ChiToWn TapouT

Whats the difference between the Merc 2.5 consumer and
the 2.5 race?
Ive read the threads where the question was 2.5 or 300's
but they did not specify if they were talking about the race 2.5's
or not. And I read only one that did specify race.

What kind of maintenance $$ and schedule
comes along with the consumers.
Is it the big cash that they say or are they
referring to the ROS.?

berns29scarab

x's all the way...no mixing oil, smart craft, more horsepower (3teens to 320's) as per power boat magazine, lacking the sound of the 2.5's but gobs more torque. and same boat stock to stock x's win.

ChiToWn TapouT

Yeah I know 300's are the way to go.
But what if the boat is equipped with 2.5's?
Cough up 15% for the down payment then how much
more out of my pocket for the 300's then the parts for
the conversion,(longer rams, steering plates, onboard oil tanks) not much for parts, then labor time on top of that
stroke the insurance company a check (cat insurance)
it starts to add up.
It would be nice to just get in and go!!

Or I can just buy a boat w/300's on her and avoid
all the nonsense.

But damn if I dont like the AMT(s) in the classifieds!!
There are a few Spectres w/300's I like also.

So thats why I asked the question I dont want
to make a decision and then regret it later.

timewarp

I believe that the differences depend upon what year engines you are talking about, but they can include different tower housings, electronics(rev limiters), possibly clamp brackets.

To find out for sure you should probably repost your question on
www.screamandfly.com

The AMT's are beautiful boats.


Caleb

ChiToWn TapouT

Thank you Caleb, I'll do that

timewarp

I would also think that your maintenance costs will vary more by the way you run the boat than on wether you have 2.5 or 3.0 litre engines. If you keep the RPMs down out of the stratosphere the 2.5's will live a long and health life. I think that the X's probably go through more gearcases(due to torque, non ratcheting clutch dogs, or ?? not sure) than do the 2.5's. You also get to run cheaper oil in the 300X's than in the 2.5's. I think part of the reason the 2.5's sometimes get a bad rep is that someone will run some cheaper oil in them because that's all that's available at the time and then when the motor let's go it's the motor's fault not the cheap oil they ran. A rule of thumb that I saw on this site for maintenance planning is to plan on 10% of the original cost of the boat and motors per year for maintenance.(the original cost of the boat and motors when new, not the used price of the boat) I used to think that was excessive but I have come to learn that it's pretty close, you can save some by doing some of the work yourself but it will give you a number to start with.

There are people who don't make 50 hours out of a 300X and there are people who get over 400 hours before rebuild and I believe that the 2.5's are the same, treat them right and they will treat you right.

Caleb

ChiToWn TapouT

Thanks Brother,
That gives me a starting point. I flipped to S&F and I'll see what they come up with.