Opinions Please. Mercury or Ilmor
 

OSO members I could use your help. I'd like you opinions and or experiences between Mercury and Ilmor if you were building a new boat today?

You really will not go wrong with either! I personally would love to own some ilmors! I also like how they are built in our home state.

Mercurys 525s and 700s are awesome engines, and I love both turbo motors. Anything 850-1075 just don't impress me enough to not look at custom engine builders.

I personally have over 160 trouble free hours at 9psi of boost so Mercury did something right!

What boat will they be going in makes a difference also?

Assuming that you're talking 600-700 hp, I'm a fan of the Ilmors in that power range, if for no other reason that they are not supercharged, and are therefore under less stress. Add in that the Ilmor combinations weigh less, the Indy drive and transmission are designed to handle 1000 hp versus 600 for the Bravo and 700 for the NXT, and I see the Ilmors as a clearly better package.

Ilmor is hungry to establish themselves and has gone out of their way to promote great customer satisfaction. So far, all of their customers (including me) are happy campers.

Ilmor is also making some pretty good deals on some of the older Gen 3 engines as well as some display versions of the Gen 4 engines. It's definitely worth a phone call to them.

What he said and more. Ilmor has been more than helpful with any questions or issues with anything. Can you call mercury on a Saturday and talk to someone? I'd highly doubt it. Ilmor all the way!

Ilmor

Michigan made, no blower, no blower maintenance, no intercooler, lighter, more unique, better MPG, INDY drive.

Prob a couple ticks faster in stock form. (Assuming 725/700)

If you're willing/looking just for top speed, merc with whipple upgrades is the way to go. Reliability goes down, maintenance goes up though.

Ilmor all the way. I could not be happier with my setup!

+1 on w-a-y better fuel burn numbers for Ilmor. The transom and tailpipes are always clean as a whistle.

Another plus is less driveline torque, as Ilmors turn higher rpm's to make their power.

Go with Merc, Better resale and easier to get rid of when you get ready to sell it.

Only because people dont know any better.

I dont know the reason.. I personaly dont have anything against the Ilmors, I was just stating a fact.:drink:

I don't know the answer to this as I've never looked into it, but say we are comparing 700 HP packages, what's the cost new of one verses the other? My guess is the Merc package is significant more. If so, I don't know that your statement holds all that much water when you look at the depreciation of new verses used.

Not always. 525 mercs great as they are should have headers inspected and checked if a buyer is wise.

Tough call. Had Mercs my whole life- love em and BBC and SBC of various sizes and flavors. Mercs always treated me right. The merc 700 is really great as a blown injected big block should be.

The ilmor is a different beast - much lighter due to an aluminum block, and smoother- not as hard hitting on the bottom for sure, but the midrange and top end whallop are amazing

As C- Spray says - never a speck on the transom and incredible fuel efficiency



Uncle Dave

you have nothing against Ilmor because you only sell Merc stuff...???
how many hours do you have running both products??:)
P.S. this is the guy that bought the Ilmor stuff..
P.S.S. we did like running that Skater you finally sold with the Merc stuff...

Ilmor for President:drink:

the Ilmor package is more and yes it's a fact mercury has a better resale, still Ilmor makes a great product

Having been a Merc man all my boating career(30+years), I must say the Ilmors I now own are AWESOME! Better fuel mileage , incredibly smooth and without the hassles of blower belts breaking , etc. I heard the less resale value opinion as well when looking to buy, and I feel that once people see the incredible reliability, fuel mileage and overall build quality of Ilmor, they will get where they will bring a premium over mercury. My number one suggestion is to do a tour of the Ilmor facility.
I never knew they build all the Indy car engines for Honda!
Their facility is unbelievable! Their technical expertise far outweighs mercury! Check it out for yourself before you decide!

There are numerous people going 500-700 hrs before rebuilds with the Ilmors as well!

The Ilmor guys have been building engines for (and winning in) IndyCar and Formula One for over 25 years. I've worked with them first-hand for most of that time, and they are not to be under-estimated. Roger Penske has owned the controlling interest in the company since its inception, so you can draw your own conclusions.

