Pismo10

Any news on the new merc engines to replace the 496/496HO. Is there a thread here that I can't find?

I hear back to an 8.2L with cat and 380/430hp. Any more news? Announced back in mid August.

Anyone have any further details?

Thanks

Pismo10

I guess merc bought the 502 tooling from GM..

Raylar

Not sure if merc bought any GM tooling, but their new Mercruiser 502 freshwater cooled engine will make its debut at the marine builder show in Florida in October.
I have heard all kinds of stories about the engine, New block?, new iron or aluminum heads? modified intake manifold, etc. Seen some renderings CAD/CAM and it looks as though its freshwater cooled with the old Merc Racing HP500-HP525 intake manifold with a new top plenum to handle a single round 90mm throttle body. Engine will also have the new (I don't know How Long they'll Last In Salt -Catalytic Exhaust ) manifolds! Should be a nice expensive replacement for the Mercruiser GM496.
Will also be equipped with the same we charge $5K more difference for a cam and ECM program change between the 380 and 430HP versions.
Those guys a Merc sure know how to make extra free profit with a little presto-chango! no cost difference change!
The real question now is can anybody afford a new boat with new engines and will there be any boat builders left to buy these new offerings.
Good luck to the whole industry, we'll turn out the lights when the party is over!
Thank You Oil Companies !, Bankers ! Mortgage Lenders ! and Politicians for the legacy !
Get busy and bury a few other sectors of the economy with your greed, lies and perversion!!
Sleep Tight, The Money People are Awake Tonight!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

mike tkach

RAY,DON,T BE SO SHY,JUST SAY WHAT YOU THINK!LOL

endeavour32

Well said Ray!

Pismo10

The govt handed out too much free beer, the country now has a big hangover and the govt's solution is to hand out much, much more free beer. It's the only way to buy elections.

Revspan

The root of this change is the fact that the only people interested in the gas BBC engine now are RV, boat and some industrial sales(generators, pumps and such). The BBC engine is a great platform that just can't be supported at historical costs when there is no other consumer demand. Some may not know this, but the BBC engine was/is sold to Merc for around $2100, which is doable when there is a lot of volume to vehicle sales. It will be no surprise that the prices will go up a lot as they do this engine internally. This is just another issue tied to fuel economy requirements and customer demand from the 3/4 ton-1 ton truck sales. The guys that really need the power buy a diesel, and the weekend warriors buy a 6.0l small block. No demand for the BBC as it is put in no mans land between fuel economy and pulling power. In the end, it's advantage is cost...remember "there is no replacement for displacement".....until you need fuel economy!

liquidlounge

Well, Ray has just confirmed (with his oration) that the new engine is going to be the old engine...as in the old 502 with some improvements of course. Ray's niche within a niche, the 496 has just hit a hitch. I always felt kind of left out that these exclusive marine offerings weren't offered to lowly GEN V / 6 owners. Heaven knows we needed a high velocity port head and manifold combo well before the incremental change it makes with 496. And while your at it, make make it with those nice single beehive springs so we can have 600 hrs between overhauls rather than 200. This is not a bash on Rayler, I have always admired his motor philosophy and knowledge; it was just available to so few of us. Take Care, Dave

Raylar

I did not intend to paint a picture that this is just the same old 502 marine engine Mercruiser used to offer. You need to understand that this engine will have newly designed internals,forged pistons to help with oil burn and emissions, it will have aluminum heads with better components than the old GM stock iron heads and valves, seats and springs etc., it will be closed cooled and nicely packaged as a replacement for the 496 which GM has quit producing.
One of the biggest reasons this is planned to be a better engine is that it has a very sophisticated catalytic converter type emissions control system in the actual exhaust manifolds and in the ECM control to carefully control the leaner burning engine required for emissions .
I beleive under the current regulations that Mercruiser has to provide by law a 5 year emissions system warranty on those systems which means warranty on the entire engine for 5 years, (We'll see how that pans out!)
Any boater who opts for these new emissions engines under 500HP in their new boat prior to 2010 will not be able to touch or modify these engines in anyway for more power or changes as that will void any emssions certification requirements and would be a violation under the new LOVELY emissions laws as adopted by the individual states and a warranty void out for the Mercury warranty they must provide.

So what I am saying here is that Mercury has really apparently done some great engineering and development to offer a big block engine at 380-430HP and about 525FT/lbs of torque that can run for 5 years in a boat with these stingy fuel ratios and emission controls but that's all the horsepower you'll get if you buy one in a new boat for 5 years.

The nice thing for Raylar is that we have upgraded less than 5% of all the 496's out there in performance boats built and sold since 2001 so we've got lots of opportunities to do our magic for 496 owners for the next 5 years or so.

As I have said many times on this forum and others,
I hope with the current laws,legislation, economy and future of the performance boating industry we as suppliers can even help keep this industry alive and even maintaining itself.
Only time will tell , but in the mean time my hats off to Mercury as well as Ilmor and hopefully Volvo, that these manufacturers invest in , develop and can keep offering compliant engines that will at least offer new performance boats some semblance of a performance engines!, I just hope you performance boaters can afford the offerings!

As for the comments here from Liquidlounge (Not sure if it was a compliment or complaint), I would obviously say Raylar never tried to keep anyone or any company from developing the upgrades or replacement parts for the 496's, but it seems like we were the only ones who were willing to invest the money in parts and systems development for the Merc 496, gosh knows we got a lot of happy customers who are glad we did and I suspect a lot more in the future!
Congratulations are in order for Mercury Marine for taking the lead here and hopefully providing a base for future emissions compliant performance marine engines!
Lets hope it works out well for the industry and all involved!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Pismo10

430hp forged motor with a 5 year warranty is nothing to sneeze at.. I remember not too long ago the biggest stock motor you could get was a 330 with a TRS...