2021 Verado reliability?

[SLE]

Originally Posted by FinmanPoozie

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300 Verado vs 350/400? The 300 is a V8 without a supercharger & same as Mercury's other 300s. 350/400 is a supercharged 6 cylinder. Obviously they'll have very different everything in them.

350/400 will not charge at an idle-- that's been the same for 16 years now. The 300s will charge at an idle & is relevant when boats are on trips without dock power when something like a Charge is installed.

I'm not pushing anyone's buttons here but am listing a lot of what I have take into account with my next boat. Follow that Youtube video & it's a 1.5 MPH diff between his 300 & his 350 on identical boats-- gravity & weight are the only variables then. I'll gladly give up a few MPH because I'm not running WOT, unless the sky turns black suddenly.

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Happy Fishing!!

You missed the point, I was talking about the differences in internals including a different camshaft, a new liquid cooled supercharger, different valve train, different intake, different cyl heads, etc. between the I6 300 Verado and the I6 350/400 Verado. Although they share the same basic architecture and block, they are very different engines right down to the 5.44 HD lower unit. Pretty sure everyone on this board knows the new V-8 is completely different from the I6 (plam on face, lol)

Your comment about the 350 not charging at idle is completely incorrect. Matter of fact the 350 has what's called an "Idle Charge System" that automatically raises the engine rpm to boost charging by 9 amps if it senses low voltage. Yes, the new V8 has 115 amp alternator while the 350 has a 70 amp alternator so it will charge faster, but that doesn't mean the 350 doesn't charge at idle. The problem that some ran into with the I6 Verado's, was when running remote kickers and using the power steering of the Verado to steer, the old 9.9 pro kickers did not produce enough charge (6 amps) to keep up with the draw of the power steering pump. It had nothing to do with the Verado not charging. Pretty hard to charge if its not running. And to top it off, this has been a non-issue for 5 years with the use of battery isolators and the fact mercury went to a 12 amp alternator on the 15 efi prokicker and the same is now on the 9.9 efi prokicker.

300 V-8 vs 350 I6 on the same boat, there is more than a 1-1.5 mph difference. Seems like someone optimized the setup for the 300 and didn't do the same for the 350......He never mentions prop selection or motor height for either boat in that video. He basically pointed out that torque, fuel economy, and cost are the strong points of the new V8. He admits the Verado was smoother to operate with less vibration, quieter, and faster. There is some fallacy here though that skews his comparison as he was comparing a Pro XS to a Verado, so not exactly apples to apples.

And getting back to that stated 1.5 mph difference on the same boat. If this was the case the smaller lighter 20ft boats with 300s V8s would be out running the larger, heavier, taller, 21-22 ft boats with 350s. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. It'll be closer to a 4-5 mph difference between the a new V8 Verado and the 350 Verado, all else being equal; and likely around a 7 mph difference to the 400. So riddle me this, you'd feel better running the 300 wide open and the 400 at 80% to run down the lake at the same speed?

[SLE]

Originally Posted by FinmanPoozie

Beyond an idle or low RPMs then the noise is a wash. They're nearly even. Keep in mind, 350/400 Verados have 2 mufflers so you can get a "growl" or run quiet depending on boater's choice.

"...The dual muffler system allows users to toggle between an ultra-quiet mode and a deeper, sportier tone." https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/...do/250-400-hp/

I have no idea what the 2nd muffler sounds like or how mufflers are switched between

Happy fishing!!

Actually that's completely incorrect, the 350/400 I6 does not have this as an option. I'm not positive, but I believe it is an option on the V-8 Verado.

[FinmanPoozie]

Originally Posted by SLE

I was talking about the differences in internals ... between the I6 300 Verado and the I6 350/400 Verado.

The 300 Verado is a V8, not a supercharged 6, so yeah, they are not even close to the same motor internally like I've said.

Originally Posted by SLE

Your comment about the 350 not charging at idle is completely incorrect. ...the 350 ... automatically raises the engine rpm to boost charging by 9 amps

Ummm raising the RPM is no longer an idle. I previously included the URL to Mercury's site & they diffrentiate the motors with & without an idle charge. It's what Mercury is publishing, not me making stuff up.

Originally Posted by SLE

you'd feel better running the 300 wide open and the 400 at 80% to run down the lake at the same speed?

The RPM % is a factor I haven't considered until now. Good point. I probably would run WOT on any 300 (21 GPH on my 300 vs 33 or 35 GPH on a 350/400). Based on my style, 20s, 30s are typical & occassionally 40s are my speed ranges; WOT has a window of 4-8 minutes on avg with me & I'm done with it.

I also previously included deltas between times on a 20 & 40 mile WOT run & there's not a whole lot of time being saved. Check it out & blow past me-- after 40 miles WOT, I'll catch up in 6 minutes after you arrive.

Here are more tidbits that I consider:

At 40 minutes WOT:

1. My 300 is using around 12.6 gallons
2. 350 is using around 19.8 gallons
3. 400 is using around 21 gallons

At $3.10 for regular gas here: (raise the $$ for using super- it's around $350/gal here & was either $4.65/gal or $5.05/gal at the last 2 marinas where I fueled up). At 40 minutes WOT:

• 300 cost me around $39.06
• The 350 cost around $61.38
• The 400 cost around $65.10

With a full 60 gallon tank, and 40 minutes WOT:

1. My 300 can run that trip around 4.76 times
2. 350 can run it around 3.03 times
3. 400 can run it around 2.85 times

Yeah, I'll probably be happy running WOT & meeting you at the end a few minutes later.

Happy Fishing!!

[Waxy]

Originally Posted by FinmanPoozie

Verado 400s? Introduced in 2019. Reliable? In my opinion, none of us can claim just how reliable a 2 year old motor will be say 1 yr after, 6 yrs after or 10 yrs after the warranty ends...and that matters when we're shelling out $$ for repairs for the rest of the motor's

You’ll get no argument from me about the new V8 300 being far more fuel efficient, but to claim it’s more reliable or proven is kinda comical.

Mercury debuted the new 4.6L V8 platform in 2018, but they didn’t hit the water in any real numbers until 2019. What’s that, a little less than 2 years ago? I think it will prove to be very reliable, especially as Mercury works out the bugs over time the same way they did with the L6.

The L6 Verado has been around in some form since 2005, the 350 and 400R have been around since 2015. They’re proven. Period.

Waxy

[FinmanPoozie]

Originally Posted by Waxy

You’ll get no argument from me about the new V8 300 being far more fuel efficient, but to claim it’s more reliable or proven is kinda comical.

Mercury debuted the new 4.6L V8 platform in 2018, but they didn’t hit the water in any real numbers until 2019. What’s that, a little less than 2 years ago? I think it will prove to be very reliable, especially as Mercury works out the bugs over time the same way they did with the L6.

The L6 Verado has been around in some form since 2005, the 350 and 400R have been around since 2015. They’re proven. Period.

Waxy

Good points!! I only have around 100 hrs so far so it's too early to tell.

I did get Mercury's extended warranty though-- $9,000 to extend it 5 yrs (or maybe a total of 5 years??) I saw $9k and my eyes bled a bit

Happy fishing!!