The engine below was built by Ilmor for Mercedes-Benz when they re-entered racing in the 1994 Indy 500, and won the race going away. It was immediately banned by the Speedway... It made over 1,000 horsepower out of 209 cubic inches at 9,800 rpm - seventeen years ago. Imagine the technology gains since then.

Ilmor's engine assembly area:

they will have their new 800-825hp engine out by the miami show. they are becoming a force in the market

Its also nice not to have to clean belt dust from the bilge all the time.

UD

that's exactly what I want to hear..will it still be nat. asperated. Jeff

I think there R other considerations like where U boat! 4 example, I boat in northern MI & there R 2 boat sales/merc repair dealers w/ in 3 miles! The best I know the nearest Ilmor service is 3 1/2 - 5 hours away towing! Summer is way 2 short up here 2 B down long or spend'n all your X tow'n round the state! That said, I like the Ilmors but the above kinda takes me outta their program!

Ilmor/Indy
 

I would love to have an Ilmor 725 w/Indy Drive on my boat. If I were building my boat right now, that would be a perfect setup for my boat, and super reliable and fast...

Ilmor,, all the way for me, I don't want anything supercharged/turbo...

I love the fast 725/Indy pkg, and it looks awesome too!

I was concerned about that as well. No matter what town you pull into there is a sign somewhere by a lake that says "Mercury." This was initially a concern for me as well.

The Ilmor water pump uses a Mercury impeller so the #1 maintenance item is covered. The serpentine belt is an automotive part so you can get it anywhere and I have a spare anyway. Nothing else really needs attention at least so far but oil and fluids on a seasonal basis. I run a bravo drive so I can get merc parts for that.

The mill is just stone reliable.

In contrast a quick search on this very site of Mercury 700's will reveal a multitude of these reoccurring problems

computer
boost controller (IAC)
fuel pump always running
fuel pump never running
hard starting from guy that run them hard.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...5sci-pcms.html

Note the days cycle quoted to get a warranty part here. It wont ruin your summer- but it will ruin a trip.

Extremely expensive computer replacements are not likely to be on a shelf regardless of the sign in the window - especially in kiddywampus Missouri.

Im not bashing the Merc 700 it is a great mill and one Id be proud to own - but it has had its share of issues.

Uncle Dave

I know the Ilmor are great engines I just cant stand that sound!! Ill stick with the BBC!

The Marine engine sounds nothing like the corked up auto app.

People tell me my rig sounds like a cross between a BBC and a Ferarri/Lamborghini which is to say killer.


UD

The Ilmors sound different and awesome!! Why sound like eveyone else!!:D

agreed, they sound killer :drink:

Really, turn it up to reconsider !! :lolhit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwjHd...layer_embedded

:evilb::evilb:

That's what I'm talkin about!

Sweet.

Im turgid.

UD

Ilmor....... Without a doubt.

Five years running twin V-10s without motor problems.

Resale value of Ilmors??????? I would buy them again.

They sounded awesome.... I would definitely look into them based on what has been discussed in this thread.

if thats true, that would help them become a larger force. they need something out there bigger than 725

Although I would like to see some bigger power from Ilmor its a questionable investment from their standpoint

The market for Marine engines above 700 HP begins to dwindle considerably.

Becoming the sole engine supplier for Mastercraft was likely a better tooling and production investment than would be a an 800 series engine and a smarter move.


Uncle Dave

I thought I would hate the sound from hearing the vipers and the v10 pickups, but the marine version sound great wound up. I have been looking at boats with either merc525s or Ilmore 600s and it appears to me the Ilmores are asking more $$$. Personally Id take the Ilmores because of the CMI header issues and the Indy drive vs the Bravo.

V-10
 

That 32 Spectre Vid w/V10s sounds amazing...

That is an excellent/reliable Package..!!!

Unreal!

the sound of those things gives me cold chills..

the 710 and 725 are the absolute nicest natural marine engines out there. Period.

i saw them at desert storm a couple years ago. i always wondered about the "seemingly" lack of slope coming out of the headers and including the tail pipes.

maybe the v-10's don't suffer from reversion as much as the bbc's???

i don't know but it's my favorite for certain.

ilmors and be done with it hands down most of the merc signs you see in towns are not high performance guys and wouldnt be able to fix a 700 any way