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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | For those in the know... What makes an XS an XS?
Exhaust tuning, gear case (similar to E-tec's HO), or is it an entirely different motor than say the standard version?
For those that have run them and have run standard Optimax in the past. Is the cost of the XS upgrade worth it, and why?
Thank you...
Edited by Mark H. 3/1/2009 12:09 PM
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Found this on Merc's website.... Sounds interesting enough. I like the more durable reed upgrade.
http://www.mercurymarine.com/engines/outboards/optimax/proxs_featur... |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | What is the difference between the two?
The answer
$1540 |
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| imho, the better question to ask yourself is what horsepower are you looking at?
if the XS is available in that horsepower, it's a great choice.
is there a performance difference between an XS and a standard Opti? sure, the stats on it don't lie. but it doesn't mean that you can get a smaller motor and expect the performance of the larger. the 175XS is not the same as the 200hp Opti.
in the case of the 200hp, Merc only offers the standard Opti because it's already running at the edge of the performance envelope for power and efficiency.
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Outboard horse power rating are required to be within 10% of their advertized HP. The XS and the HO are on the high end of that. Plus thay may have some other goodies that make them a little more reliable. Probably worth the extra $ if you do a lot of hours on the motor, and like a little extra HP. Otherwise the standard stuff is also very good. I don't know what they do for sure, but I suspect it's in compression, which would be easy to do.
Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Oh!
One more thing!
Why don't you ask Mercury? Bet they know a lot more about it than us!
Doug Johnson |
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| Don't expect to get 200 performance out of a 175 XS, but I do like the reliability that the small-block Opti's has had a reputation for, and the economy they offer.
That said, I was about 90% certain I wanted my next motor to be either a Suzuki or Yami 4 stroke. But I am reconsidering that for several reasons.
One of the boats that's on the top of my list for consideration is the Tuffy X190... I am less concerned about the few extra mph I might get from a standard 175 versus a 175 XS, but if the XS offers more durability/reliability it is worth the extra $1,500 considering I'm looking at a purchase that I intend to keep for while, so I want to make the best decision I can. I am not looking for a high-performance motor for speed reasons.
Other rig I'm considering is 1860 Angler. I believe the X190 is a touch better suited for the majority of my type of fishing, however the Angler offers a little more cockpit room. Either will need to spend a little time in my shop to get the rear decks customized to my liking and make them a little more user friendly.
And if my wife doesn't like how either of them fit into the budget, (as the books on my guide business have been closed for a couple years now, I'm down to a handful of repeat clients, a few donated trips each year for charity, and back to fishing for fun and relaxation, so I am no longer able to write off my boats on a depreciation schedule) I may be forced to jump back into another 618 or ??? for another season or two. But she liked both the X190 and has liked crawling around in an Angler so hopefully a different rig is the near future for us.
Thanks again for your feed back |
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