Getting my 1st 300R V8 this week.

**XstreamVking** · 07-10-2018, 06:01 PM

That's just beautiful man.....So many mercs....Like soldiers waiting to go to war.

**whipper** · 07-10-2018, 06:34 PM

Randy your motor looks unreal cant wait to hear how it runs!

**WILDMAN** · 07-10-2018, 06:40 PM

I put it on a new red Liberator today. Just gotta wait for the "CLEAN POWER" harness and rigging tube. It's a cable shift motor, but what's cool is that the cables only operate an electrical swith. They don't mecanically shift or move the throttle. That's done by solinoids (I think) It's like new cars.

**Lance Woodke** · 07-10-2018, 07:46 PM

Hey Randy, some height/length dimensions would be appreciated. I plan on installing these on my F26 once the 1.62 lowers come out and am curious how much taller, if any, they will be. They definitely look taller and pretty badass, hopefully run even better.
Thanks.

**marks86** · 07-10-2018, 07:47 PM

looks awesome Wildman. cant wait to hear some results

**Zero Patience** · 07-10-2018, 08:30 PM

What prop are you considering?

**bor** · 07-10-2018, 11:13 PM

Randy , do they use the hydraulic steering like the verado on these V8 s ?

thanks

bor

**mjw930** · 07-11-2018, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by bor

Randy , do they use the hydraulic steering like the verado on these V8 s ?

thanks

bor

The 300R uses the same type of external steering setup the 300XS uses, either Seastar Pro or Uflex. Only the V8’s with the “advanced” midsection use the integrated Verado style ram and none of those are Mercury Racing versions so they don’t have the SM lower option. They are actually called the Verado 300 and 250. All the other 4 strokes use a traditional midsection that uses the traditional aftermarket steering.

The 300R HD is also offered with an integrated tie bar wing plate but I don’t have details. Others here probably have more details on that option.

**powerabout** · 07-11-2018, 08:09 AM

Originally Posted by mjw930

The 300R uses the same type of external steering setup the 300XS uses, either Seastar Pro or Uflex. Only the V8’s with the “advanced” midsection use the integrated Verado style ram and none of those are Mercury Racing versions so they don’t have the SM lower option. They are actually called the Verado 300 and 250. All the other 4 strokes use a traditional midsection that uses the traditional aftermarket steering.

The 300R HD is also offered with an integrated tie bar wing plate but I don’t have details. Others here probably have more details on that option.

so a bit 80's then....

**WILDMAN** · 07-11-2018, 09:35 AM

The whole reason they still can use Seastar is to make it easier for people to change over to the new motors.

**engineermike** · 07-11-2018, 09:44 AM

I suspected that to be the case. I think merc missed out on a lot of repower business with the verado because of the expensive total rerig. I think the Yamaha sho continued to accept conventional controls. That was definitely a factor when I repowered.

**mjw930** · 07-11-2018, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by powerabout

so a bit 80's then....

Thats a matter of opinion.

Mercury has done a real good job of tamping down one of the major flaws of their Verado power steering on single engine application which is massively magnified on surfacing applications. Basically the helm is not up to the task of maintaining pressure on the loaded side of the ram combined with their use of basic motor oil instead of real hydraulic oil means the oil and pump overheat and fluid bleeds past the valves in the helm and you get a lot of noise and constantly have to steer left to go straight. In some situations it actually becomes dangerous as the bleed over will cause the motor to pivot without input in the loaded direction. Not something You want to happen at 100+ mph.

Dual engine applications don’t have the problem since torque is cancelled between the LH and RH drives.

In a single engine, surfacing application I would NEVER implement the Verado solution over a Seastar Pro or a side mount aftermarket solution.

However, there is technically no reason you couldn’t use the Seastar Pro with Power Steering in front of a Verado motor but you would need to change out some fittings and Mercury might have some warranty issues.

**dcarter** · 07-11-2018, 09:50 AM

I have no dog in this race but I ride dirt bikes and when they started with the 4 strokes (Doug Henry rode a prototype 4 stroke in an all 2 stroke race I believe. Showing my age now, haha) way back when, they said it would never work. Now they are the mainstream and have more usable torque and power throughout the RPM range. They have also brought the weights down to close to the same as 2 stroke bikes.
Once the manufacturers get this dialed in it should be ok.

**mjw930** · 07-11-2018, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by engineermike

I suspected that to be the case. I think merc missed out on a lot of repower business with the verado because of the expensive total rerig. I think the Yamaha sho continued to accept conventional controls. That was definitely a factor when I repowered.

Yep, that combined with the option to use cables to get to the e-throttle and e-shift electronics instead of converting to DTS hardware and harnesses should make repowering more palatable.

**engineermike** · 07-11-2018, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by mjw930

Thats a matter of opinion.

Mercury has done a real good job of tamping down one of the major flaws of their Verado power steering on single engine application which is massively magnified on surfacing applications. Basically the helm is not up to the task of maintaining pressure on the loaded side of the ram combined with their use of basic motor oil instead of real hydraulic oil means the oil and pump overheat and fluid bleeds past the valves in the helm and you get a lot of noise and constantly have to steer left to go straight. In some situations it actually becomes dangerous as the bleed over will cause the motor to pivot without input in the loaded direction. Not something You want to happen at 100+ mph.

Dual engine applications don’t have the problem since torque is cancelled between the LH and RH drives.

In a single engine, surfacing application I would NEVER implement the Verado solution over a Seastar Pro or a side mount aftermarket solution.

However, there is technically no reason you couldn’t use the Seastar Pro with Power Steering in front of a Verado motor but you would need to change out some fittings and Mercury might have some warranty issues.

This is probably worth its own thread (sorry wildman!) and I've researched it quite a bit. The problem is that the viscosity does drop quite a bit and bypass the pump when the fluid gets hot, as you stated. I've learned how to reverse the wheel abruptly to get the internal valve to switch, which locks it in position well....but I shouldn't have to do that.

All of the hydraulic fluids I've found are lower viscosity than the 0w30 at operating temp so those won't work either. I found an excellent industrial oil that has a very good viscosity curve for the application but the anti-wear package isn't as strong as a hydraulic or motor oil. That leaves the lead case to be a 5w50 synthetic motor oil like mobil1.