Mercury 300XS vs 300 Verado??? Which to buy
 

:boat:Can I get some feedback on these two motors? I like 300XS more (old school) and hear fuel efficiency is better and also like performance factor, but am still torn with 300 Verado in the mix.

What are you going to put them on?

application is for a 33 oceanhawk or similiar center console cuddy 'go fast' offshore, salt water use, to cruise, fish, atlantic, gulf , bahams, florida keys.

VERADO's.......long distance punch and hold :cool-smiley-011:

I do see Verado has offered a five year warranty special good till April 2008,but are they doing this because they are trying to promote more sales. I know the Merc 300XS racing engines only have a two year.

I just wish Verado had a nicer cowling, it huge and ugly.

Also I know Verado has the DTS, but isn't Opti's going to have this soon also?

For that type of boat and boating style I'd go for the 300 Verado.

I have Verado's and you cant beat them awsome:D

Two Stroke requires 93 octane
4 stroke will be necessary if you want any resale value

Four strokes need 93 also unless you want them de-tuning. 100% on resale 4 stroke. My personal preference is the old tried and true separate race levers. They are still electric on the Verado but much better feel in the rough and no worries about pulling to reverse in emergency. also much better control docking triples.

I have had two of my customers pull to reverse and took out hubs.

Remember you cannot put race steering on the Verados and they are rubber mounted.

+1 on the race style levers. I have the Livorsi triple throttles with seperate forward/reverse levers and they are smooth and work great with the Verado's.

This months yachting magazine, page 152, calls the new Verado a 'super sipper' on fuel versus the 'older' Verado,

I think I am leaning toward Verado,
????

Also what is this 'new' Verado vs 'Old' Verado?

didn't they just come out

275 vrs 300 verado,,, the 300 is quite differant from the 275,,, merc claims 18% more fuel eff,, I have 50hrs on mine and they are great ,,, I had 275's for about 4 wks then put the 300's on the same boat ,,,, picked up 3mph and have better midrange performance ,,,, not a glitch in 50 hrs ,,,, and it will use any fuel I put in the tank,, only place I can see a diff , is on the top end ,,,, need 93 oct to make her sing !!!

RHC

i have heard of 6 300xs motors blown up so far have not heard of any verado my 3 cents

Stay with the xs's I have 2 250 xs's they are great!

the newer have a 2 star efficiency rating as evidenced by the sticker on the back of the motor. They get 20% better fuel economy. The older motors had a 3 star rating. You can also look at the bracket that mounts to the transom, the older motors it was black and silver, the newer motors its all black.

I think they meant to say the new Verado compared to the older Optimax, that would make more sense.

Can someone tell me the benefit of a verado? I am not trying to be a smart ass, however I thought the whole idea behind O/Bs were power to weight ratio and lower maint.

Lower maint with an outboard?!? Are you kidding? I've never had an outboard that didn't need constant attention.

Larger outboards, maybe. Smaller ones? My father bought two new Evinrudes in 1957; a 7 1/2 and an 18. Fifty years later, and we're still running them and they look like new. The only maintenance was lower unit oil changes and a few spark plugs.:cool-smiley-011: Like many other things, they don't build 'em like that anymore.

Depends on what kind of OB you are talking about. Fishing OB's are normally very reliable motors. I just dont understand what the verado's purpose was, its just so damn heavy.

:ernaehrung004:No it defiitely compares 'older' Verados to 'newer' Verados, they alos confirm this by mentioning 'last years older model'

I was at the Miami Boat Show the year the Verado was unveiled, and nearly all of the engineering team that designed it was at the Merc booth. They were all VERY eager to answer questions about this motor, and all of them had the same answer.
The engine was designed to fix the inherent problems associated with large four-stroke outboards; poor out-of-the-hole performance, and top-end performance that fell behind the two-strokes that they and Bombardier were manufacturing at the time. Suzuki and Honda had already made some advancements in the acceleration area with new cam and valve timing technology, so they needed to squash that, and Bomb had only released E-Tecs to 90hp, so they beat them to the punch as well. There was little they could do about the weight and complexity issue with a four-stroke, so they concentrated on power and efficiency.

Verado is a supercharged 4 stroke. The four strokes are known for their lack of pollution, lack of noise, and the ability to run straight gas as opposed to a gas/oil mixture. 4 strokes are also known for there increased number of parts, weight, lack of fuel economy (compared to 2 strokes), and little to no low end power or torque. Mercury overcame this by super charging the motor therefore giving it 2 stroke like power.

2 strokes are more fuel efficient, have less parts, and weigh less.

Since the industry is moving towards 4 strokes and the epa standards are changing, the entire industry and consumers are starting to lean that way also.

Boats with 2 strokes on the re-sale market today are more difficult to sell and are losing value quicker.

