Verado fuel economy

[orca]

G,day. I am considering changing a 150 optimax with a 150 Verado, has anyone managed to get fuel economy figures for the Verado motors yet. The optimax is about 20% better on fuel than my mates Yamaha 150 4 stroke on a similar boat, and uses about half the fuel of the Yam 150 2 stroke that was on before.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: Verado fuel economy

so then why would you want a heavier, more fuel guzzling, more moving parts , more expensive , outboard motor. if your opti is better than your buddies yammy, im willing to gurantee that that yammy is way better engineered than any mercury

 

[Trophy23]

Re: Verado fuel economy

Whaley, probably best to wait for some UNBIASED product tests to come out. Phantmanmike has shown he is biased against all new Merc products many times on this forum I personally think he is phfull of BS most of the time. Always says he has great personal experience, but offers no proof what so ever. His PERSONAL GUARANTEE is worth less than two cents on any Merc product unless it is over 20 years old. He always gives out advice for New Mercs with no real information or facts or personal knowledge; like most Phat heads do. I'd bet the Verado is similar, but you need to see a unbiased test result or information from an Actual owner/operator to be realistic.

 

[Trophy23]

Re: Verado fuel economy

Whaley, I wanted to also suggest that you may want to check with your local Merc dealer to see when he will have one installed on a boat and go for a ride. It will have the SmartCraft guages of some form and can tell you gallons per hour(GPH) which you will be able to do a true comparison with. But remember this can change a lot due to hull type/weight/prop/rpms/etc. So need to compare similar setups. I wouldn't buy until you make sure it will do enough better to make it worth while for what you are trying to accomplish and at the same time compare other brands so phatmanmike won't be too upset if you pick the Verado.

 

[orca]

Re: Verado fuel economy

Thanks Trophy. Yeah, I have been posting on this site for a few years and quite expected some anti merc flak, Personally I have had a good run from Mercs and can't see any need to change.<br />Phatmanmike, what I need is some facts, I need a fuel comparison between the Verado 150 and the Optimax 150, You state that the Verado is 'Gas Guzzling' so obviously you have some data, c'mon, give us the facts.

 

[Scali]

Re: Verado fuel economy

I like Mercs too, heck I own one but if your looking fo better fuel economy why not check out E Tec.<br />I heard theyre so good on gas that you fill it up once, lasts 3 years.., <br />But seriously, the E Tec is worth a look

 

[orca]

Re: Verado fuel economy

OK Scali, can you give me any unbiased fuel economy figures, Yeah, I can read Bombardiers claims and Mercurys claims, what I need is some comparisons, same boat, between the Opti, Verado and Etec, prefebly 150HP.

 

[Bwalker]

Re: Verado fuel economy

I would bet money a Opti would be better on fuel.

 

[Bwalker]

Re: Verado fuel economy

BTW just looked at the specs for a Verado VS the Optimax. Verado150 510lbswithout prop, steering cylinder and oil, Opti 150 431.<br /> One word when the Verado is mentioned comes to mind....BEHEMOTH.

 

[Trophy23]

Re: Verado fuel economy

Ben Walker is right on weight and I'd also say Opti/Etec/Verado/Suzuki 4stk/Yamaha 4stk etc are pretty comparable on fuel economy according to unbiased test results so far on same size motors (hp) wise. Do not believe the hype that goes on from Bombadier or Brunswick -- I think they are a little biased. The Verado does indeed weigh probably about 60 to 150 pounds more depending on size of motor than comparable hp engine, especially in the lower horspower models of each type due to merc only using one size block for the 3 smaller Verado's and one size block for the 4 larger Verado horspower ranges. If you want to see how your boat will sit with a Verado, then have your son or wife(if you want a short marriage) sit on the motor cowling while in the water. Of course, don't do this while motor is running. Running wise I see little difference on plane with mine from 2 stroke I had before. Make sure you can take the torque and weight combination also. Some older transoms are not strong enough, especially after years of abuse and possible dry rot setting in. Well cared for boats or newer models have a better chance they can hold a large motor weight. I am biased and I do feel the benefits out weigh the dissadvantage of increased weight for larger boats. If I had a Etec I'd probably be happy with it and tooting it's horn too, but I think we should put out the facts and leave it up to others to decide what is best. I only have 21 hours on my Verado, but I'm already seeing decent numbers at cruise 4250 rpms and 31.6 mph (GPS) at 10.5 gallon per hour on a 4900-5000 pound boat with the 200 hp model. I'm a little under powered I found out, but the hole shot is as good as the 225 Mariner EFI I used to run. Maybe the 200 Etec would be better, I don't know, only know I'm happy with it as it's turn key and go. Now with the power steering fix, it's quiet as a mouse too. I'd definetly wait to see what the smaller units post in a unbiased magazine report before doing anything, you can bet they'll test them against each other at the same time/same hull/etc and you'll get a better picture.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Verado fuel economy

Sounds like you change motors like you change socks. If that's the case, why obsess about fuel consumption. You'll never save enough in fuel to pay for the motor.

