The "mid" if you want to call it that , is a "one off" that was machined from a solid block. And the "pan" is just a sheet metal wrap . It was only a test ... LOL


I think a reliable 400 hp Mercury two stroke is a very doable thing ... ya just gotta hang out with the right OMC guy ... :D:

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/c...ps0c3ae667.jpg

[QUOTE=TubeCarz;4258878]I think a reliable 400 hp Mercury two stroke is a very doable thing ... ya just gotta hang out with the right OMC guy ... :D:

Ouch, that hurt!

Sometimes the truth hurts ... :throw:
The 3.0/3.2 looks more like a 235 omc than a 2.5 ... don't it ?
Then it only makes sense to do what they do , ya ain't never gonna get your opti to spin 9500 .. :rolleyes:

I was not talking about the motor in Dubai but the mid section for the teaser ad from Mercury. It looks exactly like my 300x.
There are guys out there with modified 300x motors making close to 400hp already. Definitely doable.
OMC V8's are heavy and their clamp brackets are weak. May work for tunnel boats but not for an offshore cat.
I'll take my chances with my x motors any day LOL

we need a manufacture other than merc to step up and compete in offshore racing but there just is not enough $$$ to be made doing it I suppose, other wise we'd have what we all want and that's some light high horsepower outboards. the money is in the fishing industry. that's the bulk of the sale's for Outboards I'd bet...from flats, bass boats to big offshore CC's.

Just hang in there brother:santa:

You are right my friend!!!
Saw a 400hp today. Nothing special pretty much as I said. Reworked 350hp motor. New lower unit like a sportmaster on steriods. Definitely 700lbs. Did not see the cowling as it was covered up.
Better get ready to add a 3rd 300xs!!!!!!

It would be cool is someone like ilmor would take the yamaha SHO fourstroke and do a few upgrades and put a good low water pickup lower unit on it. The yamaha is a 4.2 liter 4 stroke v6 and can make 300 hp with just a tune and the best part is it weighs in right at 500 lbs. I would think ilmor could do some work to the heads, cams and get 350 hp out of the motor. Using what they learned from building the indy drive I would also think they could come up with a great lower unit. Yes it is a pipe dream and would cost a lot but it would really take offshore outboard cats to the next level.

I have one on the bay boat. runs great... but I didn't realize it was that light. so what's why are they so light?

My bad , I skipped completely over the Mercury add stuff ... I didn't need to look to see that there is nothing there for me. However I did just go back and looked . Yes , looks like an X mid , maybe a little skinnier at the bottom and and fatter at the top . Dark , doctored up pictures .. who knows ;)

My reference to needing a good OMC guy to make a 3.0/3.2 liter Mercury make any significant strides in seeing an honest 400 hp is based on :

Most Merc hot rod guys are 2.5 based and look at the 3.0 the way everyone looks at the 4 strokes.

3.0 Merc's have a cast in closed ex log. Same thing the OMC guys been fightin for years.

For their size , both have poor transfer ports .

To mask those deficits , the OMC guys have went extremely large on the bore size . The piston and rod in the picture I posted is out of a 300x The sleeve it's resting in ... well it has kinship to OMC and 300x :D

I hear ya about the 2.5 guys but a 2.5 is no match for a 300x that has a little work. If you look at the speeds with the 28's Skater Jim holds the record at LOTO as well as I think that boat has seen 125mph.
2,5's are great motors but imo not as reliable, nor idle as good as a 300x.

Evinrude is making a 300hp 2 stroke. Is there a reason that can't be a sporty motor?

With enough time and money I could turn any of the new big 4 strokes into a fire breather. It's just going to be really expensive. Custom cams, maybe custom crank, ported heads etc. I'd guess there's at least 50-100hp left in any of them if you are willing to spin them.

Charlie t up here in ny has gone 126 with his 2.5 28

It looks like the JohnRude is sporty enough that it is being raced in Qatar Cup ?

Have the lowers cut and welded with a new nose cone ==> http://low-h2o.com/testimonial.htm

Photo Credit: Shoot2Thrill PBNation

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...pss2uvicz6.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...psuyjdrzzg.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...low_h2o/5b.jpg

: one of my biggest complaints with the 2.5's is the sometimes idle issues. most of my problems that I had in the past were with the drag motors. I ran Klotz R50 with 94 octane Sunoco and never had a problem with meltdowns.
On my Skater at first I had idling issues with the 2 center engines. After remedying, my 280's on the 36 skater seem to idle fairly well. If someone is having idling issues, there's probably something wrong that needs adjusted or replaced.
The only meltdown issue that I had was because of very shoddy work done by individuals that I won't mention on this thread. Anyway. on Diamond's dyno my 280 was 319.2 hp @ 8100 rpm. not bad for a mildly ported engine weighing in at 400 lbs. with a little more work these powerheads can produce around 335 hp. Concerning the reliability issues, certain things have to be me made sure of (see Diamonds fuel system 101 for details).
I'm sure that the modified 300x motors are awesome. It's a shame that both the high performance line of 2.5's and the 300x got the axe the way they did.
The extra 267+ lbs per motor that the new 400 supposedly weighs makes me stop and reconsider if I really want that extra 1068+ lbs hanging off of my 36's transom
I'm looking forward to seeing what the verdict is on the modified 300x motors that you're running compared to the 2.5's on other 28's. It sure is a lot of fun experimenting and tweaking to see what works. I hope that you can get some decent weather down there so that you can get out there and let her fly! Keep us posted

I'm sure some of you read Hotrod Magazine. There's a great article about what Volvo has done with 3 turbos. First turbo, electric, helps spool up the other two turbos and they are producing 225 hp per liter. A 2.0 liter producung 450hp! I don't see why it could not be adapted for outboard use.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]536521[/ATTACH]

Man it's cold up here........

