I was not there........come on Merc bashers.......And people that know......Thanks.
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I was not there........come on Merc bashers.......And people that know......Thanks.
Define..."fail"...Big Dave...
Mercury felt it had excessive horsepower and hi performance boaters weren’t ready for it . Engineering voted for a delayed release date in 2019 . Code name 450 . Hf...
Well just from the Ev rude posts......I see......V8s were better.......
U guys r smokin crack!
Dunno the 3.4 was a fine motor when kept inside it's operating parameters. Unlike the little motors it just didn't have the extended rpm abilities.
I think that was the case.
Had an amazingly short recreational model run as well.
Raceman used to have an orig, never raced, T-4 race powrhead still bolted to the pallet.
Theres 2 fish motors for sale on here now.
I met a guy that had one on a house boat I think (???) and loved it.
I still remember and may have the Trailer Boat test they did of it against the V-8 on two identical Eliminators I believe.
John Tiger remembers it well and Stoker told me there was behind scenes drama on props.
As I recall it was to do w/having to be OEM available props.
And we know who had/has the best props.
Still way cool story and very rare to see head to head mfg against mfg.
The T-4/ 3.4 competed in the consumer market with sterndrives - so it was Mercury against MerCruiser basically. The 3.4 was lacking a few things, and I am talking the consumer engines.
1, Drop on cowl system
2. Intregal power Trim
3. EFI
4. Ortional gear ratios
5. Propeller line
And probably a few others that slip my mind. I was on the 3.4 task force to work on this stuff but by then the 3.0 was in development and all resources when to that family. So ended the 3.4.
Thank you Bernie......I am shocked that the T3 was not more.....Racy....light up them rods....cut the Fat off crank....get central mass closer to the center of mass spiiniiing and more cc bolts....JMO...
Sorry Bernie.I was a young kid..... back then....Just askin ?.....And T4 not 3,,,,,,,Now... 66 years.. go Flash......
Ok...said ......why.....know......will build....cranks bust.....
...T-4 versus 3.4/300/275/250 Consumer Motor...Two different animals in conversation. T-4 & 3.4 Offshores were EFI & Mercury Hi-Performance Division only. 3.4/300/275/250 were available through all Mercury Outboard Dealerships that qualified to sell all the larger horsepower Mercury Outboards, of which all were not, and were only qualified to sell smaller outboards. With that said, most(but not all) Mercury Outboard Dealers could order any size consumer Mercury product. Very few Mercury Outboard Dealers were ALSO Mercury Hi-Performance Outboard Dealers as well. On rare occasions, exceptions were made, to purchase non dealer contract product, but it was not commonplace. Many qualifications came into play to determine if a dealer could buy from Mercury, and sell different model outboards. Make & type & size of boat lines sold, how many multiple outboards were rigged on said boats, total annual sales volume, dealers financial standings, whether or not another dealer in the area sold similar product, etc. Most inland Mercury Outboard Dealers had little interest in the 3.4, in any version. It was sold, for the most part, to coastal dealerships. Some higher volume ones also, depending on region. The coastal dealerships annual outboard gross sales were in larger horsepower outboards, rather than smaller outboards. Oddly enough, most O.E.M.'s(boat manufacturers/builders) were able to buy most anything, if a Mercury account was already in place, and in any quantity, within reason.
The 3.4 Consumer V-6 was a carbureted motor that was rated at a recommended maximum 5,600 r.p.m., lower that the 200 Mercury of the day. Turning the 3.4 at a higher r.p.m. did little to improve performance & the large outboard dealers, used to the 200's higher performance, were inclined to spin the 3.4 higher , many times with dire consequence. The 3.4 performed best, taking advantage of its torque, on larger boats in either a single or twin installation and kept well below 6,000 r.p.m., not on smaller performance boats. Overall, a good motor if installed & used the way it was intended. It was available into the early 90's from Mercury/Mariner.