Interesting Perspective on Design and Construction of Mercury’s $11M NVH Facility

[HydroSkreamin]

https://www.plantengineering.com/art...ting-facility/

Kind of a long read, but interesting designs for overcoming ground vibration and traffic sound noise levels.

Obviously they’re putting it to good use…

If you’ve ever been in one of the hemi-anechoic chambers, they are so quiet, you can hear yourself think!

To give you an idea, they were targeting a free state of 21 dB, and achieved 16 dB. That’s quiet!

The other thing that amazes me is the 42 springs suspending the 550,770 lbs of water in the tank but the weight of the concrete tank itself! Neat engineering stuff, especially for a nerd like me.

[Scream And Fly]

It's really incredible how the manufacturing facility needs to be nearly as technologically advanced and innovative as the product themselves. A ton of engineering went into that! I think I should actually post about this on the front page. It's a really unique perspective into what goes into modern production that we rarely see. I appreciate you posting it!

[WaterZebra]

https://www.plantengineering.com/art...ting-facility/

Kind of a long read, but interesting designs for overcoming ground vibration and traffic sound noise levels.

Obviously they’re putting it to good use…

If you’ve ever been in one of the hemi-anechoic chambers, they are so quiet, you can hear yourself think!

To give you an idea, they were targeting a free state of 21 dB, and achieved 16 dB. That’s quiet!

The other thing that amazes me is the 42 springs suspending the 550,770 lbs of water in the tank but the weight of the concrete tank itself! Neat engineering stuff, especially for a nerd like me.

You have to admit it that Mercury has left everybody far behind in the R&D department. In the last 5+ years, they have developed the Verado, purpose designed 4 stroke V6, V8 and V12 programs and now the V10. Other than repower, I think I/O production has reached the end of the road. $11M is pocket change in today's money. When you think in terms inflation and relative cost of homes, cars, etc I think I got my new V8 ProXS for a song. I was surprised to see the V10 was fully steerable not like the V12.

[FUJIMO]

...I was surprised to see the V10 was fully steerable not like the V12.

...completely electric as well. no longer hydraulic...

[Turtleherder]

I don’t know if the I/O is dead. At least for your average fresh water boater (not talking center consoles or off shore). I don’t think most of them care either way and just want a boat with a nice interior. What’s the cost difference between a complete I/O 350 mag from engine to drive and a 300 hp outboard? Around $5,000 more for the outboard? Personally I would want the outboard but your average guy would rather the the money.

[Pulse186]

Good to see they have money for that but can't piece together 250 to 300 HP lightweight OB that won't cost 50k, lol.

[Speed Jr.]

Good to see they have money for that but can't piece together 250 to 300 HP lightweight OB that won't cost 50k, lol.

It's funny that when they did offer that, nobody bought it.....So they won't make that mistake again.

[Jimboat]

https://www.plantengineering.com/art...ting-facility/

Very interesting read!

[Pulse186]

It's funny that when they did offer that, nobody bought it.....So they won't make that mistake again.

Merc came out with a reasonably priced 4 stroke, lightweight (around 425) 250 to 300 HP, 20" outboard and not one person bought one?

[Speed Jr.]

Merc came out with a reasonably priced 4 stroke, lightweight (around 425) 250 to 300 HP, 20" outboard and not one person bought one?

The 2.5xs/ros. It was the last ditch effort at a lightweight v6 for the weight sensitive crowd. It was not a good seller by any measure. It's what everyone said they needed, which today would be considered a reasonable price......At the time the big heavy pig 300xs was all the weight sensitive crowd complained about, then there were guys who worked on the setup, fell in love with them. Now for 50 lbs more we have a 4.6L V8, with on par pricing of the prior generations, when you take inflation in to account. Now Merc Racing is trying to get more allocations of motors from Merc Marine to keep up with the demand of the R orders. Mercury is building EXACTLY what the consumer is demanding. It's just sad when people complain about something not being offered when they probably wouldn't buy it if it was....Which Merc found out quickly held true. Can't blame them for going where the demand is. After running 2.5s, 3L, 3.3L 3.4L, etc....You couldn't give me one to swap from the 4.6L 300R. I can't wait till the R version of the V10 comes out. We are truly in the heyday of outboard performance. Its buzzing at Merc Racing, which is why they broke ground on the expansion facility. Let's be honest, merc killed it on the timing of the big HP race among the outboard industry. It is beyond me how people criticize the only company that really offers high speed outboard applications. We should all be so lucky that any R motors exist for us to use. My 2c.