I was just having this discussion with an outboard buddy of mine the other day. They need to build an all aluminum, inline 4 (2.0 liter), twin cam, 4 valve per cylinder turbo that would easily put out 400hp and weigh no more than an old 2.5/V6. That same basic engine (2.0 I4 turbo) has been the mainstay of Audi/VW at around 300hp/EPA legal in several different cars for the past 5+ years or so - with a 5 year/50,000 mile warranty! I'm personally not a fan of the supercharged I6 route Mercury has chosen to stick with.

Mind if I call you David Corleone ... ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SF1iLXSQto


I cant help but think that the hair dryers would cause a little "under cowl heat" ... :rolleyes:

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/c2eWHNSaSZU/hqdefault.jpg

Now this here ... gotta be the road to serious power .. :stooges:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...i/EL-MAIN2.jpg

I like the snow but only if I'm vacationing where it is. 46 for the high here yesterday and the rain is back today! man o man; dreaming about being in the boat, the feel of 85 degree sunshine, 85 degree water and a 35 degree beer!

Hook them up, and Roll on to the Keys......

[QUOTE=TubeCarz;4260044]Mind if I call you David Corleone ... ?

Haha that's me alright, I'll take it, thanks for posting TC

[QUOTE=da*****rcury;4260170]King David does have a nice ring to it...

[QUOTE=Flightplan;4260211]Your Quadracellency

[QUOTE=Flightplan;4260211]tell that to the "Queen"

They have the base platform for this, just need to get them to make a Race version... Would think 250-300 hp is achievable, drop 50 lbs and add a sportmaster...You're there.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/...er-175-200-hp/

[QUOTE=skate;4260233] Aye Vito , Quadzilla is gazzed up and ready ... .>

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...17cb5a1101720e


It's got a screw bolted to the side, 400 would be easy but it would take 100 points on the fuel to do it.

50 lbs , not so easy unless you don't mind payin for mag castings and Ti fasteners ... :faint2:

Gettin Merc to take their eye off of the 1650 package long enough to remember the outboard .. :bong:

so who's jumping ship and ordering a new 34 outboard mti? :party-smiley-004:

That is going to be an amazing looking boat if it comes out looking like the drawings. I am thinking about going to twin 400's though from trip x's. I'm going to be watching the first few boats really closely.

That MTI looks amazing on paper. Order several guys so a few used ones trickle down to the used market quickly! :D


My concerns with the portly 400 are fuel economy and high rpm longevity compared to the current 300XS. The 300XS has proven to be super efficient and 2 strokes love to be run on the upper end all day long. How well will the 4 stroke like being run near redline for extended periods and how much will it drink in comparison? Yes I realize it takes more fuel to produce 400 hp rather than 300, but if a cat could comfortably cruise/run at 95 mph with the 300XS, how much more (or less) fuel will the 400 drink to maintain the same speed? I know fuel economy isn't a high priority for most of us, myself included, but I'm intested to see how the two compare in economy and high rpm sustainability.

Blasphemy!!!

Those are my thoughts and concerns exactly, so I'll be sitting back for a season to see what the first implimentors come up with. Also curious about gear case life and gear options. The weight isn't a concern for me as it'll actually be lighter than the trip setup I have but I'm also nervous to lose the out of the hole acceleration the trips provide.

I would never give up triple x's for 2 400hp verados. Based on the numbers your boat could lose 5mph. One of the other things I am hearing down here is that the it does not make full HP until over 6500rpm. I agree also three 300xs's will be better on fuel at cruise than two large 400hp's. I know when we had the Fountain CC with triples it got better mileage than our buddy's boat with twins at cruise because he had to run the harder.

What the he11 is goiing on....70 when i stepped outside this moring (80 yesterday) and now its 36 and spitting sleet and snow.
I'm taking a road trip to kill a groundhog!!!

It's 80* hear in SC Craig and the storms just came in.
We will have a 50* degree temp change in 24 hrs.Shoot that oversize weazel twice for me!

85 in S. FL

Get that boat on the water, Ron!

I had to scrape Ice off my windshield this morning. Ice. Our schools closed for the day. Now it's 43* and sunny, but the wind makes it feel like 20*.

First sun in 2 1/2 weeks.

Choot him Craig, Choot him...

Trying again for saturday.
Pray for NO rain!!!!!

I just spent three hours not the tractor clearing snow off the driveway. This is getting old. I haven't had a full schedule in three weeks. Ready for summer!