Adding to what Uncle Dave posted about the merc's.

Besides the various issues with the 700sci's, there has also been plenty of threads and posts about warranty and bad service issues regarding merc. I have not read such a post or thread about Ilmor - ever.

Emailed with Ian Hawkins about 3 yrs ago, just to get some questions answered and general info, among other things, info about service. I live in Denmark, and the nearest Ilmor shop was in Holland at the time, but my local merc pusher is a hi-po guy. Ian Hawkins just said, if you decide to go Ilmor, we'll just have to learn them how to work on your engines and get them certified. How's that for service. Class act.

Oh, almost forgot. I think you should go Ilmor.

Was told by Ian earlier that Dry Harbor Marine up in Charlevoix is look'n like a service place! He said he sent them info & was talk'n bout classes! They sold the 400ss Formula w/ the 725's!!

That is one bad-a$$ ride.

I just wailed the cr@p out of my 725/Indy package at the NJPPC Barnegat Bay run, and it never missed a beat.

My (Mercury) trim tab pump motor, however, fell right off of the pump body itself...

I heard it's run'n round 75! :coolcowboy:

Where are all of the Merc cheerleaders? This thread has become kinda one sided. Interesting!

They are too busy pressure checking CMI headers :lolhit:

It could be that people are just wanting a change..tired of the Merc monopoly...Ilmor makes a great product with even better support, something that Merc needs to improve upon to keep their marketshare. Secondly comparing a 700 nxt package to a 725 Ilmor package is a savings of 400 pounds..per side...that = speed = better fuel economy = more sales. They are a force to reckon with...

I assure you that you will not be disappointed w/ any of the ILMOR Packages. I don't believe in bashing ones product in order to make it's competitors look better + I've never personally owned a Mercury powered boat.

I see you are located in Michigan, I encourage you to visit the ILMOR facility, learn some more about their history, their accomplishments beyond the marine industry. Meet the very people you'll speak to on the other end of the phone, the ones that engineered & designed the engine / drive packages.

ILMOR probably can't hold a candle to the number of engines & drives Mercury has manufactured & sold over the years but look at what ILMOR has done in a short 7 yrs in the marine industry.

Personally I think they are far more technically advanced than Mercury & tend to stay on the front side of technology as a whole constantly improving upon what they've already developed while also introducing new components..

IMO their service, support & constant strides towards a better product are unmatched.

Man, when ILMORdude reads this thread, he's ego and head is goin' to explode:lolhit::lolhit:

If I told you that Ilmor powered me to three world titles, finishing 20 of 21 races , 15 of which were on the top step of the podium, and against mercury products.... will it help you make your decision?? :)

Craig

Nah, ILMORDude is a latecomer, and knows it. He's paying his dues at the moment.

He does his fair share, however; good guy.

I would think so as long as they threw in a hat & t-shirt!:party-smiley-004:

Pretty good stats rt there! :ernaehrung004:

no deny!:coolcowboy:

That sure would help!!:party-smiley-004:

ilmor :drink:

I like the Ilmors..lighter by 800 pounds..drives are supposedly stronger than the nxt set up.. they sound good..better mpg and customer service is good..just need to get more of a dealer net work..thats there only down fall that I see at the moment. I believe in 5 years Ilmore will be a force to reckon with, and will squash the Mercury monopoly. Jeff

Sure hope so. I think they already are a force to be reckoned with.

If 825's are on the way as posted earlier, who would want a merc 850.

The majority of the boating manufacture's .. cause nobody likes change or a learning curve. I feel if you want to be competitive, offer both, figure out how to make the customer happy. Ilmor needs to understand that the cost difference should also not be any more, just under or right at Merc's pricing... Would I order a boat with them.. YES.

Working on my 8th year. 7 being in Marine :coolcowboy:

I had a nice chat w/ Ian early this week & your name came up a bunch w/ a whole lot of other 4 letter words around it!!!!:party-smiley-004::evilb:

I believe ilmor uses cmi headers as well, no?

IlmorDude should B able 2 answer that??????

Yes from what I know.