The Verados have electronic controls therefore allowing the wiring harness and plug in gauges to deliver the information to the dashboard. This eliminates the need for throttle and shift cables running to the dashboard from the transom as well as many other wires that used to run the individual gauges.

Mercury's Verado has electronic controls at the helm allowing the motors to run in synch without constant adjustment of the throttles. Triple and quad engine applications are run by Shadow Controls which allow the engines to shift forward together, reverse together, etc. still in rpm synch.

Fuel economy, gallons burned, range, tank %, etc are now delivered to the dash for the captain to see with few instruments and gauges needed.

Older twin engine 2 stroke applications might have problems converting to the new 4 stroke technology as most four strokes are wider than 2 strokes and transom hole location, tie bars, etc might need to be retrofitted. Not to mention new wiring harness's needing to be run to the dash and shift and throttle cables eliminated.

There are many manufacturers of outboard motors and each has their own shift and electronic controls that need to be matched.

Personally from what I have seen Mercury has done a great job with the Verado and its accessory options.

2 Stroke Mercury 300 XS models need 93 octane or they will detinate because they do not have knock sensors. Verado's computer will adjust with lower octane fuel and knock back the horsepower without destroying the motors. 250 XS models can run on 89 octane.

Verados also have their own built in steering system while 2 strokes still use wing plates and external steering from other manufacturers. Mercurys steering is under the same motor warranty while the third party steering is not.

External steering is not needed in all applications, it depends on speed and horsepower.

For more information on Mercury Outboard products and Verado Shadow controls watch the American Powerboat TV Episode 3 in the OSO Video Section of the site:

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=136467

Note: I am not a Mercury tech, dealer, distributor, or expert by any means but I have visited the factory and talked to the people that designed, engineered, and built the products. My information is solely based on memory and experience, not fact. If you have more or better information feel free to share it with us.

OSO,

You certainly sum that up

OK now did you ask about Ocean Hawks? I know more about those than Verados.

I sold Ron Dollers, it had a pair of 250 EFI's and ran 71mph gps. I thought the GPS was broken but the speedo read a mph less. The key to those is the motor height, shaft length, and the distance the bracket is off the back of the boat.

Narrow beam but good rough water boat, Phil can tell you everything you need to know.

Most of the ones Cigarette did ran 55-60 max.

Not sure what Ron had under the hood of those 250's but knowing him, they were probably tinkered with.

I am still old school.........as long as there is 2 stroke parts out there for outboards, thats what I will own. If you want a 4 stroker, get a BBC. I do NOT like all this hyped up super charged stuff in the 4 stroke market now, the mfgs are doing everything they can to reach that old 2 stroke power, but it is just a bit much abuse they can't handle, causing failure all the time.

Mercury web site says the minumun octaine on the 300xs is 91. I plan on using 93, hope these are good motors because I just had a pair installed on my 28 Skater!:D

What kind of results have you seen?

As long as newer 2 strokes can meet epa requirements, it will continue to be a battle betweeen the 2. I realize we are talking fishing applications here, but what is going to happen to all the performance based O/B applications?

Steve great summary :D

2008 Verados have been upgraded. Forged pistons now, better fuel consumption, etc. So if you get Verados, get 2008s.

Sorry I refer to fuel in three octanes, 87,89,and 93. I guess I meant to say premium fuel which by definition would mean 91 and up.

Verados are more reliable than car engines. I have two 275 Verados and they are amazing.

PLease tell me more, I met Phil and seen the boats they seem to be what I am looking for, a go fast center console all around Offshore boat? Trailerable, storable, et:Dc.....

Both the 300 Verado and XS require 91 octane.

THE 2 ARE STROKES ARE MORE FUEL EFFICIENT, AND HAVE LOWER EMISSIONS at 2/3's the weight.
Add that the verado is a throw away motor, at least the 2 strokes can effectively and quickly be rebuilt.

This technology ( verado ) defeats the purpose of outboards, when the new generation 2 strokes are better in EVERY way.

Favorite oil for the 300xs? Merc Opti, Klotz, etc?

Dont they call for Merc premium plus? I have run Klotz, Amsoil, and Merc Premium plus. The mercury stuff is cheaper and I dont notice a difference at all. I run 300 promax's but I believe the 300xs call for the same oil.

I don't know where you are getting your info,, but ,, I have never heard Merc say that the 300V is a "throw away engine" as a matter of fact , I just received my warrenty card's with a 6 yr date on them ,,, care to comment ------ and ,, the 300 V uses less fuel and will burn any octane you put in it ,,, I could go on and on ,,, however it's a personel choice ,, I like the 4 stroke just fine ,,, can't say the same about the loud blue smoking 2 stroke's that require 93 octane or your warrenty is void!!! then you get to buy another $35 dollar gallon of oil so you can run your boat tommorow !!! no thanks ,, not for me ,,, it sure is nice we have choices !!!

RHC