistically designed to replace small block V8's in lower state of tune much like the current 4.5 liter V6's gassers are, weigh about 200 pounds less in bobtail form than a 300 hp 5.7 liter V8 and 90 pounds less than the comparable 250 hp 4.5 liter V6. The 330/370hp 4.2 V8 weighs almost 200lbs less than the 380 hp 8.2 big block and maybe 60 pounds more than the 350 hp 6.2 liter small block, all with closed cooling systems. The 2 liter I4 which you can get in flavors from 115 to 170 hp weighs about 60 pounds more than the 3 liter gasser 135 hp and about 200 less than the older 180/220 hp 4.3 liter V6. These engines are inboards and the slot right into the spots of the engines that they are designed to replace. If you need crazy HP and gasser weight at the attendant high price, you would probably want to look at one of the Duramax conversions from the Swedes or Banks Engineering. You bobtail block weigh would still be about 100 lbs less than a 502.
With all that said, it is still really great time to be looking for a new outboard.
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10-05-2015, 08:27 PM
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