skiray Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/01/06/mercury-marine-introduces-new-engine-built-just-for-boats/ I wonder how this translates to $$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ Wish Posted January 7, 2015 Baller_ Share Posted January 7, 2015 Kinda sounds like CC buying PCM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiray Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Looks like same price as 5L but 135 lbs less. http://features.boats.com/boat-content/2014/07/new-mercruiser-4-5l-v6-promises-v8-performance/ I'm reading about boat engines at 22:35. Bring on spring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thager Posted January 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 7, 2015 Put that in a smaller DD like a Ski Tique and you might have something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted January 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 7, 2015 This amazes me - what are these folks buying now, or has the whole market shrunk that much? I doubt that there are 80,000 wake boats being sold a year. Unfortunately for the company, the sterndrive segment isn’t what it used to be. Changing economics and consumer tastes have seen in shrink in recent years from 100,000 boats annually to about 20,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ MISkier Posted January 7, 2015 Baller_ Share Posted January 7, 2015 @oldjeep, they might be buying jet boats (like the Sea Doo) and PWCs as well. Or, since the baby boomers are aging, they could be joining the pontoon and fishing boat population. The worst slalom equipment I own is between my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ DW Posted January 7, 2015 Baller_ Share Posted January 7, 2015 The market is migrating to pontoon's, when you visit the boat show, check out the pontoon offerings. The market is drifting away from sporting activities behind the boat to simply a party / cruising atmosphere. Sad but true, with the exception of tubing as a sport... As GM Powertrain phases out the best matching offerings for the marine market, Mercury has been at the leading edge of manufacturing their own engines and engine components to replace the pipe line. The old cast iron small block fits the need in so many ways, that is why Merc. is basically recreating similar powertrains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ALPJr Posted January 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 7, 2015 I like that. Could be good for a lighter more efficient hull like the Gekko GTS20, or for repowering one of the lighter closed bow hulls from 80's 90's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ Jody_Seal Posted January 7, 2015 Baller_ Share Posted January 7, 2015 I dont mind the Pontoon mindset!! makes for better water time for us skiers on the public lakes!! Good on Merc for coming up with this package. Doubt we will ever see them in our world. they just wont make enough forward umph for our modern wake dispersing ski Machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thager Posted January 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 7, 2015 @Jody_Seal Helps but not much. We have a number of pontooners here that love to do high speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ MISkier Posted January 7, 2015 Baller_ Share Posted January 7, 2015 @ALPJr, but will there be an eControls ZO capability for this new engine? That would be a big consideration for some. The worst slalom equipment I own is between my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller xrated Posted January 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 7, 2015 Second that pontoons don't help us on public water. Middle age plus older people out booze cruising or sunset cruising after supper. Odds of them paying attention and possibly turning their line of travel as to not impede a skier. Odds are slim to none. Had many close calls or ruined sets because of pontoons. Not to mention that toons are getting bigger and going with bigger engines pushing up the speeds. It isn't just grandpa out idling along anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller andjules Posted January 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 7, 2015 It's worth noting that 20-25 years ago, all our DDs had 240-260hp. I'd argue that this would probably be an adequate source of power for a sub-3000lb 3-event boat with the right prop. The second article says it actually has a broader/flatter torque curve than the 5.0l it's replacing (wonder how it would compare to a 5.7). Personally, I find it sad when someone's criticism of a lighter-powered boat is that 'it doesn't have the hole-shot' (compared to whatever the strongest hole-shot was they'd ever gotten up behind). Unless you're on an 1800ft site, that shouldn't be what matters, especially in a speed-controlled world. I wish our community would value lighter/more fuel-efficient engines over the over-powered mammoths. VW started making a marinized v6 a few years ago that wasn't priced well enough to get noticed, but had a lot of bang-per-pound; and for those who remember the Toyota Epic boats, they used a lightweight 4.0L marinized Lexus V8 engine that by all reports was pretty sweet. I'd love to see some innovation in the direction of less power/less weight/more fuel efficiency. My 2¢. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyskier Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I have a 88 american skier 5.7 260hp. It gets my fat ass out of the water & does over 36mph @ 7500' elevation. What else do I need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ DW Posted January 8, 2015 Baller_ Share Posted January 8, 2015 For pulling up a couple of footers, the extra grunt is really a bonus. The demand for all the amenities in the modern slalom tug has ballooned them to ~3,000 lbs with pretty high drag hulls for that flat wake we all want, 250 hp won't provide the necessary power to meet the expectations of the consumer anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller eleeski Posted January 8, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 8, 2015 I need to build a ski boat to match this engine? I'd be able to pull it behind my Focus/Ranchita. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Greg Banish Posted January 8, 2015 Members Share Posted January 8, 2015 So Merc basically bought up the rights to continue making the old 4.3L V6, now punched out to 4.5L with a little more power. Nothing shocking here as Indmar also went away from GM Powertrain's new DI based V8s for apparent cost/complexity reasons. Ditto for Ilmor. How long until we see a supercharged version of this 4.5L that makes 350hp and solidly replaces the base V8 in a lot of boats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ DW Posted January 8, 2015 Baller_ Share Posted January 8, 2015 I think the direction would be to produce an iron small block V8 first, too cheap and reliable not to keep it around. Boat manufacturers, believe it or not based on MSRP, are all very cost conscious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thager Posted January 8, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 8, 2015 Have H.P. rating standards changed since the 70s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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