New Aritcle - thoughts on a Mercury Racing 3.4-liter R-series engine

[aj06bolt12r]

That seems like a money grab. Why would they force you to use dts instead of cables??

Yeah I dont know.. But that is the only way you can buy one right now.. Its a significant added cost, especially combined with required dealership rigging.. It will for sure cost them some sales.. Hopefully they will reverse corse on that some day.

[JPEROG]

111 best so far. We have another propeller in the works and think we will see 115 in a perfect world.





Joe

[aj06bolt12r]

Anyone have any numbers they are willing to share with one on a Grandsport or XB03?

[Lake rat Skater]

111 best so far. We have another propeller in the works and think we will see 115 in a perfect world.



Joe

Good to hear and great results - do you have any info or know if the 200R package will be offered as "cat ready" or with wing plates to run on a twin engine cat anytime soon? Seems like you have connections or the inside scoop a lot...

[Petey]

Good to hear and great results - do you have any info or know if the 200R package will be offered as "cat ready" or with wing plates to run on a twin engine cat anytime soon? Seems like you have connections or the inside scoop a lot...

Yes they are offered in "cat ready" models already, 1.75 sporties with tie bar/ side steer. Model numbers are 106A and 107A

[Greg G]

So the new V6 200R digital scale weight is 514 lbs and the V8 300R tallboy is 561 lbs. Is it accurate that Mercury only offers the 200R in DTS so that you can not plug it into any older rigging?

That is correct. DTS only. It requires new rigging. I called around to a few dealers. You cannot rig yourself. You must pay the dealer to rig it for you.

As some of you have said, can't for the life of me understand why they force a buyer into DTS on a 200 R. The V6 unfortunately is heavy so maybe Merc figures they can push a buyer over to purchase the V8 tall boy instead? Seems like a mistake that will stop repowers to the new V6.

[river rocket]

That is correct. DTS only. It requires new rigging. I called around to a few dealers. You cannot rig yourself. You must pay the dealer to rig it for you.

I feel that statement may be misleading by the dealer. If you have the right dealer you can rig yourself. Most of us rig our own stuff. You can rig the DTS yourself just like you can a mechanical 300R. Both the mechanical 300R and DTS 200 require a service center or person running merc software to set the throttle. You cannot just install the new motors like you could in the old days and adjust the throttle. That has to be done with software now or you may not get full throttle out of the motor. The DTS requires the system and hardware be defined - what type of throttle, shifter, etc, you have. It is super simple and quick. No different then setting the throttle. So, both the mechanical 300R and 200DTS require the shop to put into service correctly. You can rig it all yourself, as long as you have a shop that will program it all for you. I checked with several local shops near me and they all would for an hour of time.

Now I will say finding the right parts to rig a DTS motor is a pain in the butt without a dealer or someone who knows. They don't have a great manual that is published for us "do it yourself guys". I had help but it still took me hours of searching for the right part numbers to get all the right lengths and equipment spec'd out. Everything is controlled by wire, so finding the right harness, foot throttle, shifter, fuel level sender, clean power harness, etc. can be challenging. Not to mention they changed it all, so my 2022 Mercury 450R rigged different than the last 450R's to ship. Which is why I didn't hang a new 400R or 500R on my boat. I wasn't going to buy all that crap again when I felt like the weight was iffy at best on my boat.

Having been a product manager for years I understand the decision to move away from mechanical control. Mercury leads the market and they get to drive what the market and industry do. They want the industry all digital and it probably helps with the economy of scale if they push all their motors in one direction. The direction is all digital. We saw that with this decision. I can see why the new products being released feature the technology they want to push into the industry.

[aj06bolt12r]

That is good info River Rocket.. Probably why the dealers told me that the dealer had to rig it... That would be a mouthful to explain over the phone to the average outboard customer.

[Headless Hula]

Does anyone
other than Joe and me actually own one of these motors?


bought it last June with 15 hours on the clock. Has over 170 now, less than a year into it. The most effortless, quiet, smooth, easy on gas, outboard I’ve ever had.

[Headless Hula]

Oh, and it pushes that tub in the pic 55. ����

[DangerNewb]

Oh, and it pushes that tub in the pic 55. ����

I have a 250xs v8 on a bass boat. It's ok. I honestly thought it would be more impressive than it is. It's a 21 and 1/2 foot hull and it runs mid 70's but takes its sweet time getting there. I'd like to compare a 300xs on same hull or 300R. But as you know, most of the dealer stocked bass rigs come with 250hp since the major tournament organizers limit to 250. It's not DTS. Traditional cables to the motor. Thankfully. I don't see the advantage of dts after owning 3 V8 mercs.

[Headless Hula]

I have a 250xs v8 on a bass boat. It's ok. I honestly thought it would be more impressive than it is. It's a 21 and 1/2 foot hull and it runs mid 70's but takes its sweet time getting there. I'd like to compare a 300xs on same hull or 300R. But as you know, most of the dealer stocked bass rigs come with 250hp since the major tournament organizers limit to 250. It's not DTS. Traditional cables to the motor. Thankfully. I don't see the advantage of dts after owning 3 V8 mercs.

bummer to read you’re less than happy with your purchase. The 4.6L V-8 is a torque monster…. The glitter canoe market is fickle to say the least. Some like the new motors, some don’t. Setup and propping go a long ways. Finding an “ all around” wheel can be a helluva big hill to climb. Electronics in those boats can also be a challenge to take advantage of all the options also.

“troll control” is an awesome feature in slow no wake zones if you have a foot throttle. It just isn’t available unless you have a Simrad, and most fishermen like to have humminbird graphs, which are their own animal. They just don’t communicate with anything. Don’t know your exact setup or location but if you’re in the Astor area, I may have a couple of props you could try to get the boat where you’d like it to be.

[Headless Hula]

I have a 250xs v8 on a bass boat. It's ok. I honestly thought it would be more impressive than it is. It's a 21 and 1/2 foot hull and it runs mid 70's but takes its sweet time getting there. I'd like to compare a 300xs on same hull or 300R. But as you know, most of the dealer stocked bass rigs come with 250hp since the major tournament organizers limit to 250. It's not DTS. Traditional cables to the motor. Thankfully. I don't see the advantage of dts after owning 3 V8 mercs.

not too get too far off topic, but we’re talkin the 3.4L V6 here.


hit me up if your ever around!

[Greg G]

HH it looks like you have a fishing 3.4? We are talking about the "new" 200R 3.4 from Mercury Race. Your motor can rig with either cable or DTS

[DangerNewb]

bummer to read you’re less than happy with your purchase. The 4.6L V-8 is a torque monster…. The glitter canoe market is fickle to say the least. Some like the new motors, some don’t. Setup and propping go a long ways. Finding an “ all around” wheel can be a helluva big hill to climb. Electronics in those boats can also be a challenge to take advantage of all the options also.

“troll control” is an awesome feature in slow no wake zones if you have a foot throttle. It just isn’t available unless you have a Simrad, and most fishermen like to have humminbird graphs, which are their own animal. They just don’t communicate with anything. Don’t know your exact setup or location but if you’re in the Astor area, I may have a couple of props you could try to get the boat where you’d like it to be.

Last comment as I didn't pay attention which thread this was. Been following another 2 Stroke thread as well. No glitter on my bass rig. Flat gray. Sold an older Bullet with worked 225 promax so that probably set my expectations a little off. Bullet was smaller and way lighter. Clearly didn't ride as well in rough water. I've run a 26 and 27 bravo on it so far. It's fine, I just thought acceleration would be better. I'm in NC. Back on topic of 200R.