Mid 90's merc 150 xr6 weight reduction?

[Chingadera]

I have a mid 90's merc 150 xr6 with small gear case. What can I do if anything to drop any weight off of this engine? Are any lighter parts available? Lighter cowl? Light weight aluminum flywheel? Anything else that can be done to drop weight? I don't need to add any more hp but less weight would be nice as I'm trying to keep the rear end of my boat up as much as possible.

[patchesII]

Weight reduction on engines can get expensive and there's not much there to be lost. The biggest things you can do are a lightweight cowl, a light 16 amp flywheel and even going to an aftermarket 15" clamp/swivel assembly. Those three things can drop significant weight but grab your wallet. You're talking 5000 dollars worth of stuff

[nitro_rat]

Early 2 ram mid...

[Magcat 62]

Weight reduction on engines can get expensive and there's not much there to be lost. The biggest things you can do are a lightweight cowl, a light 16 amp flywheel and even going to an aftermarket 15" clamp/swivel assembly. Those three things can drop significant weight but grab your wallet. You're talking 5000 dollars worth of stuff

IVE been looking at ion batteries wiegh 6-7 lbs. heard some issues about fires,etc. my battery is an anchor that ide love to get rid of. buddy told me harley bat wil start a 2.5. i dont think so. what ya think? ART

[tunnelmike]

I had a 13 lb lawn mower battery that would crank 140lbs compression back in the day. I had a 6lb Braille that would crank 180lbs easily. There are batteries that are less than a pound today that will crank 200 + lbs , but they are real pricey. A 3 ram mid is pretty light as far as factory parts go.

Start eliminating things you don't use. If you are using a fishing 1 piece cowl a Mercury Racing Prouducts cowl is substantially lighter. 40 amp flywheel s are pretty heavy. The back seat in one of my Hydrostream's and my liberator were crazy heavy.

Like patches said there are plenty of ways to lighten up but none are cheap ! Mike

[Chingadera]

Well I just picked up a 16' 1980 Allison and I was wanting to run the xr6 150 on it. It needs allot of work and I'm converting it into a flat deck with cockpit (like a flats boat style) for fishing. I know it's not really a fishing hull but I want to pee in some friends cheerios who think 60mph is fast.the xr6 is a 1995 model in mint stock condition. The stock cowl is heavy. I plan on using bluewater 26 for the transom and something light weight for the stringers but I'll be making that up with the flat deck weight easy. I won't have much in it but I also thought about adding 3-4" to the gunwall height to make it a bit more comfortable with any extra weight I add. Does anyone know if anyone ever ran the xr6 150 on that boat? I've seen them with 140 evindrudes and that's close the the same weight as the xr6

[nitro_rat]

I've seen them with 140 evindrudes and that's close the the same weight as the xr6

A crossflow 140 is in the 300 lb ballpark. A XR6 is in the 400 lb range. BIG difference.

Now an old inline 150 Merc was a 300 pounder.

It is possible to cut weight on a V6 Merc to the 300 lb mark. A chrome carb 2.4 on an early 2 ram mid with the liner out of the can, light weight race cowl, and XR6 small lower unit should get you there.

That would be a nice motor to hang on a 16' Allison but $$$ to put together unless you have some (maybe most, or ALL!!!) of that stuff laying around...or are REAL good at scrounging old junk!

[Chingadera]

My xr6 has the small lower unit already. It's not very heavy and for sure not 400lbs I think it's about 340-360 I think just a lighter weight cowl would help allot and maybe an aluminum flywheel. I'm wondering if I could get a local starter shop to build me a light weight mini starter. Just a few pounds here and there and she would be in range.

[David]

Merc claimed 395 lb for the XR6

[Chingadera]

I can say without a doubt there's no way it's 395. I stood it up by hand I'm 6'4" 275 but still I don't think it's 395. I messages caulhoun about cutting the mid down and what all cost is involved. I wonder how much that would cut out of it.

[nitro_rat]

I carried my bathroom scale out to the shed to weigh an exhaust liner for another thread (4.6 lbs), so I thought I would throw some clamps on the scale while I was out there...

I happened to have all 3 mids torn down and lined up on the floor, so I dragged them out and weighed them.

1st gen 2 ram: 52 lbs
2nd gen/offshore 1 ram: 80 lbs
3rd gen 3 ram: 65 lbs

Bear in mind that the 1 and 2 ram clamps will require a pump in the boat. You would need to add the weight of whatever pump you use for a fair comparison, but the pump can be moved around where you need in and isn't cantilevered off the back of the transom.

You guys running an offshore mid have a legit 30 lb disadvantage compared to the odd ball still using the old 2 ram setup!

[Keaten]

That's good info thanks. For weighing all that I aways wondered wat the weight differences were.

[sharpeye Mike]

I believe they were designed to run a 15" mid, so now you'll have to get a jack plate that will push your weight even further back, offsetting any effort to bring the weight down. A V4 will take you to 75-80 MPH, that should be enough to school your friends.

[nitro_rat]

I have a cut 2 ram mid that would be perfect. Needs a new leg and driveshaft cut to match though. It's as short as you cam go on a 2 ram, maybe 16-1/4". Less than 50 lbs.

It's set up to delete the thru-transom hydraulic lines and run an OMC sterndrive pump in the boat. Nice setup...