Merc and ilmor each specified their own specs.

UD

yup...they sure do...hence the caution...

Working on my 26th year. 2 in marine. Sort of....

So far, I haven't heard of any header issues with Ilmor engines. My theory about this is:

1. Ilmor allowed CMI to use proven design techniques and materials, instead of interfering with CMI's production process as Mercury did.
2. Because there are five cylinders on each bank, there are more mounting points, and the header is therefore better supported.

Ilmor's have issues as well.

It was a pleasure to put those together for you guys. The "Fountain Worldwide/King of Shaves" boat is one of my proudest work stories to date. I even have the replica RC boat sitting pretty behind my basement bar!

Everything can have issues.

It's how you get taken care of that matters.



UD

we were talking the "headers"..
the design looks identical to me..??
not better supported..more bolts...but also more header!!
header issues have nothing to do with support anyway, at least at the cylinder head..
P.S. we LOVE the Ilmors!!!!

I think lots of headers look alike but seem to vary greatly in

1. the amount of material given for inner wall thickness
2 the inner diameter
3 how much care & time is taken at the flange

All these on top of the material used probably have a lot to do with longevity.

At the same time Im now starting my third season with my 28 and a 710 and I know headers do not last forever I flush them religiously and drain them when sitting more than a few weeks- that said they all have a finite life.

Is your OL the 115MPH rig with the 650's in it? (sweet)

That's Dan's boat. His port header failed on the Old Saybrook run (CMI).

Hopefully it didn't damage the engine!:eek:

Probably covered under warranty- but Im curious.

UD

What R people's thoughts on resale if I put them in my new NT! The positive Ilmor responses here " say" it's a good thing???? Thoughts???? Thanx

I think ILMOR resale is getting stronger everyday.
At the Fall River poker run yesterday, It was ILMOR POWER finishing first, second , and third at the LAST card stop. There were boats there with DOUBLE the horsepower,, but ILMOR has the reliability thing down!
It's not how fast you go, but how long you go fast!

Cool! What boats??

I woud think as Ilmoor sells more units and people become more familiar with them, their resale values will increase.

I can show you 100 boaters that (think they are performance guys) that have never heard of Ilmoor. But, the sound of that Ilmoor powered Spectre in the earlier video clip made me really want one.

will add - Mastercraft boats sold in their day about 3000 boats per year, in this economy maybe 1500 to 2000 boats as Ilmor now is the motor going into all their boats. Roger Penske also has some % of vested interest in Mastercraft - hence the engine package change to Ilmor.

Ilmor offers 4 versions for this market inwhich all are V-8 GM based. They have 5.7L, 6.0L, 6.2L, & V-8 OPS which is "Ocean Performance Series for Saltwater use and closed cooling apps.

The exhaust system on these motors look somewhat of a knock off from Indmar marine engines who supplies all Malibu boats. The Exhaust manifolds are cast iron / water cooled / catalyst.

The ECU is done by Econtrols out of San Antonio, Texas who supplies all Volvo Penta's engines since 2004/2005. Also EControls Supplies the New Mast Performance Marine engine but that engine, I don't think has made it into the market place yet.

Ilmor 5.7 has cast iron cylinder heads while the 6.0 and 6.2 have cast aluminum heads.


The V-10s use the CMI headers made to Ilmor spec and a "Sport Tube design".

Also 2010 Ilmor opened its 50,000 sq. ft marine engine assembly and test facility in Mooresville, North Carolina. Close to Roger Penske Nascar building faclities engine programs.

Just some additional info about Ilmor as this was a good move to have their motors / name in a production built boat of at least 1500 per year as of now and hopefully growing for them in years to come. Mercrusier has totally lost the ski boat maket as far as 99.5 % sales in the ski & wakeboard boats. It is all PCM, Indmar and now Ilmor.

Good for Ilmor and their customer service is second to none plus a coulpe of ex Merc employees now work for Ilmor. They jumped the fence as it seems the way this post is going.

Mike Fiore in the new sv 43 with 725's ,
Myself in a 32 skater with 710's
And ken and dan in the sv 40 with 650's