2003 250XS Rev Limiter

[JWolff]

As you can see on the label my max rpm is 5800 but I always here people talk about 5850 or 5950 limiters on these older 250s. Do I have a funky motor or is the label the lawyer talk and the rev limiter is actually set at 5850 to physically restrict one from going too far past the 5800?

 

[Bobalouie]

Normally, Mother Merc sets the actual rev limiter about 250 rpms above the stated max RPM on the label. So, I would expect that engine to turn around 6000 rpms before the computer intervenes.

 

[JWolff]

How will the motor react when i hit that limiter? I put a small 26" bravo xs on the boat and am wondering what will happen when i hit the limiter. With being new to the boat i am a little nervous what will happen. I am hoping for a controlled decrease in power rather than a complete throttle dump.

 

[xb03fs]

I don't know but as soon as I can make the limiter 7000 on my new to me 250 xs I am going to.

 

[TxAllisonXB21]

I have hit the limiter a few times lol I feel a little shaking in the steering wheel and audible alarm. I never hold it there though. On the last video I posted I hit the limiter and if you have the volume up loud enough you can here the alarm go off then I backed off.

 

[Bobalouie]

How will the motor react when i hit that limiter? I put a small 26" bravo xs on the boat and am wondering what will happen when i hit the limiter. With being new to the boat i am a little nervous what will happen. I am hoping for a controlled decrease in power rather than a complete throttle dump.

Generally they overfuel the engine which causes a decrease in RPMs, or causes the RPMs to hold steady at that value. So, it is considered a soft limiter. You will feel the engine stop pulling, but it shouldnt cause the bow to drop or anything nasty to happen.

 

[JWolff]

K. Thanks guys.

 

[GotMyAlly]

On both of my 250XS's, it has been very apparent when you hit the limiter. The alarm beeps like crazy, there's a visual alert on the smartcraft, and if you hold it there long enough.....it'll invoke safe mode and cut you back to 2k RPMs. I've got a video of mine doing just that somewhere.....

 

[GotMyAlly]

If you turn the volume up, you can hear the buzzer. No hooks, nothing crazy, just sat down nice and soft.

 

[Allyfishing]

jwolff, what neal showed you is correct on the more recent XS motors. I see yours is an '03 motor and I'm pretty sure from the reading I've done is your hard limiter (like what Neal's just did) is at lower RPM's. I think I remember mine shutting down at 6350 but don't hold me to that. There's what's called the "soft limiter" that gets your attention then the shut down.

Start a post on BBC in the 3 liter forum and provide your serial number and Don will give you the lowdown on your motor.

 

[GotMyAlly]

When it cuts power back, at 2k RPMs, it seems like it's still got enough revs to maintain control. It's not like a lock-up. Sometimes you can let off just long enough for the alert to clear and stab it again before the boat even starts to sit down.

 

[TBuck2003]

5850 on the Old 250 Xs's

 

[TBuck2003]

5850 on the Old 250 Xs's

 

[TBuck2003]

5850 on the Old 250 Xs's

 

[JWolff]

Ran the 26 Bravo XS up to 80 yesterday with no alarms even though the old school original factory tach showed awfully close to 6k.

First time hitting the magical 80.

 

[xb03fs]

What gear ratio? How is holeshot with that prop you think it would Pull a slalom skier?

I have 23-25-27 XOB and will have 1.75 gears...

 

[JWolff]

1.62 gears.
I bought the prop for pulling the family on a tube and wakeboards. Completely stock prop. It definitely gets out of the hole faster than either of my two 27 Allison cut Trophy Plus's. But it still goes way nose high on initial throttle (motor was fully tucked under with wedges and prop shaft was about 1/2" below pad). I have a PM in to Lee to see if they can flatten out the initial jump out of the water and what else they can do to improve the holeshot. Not worried about topend as long as I stay over 80. When I am ready for topend I will get an XOB.

I am interested to hear how your XOBs work on the new engine with the mods you did to the props.

 

[K-DAWG XB 2003]

The sticker on my 05 225 Pro XS reads max RPM of 6000. I asked this same question on BBC. What will happen if I hit the rev limiter? I was scared it would kill the power enough to caught a problem.

 

[JWolff]

K-Dawg,
That was my fear too. Seeing Neal's Youtube video a couple months ago when he posted the smartcraft cutting his power had me concerned about what my boat would do. Especially being new to performance boats, I was worried I would not be able to correct the boat if power was chopped. But I guess you never know until you do it. Soooooo, let it eat.

 

[xb03fs]

Lee will say get 1.75 gears. This summer I'll be able to report how low you have to Prop to get up a 210 man deepwater slalom start.

With my 200 I had to drop to a 23 with my 1.87 gears that ran mid 70s at 6800.

I hope really hope that the 27 pulls me up on slalom. Almost could do it with the 25 and the 200.. A couple times I would drag 30-40 feet trying. Just could never get it right. Would big forever or slip and go nonwhere