Mercury Website

[allyfreek]

I knew this was coming but last night I looked on the Merc site and under racing there is no longer the drag motor, 280, 300x, champ motor etc. It is still just an eye opener seeing only the 200XS, 2.5 XS and 250XS. There aren't many choices for Allison's 20' boat really just one if you are buying new. What I want to know is what is going to happen to the drag racing circuit and the Ally drag boat if the only motors available are rebuilt old stuff? I guess in the next few years boats will be 21' and longer and the 20' boat may eventually be like the old 17" ally, gone.

 

[jimmyb]

race only motors and drop on powerheads are still available

 

[allyfreek]

I couldn't get the racing motors to pull up the night I tried to pull up the drag motor, Champ motor and SST 120 but now it comes up. I have brought up this topic over and over and nobody it seems wants to discuss it about specifically what is coming in the near future.

 

[GotMyAlly]

I've heard rumors about a 300XS to replace the 300X. That should be a great combo on one of the 21' hulls.

I think the verado technology has potential if Merc Racing gets ahold of it and shaves the weight down. The 150/175 Verados are V4 blocks and weigh in around 510. If Merc Racing could shave 100 pounds off and get 225+ HP out of one, I think it would be a decent motor for a 20' Ally. There's just a lot of R&D left to be done on the 4 strokes.

The 2.5XS is closest thing to a ProMax available now. When I talked to Darris about that motor last year, he said it lacked just a little on the bottom end but ran almost identical to a pro max on the top end.

And so far, the ETec motors look like they are leading the way as far as the DFI motors go. They are running circles around the Optimaxs.

 

[jimmyb]

sorry man, the etecs arent running circles around the optis... did you see the 225 shootout in bass and walleye???

plus BRP has nothing to compete against our 250XS...

MERC is still king... both in 4stroke and 2stroke

 

[GotMyAlly]

Yeah, I know the 250XS will walk off and leave any ETec. I'm talking about the 225 Opti vs. the 225 ETec. From what I've seen, the 225 ETec HO will walk away from the 225 Opti. I haven't got to play with a 225XS yet, but I'd like to think it could hang with the ETec. I have full confidence that any of the merc racing stuff will smoke anything Bomb puts out, but from what I've seen the standard opti stuff lacks a lot. The 250XS is a bad motor and I'd love to have one, but you couldn't give me one of those regular optis. They sound like a vacuum cleaner and the performance is about par with a Hoover.

 

[jimmyb]

you obviously havent read much about the 225 proxs! it is basically a detuned 250XS, 3 star CARB rated, and strong

http://www.mercmarine.com/225_pro_xs2

 

[chad202]

Jimmy, I'm a merc man all the way but a 20' Bullet running 90mph with two aboard and gear seems to be offly strong. I don't know of many 20' bullets with 250xs running those numbers. I'd like to see that motor on a dyno.

 

[jimmyb]

the guys with a 250XS are running faster...

the motor is completely stock and legal, the EPA ensures that... i could show you the dyno numbers, but then i would have to shoot you

actually the same boat and motor was up here at racing a few weeks ago for the dealer meeting and to test some props. They were running 92+ with it

i also think the definition of gear is a bit light...

 

[chad202]

Sounds like the ProXs is strong indeed and should be a hot item for Merc. Now if they would only build a 2.5l motor from top to bottom in the 275hp range with all the opti adn racing goodies.

 

[GotMyAlly]

If they are running 92+ on a Bullet/225XS with 2 guys, that is incredible. Is this a number that your average owner could go out and duplicate? Most Allisons with Promax motors have a hard time hitting that number even with a light fishing load. That is a very strong number for a bullet, considering most 20' bullets with promaxes run mid-80s with a 2 man load. Is that a one off or super comp layup hull used to get those numbers? Not doubting your numbers Jimmy, just want to know what passed me when a big ol' bullet with an optimax blows by me. Either I need to dump my promax for a XS because apparently that is one bad to the bone motor, or Bullets are a heck of a lot faster than I thought.

I've also heard some reports (mainly read on BFHP) of some guys that couldn't get the 225XS to turn up to the top end of the RPM range regardless of the props used. Any word on that?

 

[badbait]

I have a 2003 with a 250XS on it and I agree that they seem to quit pulling hard at 6000. The biggest prop I have for it is a 29 Hoss that I had altered to fit the 1.25" shaft. It runs 96.6 at 6000

 

[jimmyb]

most of the rpm issues with the proXS are setup related. There have been a few cases where they were indeed having motor issues, but those are few and far between (of course, those guys were vocal on some of the boards). Some of those issues came back to simple things like a bad injector or plug wire.

have you read the bass and walleye boat article??? it wasnt a light layup hull.. 1350 lbs. The boat was very well setup though...

 

[chad202]

Yes I did. I enjoy reading B&W but they do seem to reach speeds than no one can achieve with same boat/motor combo. But they are professional and we're amatures. :lol:

 

[jimmyb]

actually the bass and walleye article was directed more towards GMA...


bass and walleye do get very good speeds, but they (and the boat/engine/prop guys represented) also work very hard to get those numbers. Duplicatable? yes. Easily? probably not.

It is doubtful that you could duplicate the numbers from some of the car magazines too.

 

[GotMyAlly]

No, I think my subscription to B&WB has expired.

 

[jimmyb]

i found this...

http://www.bassandwalleyeboats.com/output.cfm?id=979759

not the entire article, but it should get the point across