[HydroSkreamin]

After running 2.5s, 3L, 3.3L 3.4L, etc....You couldn't give me one to swap from the 4.6L 300R. I can't wait till the R version of the V10 comes out. We are truly in the heyday of outboard performance. Its buzzing at Merc Racing, which is why they broke ground on the expansion facility. Let's be honest, merc killed it on the timing of the big HP race among the outboard industry. It is beyond me how people criticize the only company that really offers high speed outboard applications. We should all be so lucky that any R motors exist for us to use. My 2c.

Speed Jr, you definitely make some good points. The 200 ROS and 2.5 XS were the last two strokes to attempt to be EPA compliant, and to those that think that’s not a big deal, I’m telling you it is. The 2.5 XS was 2-star compliant, the 200 ROS wasn’t even close. There were 104 units built of the 2.5XS. JPEROG owns 3.8% of the production run…let that sink in…

Unfortunately for us, the rules have changed since the heyday of lightweight power, and if you want to sell engines in the US, you must comply. The amount of effort that goes into new products that are developed today is mind boggling. Exhaust and noise emissions are much more strict than yesteryear, and to develop a product that meets them, performs well, and is reliable (warranty), all while running on the cheapest fuel available at the pump is criteria very few older engines can live up to.

So, to get this thread back toward its origins, Speed Jr, how do you find the noise and vibration levels of your 300R compared with what you used to run?

[HydroSkreamin]

Good to see they have money for that but can't piece together 250 to 300 HP lightweight OB that won't cost 50k, lol.

I’m with you, bud. I’d love a new Corvette for $30k too, but it ain’t happening.

Economics have drowned our segment of the market. Let’s use one boat manufacturer, Nortech, for example. They build about 400 boats per year, in triple, quad and quint setups. Assuming they’re averaging 4 engines per boat to keep the math simple, that’s 1600 engines to just one manufacturer !

Do you think 1600 people on this site buy new engines each year? I bought one this year, and it’s the first thing mechanical in my life I’ve ever bought new. Why? It’s what I wanted, and I’m at a point in my life that I can. Does it make sense to buy an engine that costs 2.5-3X what my hull is worth? Probably not. Will I enjoy it? Absolutely! But I understand it’s not for everyone. I know JPEROG, Z06Man, Wildman, Speed Jr, Toffen and a handful of others on this site have purchased new engines over the last year, but I’d wager it’s not 100, and almost definitely not 200.

At the end of the day, Mercury has realized that to compete in a global market, they need to have world class products, and if they convinced the Brunswick board and stockholders that they could develop engines at 600 HP that are smooth and quiet, my hat’s off to them for working their way through government and business bureaucracy as well as the engineering and construction struggles, all to achieve the lofty goals they set for themselves.

Let’s hope they continue to utilize their knowledge and resources so that one day they may actually have an opportunity to work on something for our smaller boats. What builder of NEW small boats is knocking on their door? Maybe TUFF can start that wave…

[David]

I love Tuff, but they are not building 400 boats per year. Less then 10 actually.

No question Merc is making progress on noise. I went to watch some of a poker run in the summer. Four 400’s starting on the back of a big cat made less noise then my 200XS ROS starting.

[Pulse186]

Economics have drowned our segment of the market.

I've been in the corporate world for 30 years, Merc is a shareholder driven company so I understand their need to sell $50,000+ outboards.

The 250XS ros was a 2 stroke, would be nice to see a similar v6 motor in 4 stroke.