 

[Bwalker]

Re: Verado fuel economy

A large fishing lodge up here changed their fleet over to Optis because they got better mileage and performance than the same size Merc four stroke.<br /> FWIW the lodge was Totem lodge in Sioux Narrows, ON. You may have seen the Merc ad in In Fisherman that echos what i have just said.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: Verado fuel economy

Originally posted by Trophy23:<br /> Whaley, probably best to wait for some UNBIASED product tests to come out. Phantmanmike has shown he is biased against all new Merc products many times on this forum I personally think he is phfull of BS most of the time. Always says he has great personal experience, but offers no proof what so ever. His PERSONAL GUARANTEE is worth less than two cents on any Merc product unless it is over 20 years old. He always gives out advice for New Mercs with no real information or facts or personal knowledge; like most Phat heads do. I'd bet the Verado is similar, but you need to see a unbiased test result or information from an Actual owner/operator to be realistic.

trophy, think before you speak... show me proof.<br />i own more merc products than i do any other motor. they are by far my favorite motor i have ever owned!! bar none!!!!<br /><br />i just think they stepped on their own **** when they came out with this abomination, the verado.<br /><br />he wanted fuel economy...??? well, this is only my opinion, but i think any inline 6 4 stroke that gets its power via force feeding, such as a supercharger, wouldnt be anywhere close to being good, or even close to anything like nissans tldi or optimax or etc.<br /><br /><br />ps, thanks for the name calling, buddy ! shows your a good sport

 

[Trophy23]

Re: Verado fuel economy

You are right Mike and I stand corrected and I am sorry for the name calling. It is another member who has been bashing, not you. You are a good supporter of all outboards. I should have looked back at the other posts. I still hate statements with no facts attached though (guess you have me there though in my judgement of you). <br />You are probably right about the supercharger and all the extra moving parts, but history hasn't bore that out on this motor --- Yet ---according to any owners knowledge I have seen reports from. Newer Optimax's also have been posting a great history and the Etec too. So, we seem to be getting better initial product success in the market. <br />The only article I've seen about a test of the small Verado's, a 135 hp model, was by BoatingLife magazine. It doesn't give much info though. Was on a 1850 Crestliner. No fuel figures. <br /> I think you are wrong about the Verado as I think Merc learned their lesson --as has Evinrude-- with the problems of the past and are now producing reliable motors. <br />The Four stroke history of Honda, Yamaha, etc has bore that out in the industry contrary to what a lot of people thought due to the extra moving parts. <br />They just didn't have the hole shots and the performance of the 2 stroke. Now with Verado they are close, Opti and Etec may take that prize, but for a 4 stroke, Verado is doing very well and I suspect the smaller models will do well too.

 

[gss036]

Re: Verado fuel economy

One thing I have noticed upon reading all the reports on different engines, at WOT, they all suck a "LOT" of gas. Ergonamitcs (is that the right word? :-}) require gas to get the RPMs for all that power. Heck, if one can afford one of the new motors, fuel economy should not be a concern. We are only talking about $100 bucks a year difference on any of them. That's why I am still running my old 89 200 carbed Merc, you cannot save enough to just to make the change unless you have more money than sense and I know a few people like that. They just have to have every new toy out there, that is they way they keep score, whoever has the most toys in the end wins.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Verado fuel economy

I think the Verado is going to give a good show over-all...The only 2 items that would concern me are the weight factor and the turbo...<br />No, I have no outboard turbo experience, but I do have quite a bit of time behind turbo-charged aircraft, and the continental TSIO-520 has been a nightmare....nice when they work though, but they also consume more fuel due to higher manifold pressures. If Merc figured out how to get around that, they have done something...

 

[Hawaiian]

Re: Verado fuel economy

Here is a link from Boston Whaler's web site. They have performance data for all of their boats. Remember they are owned by Brunswick Corp. This particular report tests the 200 Optimax versus the 200 Verado on a 21 foot Outrage.<br /><br /> http://www.whaler.com/Rec/pdfs/210OutrageEng.pdf

 

[Hawaiian]

Re: Verado fuel economy

I forgot to mention that the Verado gets a little better fuel economy at cruise but the Optimax does better at WOT. Scroll down the page to see the results of the 200 HP motors.

 

[orca]

Re: Verado fuel economy

Gee, those performance sheets from Whaler made interesting reading, It would be interesting to compare this data to a standard 2 Stroke. <br />Thanks Perry this is just what I was looking for.