Mercury Four Stroke

oldgas · April 19, 2018, 12:27:11 PM

Question; Has anyone heard any grapevine talk regarding when/if Merc's new V-6 four stroke will be avalable for bass boats?

D.W. Verts · April 19, 2018, 02:20:06 PM

I'll check on that.

oldgas · April 19, 2018, 02:30:52 PM

Thanks, that'd be great.
I had one dealer tell me they (the new Mercs) weren't geared for bass boats. HUH?? Not sure what he meant by "geared".
I've seen them tested on a shallow free-board 20' Bay boat......

D.W. Verts · April 19, 2018, 03:26:03 PM

They are intended to be bass boat-type engines.

The problem with 4S engines is this- they have nor been able to turn the RPM a 2S does, plus there is the weight issue. Your car/truck/whatever (4S) has a TRANSMISSION that lets you select, or it does, the proper gear for any speed (RPM). If 4S engines had a workable tranny, even a simple 2-speed, then we wouldn't have so many issues with them.

Fast forward to the first fifth of the 21st Century, and apparently technology has caught up with the 4S issues. Mercury certainly thinks they have it figured out, 'cuz they're puttin' all of their eggs in one basket by discontinuing all 2S production.

The new 4S's basically match the weight of the old engines. They make their horsepower while being normally aspirated (the Verado's are supercharged). Very interesting. I'm a Merc fan, no secret. But we'll see...

Back to the question- Mercury is releasing the new engines the first week of May. However they've been taking orders since February. My shop does wonders, and I still have some ties with Mercury, but if I wanted one without pullin' a bunch of strings it would be fall.

Hope all this makes sense and was helpful.

oldgas · April 19, 2018, 04:34:45 PM

Hey thanks, best info I've heard regarding Merc's V6 four stoke.

Princeton_Man · April 19, 2018, 06:18:53 PM

I think I saw one of the new ones (a 150) on a new pontoon at Smith Mountain.

Captsteve · April 19, 2018, 06:38:34 PM

Quote from: Princeton_Man on April 19, 2018, 06:18:53 PM
I think I saw one of the new ones (a 150) on a new pontoon at Smith Mountain.

I have 150 four stroke but it is not a v6.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

D.W. Verts · April 19, 2018, 09:17:14 PM

I guess they've been testing heavily at Lake X for over a year and the performance #'s are on par with the Opti's. They are gonna be pricey though- somewhere around $2K more than a comparable Optimax.

If I was a smart man (I'm not) I'd buy me a new Opti and keep it in the box. Just in case. I really like 'em.

oldgas · May 07, 2018, 03:34:06 PM

More news regarding Merc's new V-6 four stroke.
Unless this guy is totally wacked, and that's not likely unless the photo he sent along is fake. He says he has a new 20PHX Phoenix ordered and fitted with Merc's new ProSX250 four stroke. (I was under the noition this motor was only 175, 200,& 225) He is pictured standing next to a ProSX 250 four stroke.....mounted on a bass boat.
He also went on to say that Merc has stopped building ProSX two strokes as of May 1st. The only big two strokes available are whatever dealers have in stock.
Can anyone out there shoot holes in these claims?
I'm very close to ordering a new rig and I'm VERY interested in this motor.
Has anyone read the report done by the B.A.S.S. midea staff? VERY impressive!!

D.W. Verts · May 08, 2018, 06:47:24 PM

The quit building the Optimax April 26th.

The most impressive thing about the new 4S is that they're LIGHT.

oldgas · May 09, 2018, 04:59:10 PM

So it looks like all or most of the rumors are true.
I also was told just today by our local Phoenix Boat Rep, he will have his new boat by mid June sporting a new Merc four stroker.

You are so right about the wieght, they tip the scale at roughly 473lbs and the Opti comes in at 505.
Gonna be interesting to see!!!!!