# Mercury Outboards - Pro XS OptiMax vs. Racing OptiMax



## PT (Aug 24, 2011)

I am looking at Mercury Outboards for my next boat, and I am wondering about the differences between the Pro XS and the Racing OptiMaxs. I hear great things about both, but some people have not been too positive about the Racing motors. They tell me that the Racing motors break quite often, eat tons of oil, and are so sensitive that they aren't the best practical application for fishing (not to mention the Racing has only a two year warranty). 

I put about 200 hours a year on my current boat and have a cabin far from town, so I don’t want to buy the Race motor only to have the thing break down on me with no way home. I am not too much of a speed freak, but I always like to opt for the biggest motor and the 300 only comes from the Racing division at Mercury. 

By the way I am looking at SCBs and Haynies so something in the 225 - 300 range. And yes, I have already tested both brands and asked all of these questions to the factory guys. 

Thanks for the help.


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

in general,


any racing motor is not made to putt around and idle, they are tuned to run in the upper end of the rpm band.

so, run slow, prob run rich, carbon the heads, tweak a ring , score a cyl. , pop a motor 

for some reason that trend has been esp. w mercs. , they need to run


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## T. Rep (May 24, 2009)

Mercury has the 300 Verado 4-stroke. Ive heard they dont perform that good on SCB's due to the weight. I run a 250 Pro XS on my stingray and it does great. But I do wish I had the 300XS


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## fishnfool (Jul 23, 2004)

They are the same powerhead - 250 pro XS vs Racing 250 XS difference is lower unit options, price, stickers on cowl, and warranty.

The only reason not to buy the racing motors is warranty (which is a valid reason). The warranty is shorter because in general those motors get run much harder than the average outboard - not because the outboard is any less reliable than the Pro XS. I'm on my 3rd 300XS and have had no major issues with any of them. Until something better comes out I won't consider anything else (ordering another one today).


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## OffshoreChris (Oct 13, 2010)

The reasons you here about a lot of Racing motors going bad is because most of the guys that run them, run the **** out of them. Not because there a bad engine. Like states above. The reason Mercury Racing Engines have only a 2 year standard warranty is because Mercury knows the average person that is going to purchased an engine like this is going to run the **** out of it. And in case you don't know... You can get extended warranty on the 300XS. It's just a lil pricey depending on what dealer you use.


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## ESCB Factory (Apr 30, 2006)

The 250 Sport XS and 300XS are not "Racing" motors. They are Consumer Performance motors, intended for fishing & pleasure boats.

Same basic powerhead. Racing has Solid motor mounts, Gearcase options & Ratio's.

Mercury Marine 200-250 ProXS = 3 Years Standard.
Mercury Racing 250 Sport XS & 300 XS = 2 Years Standard.

Both offer Extended Warranty for 2 additional years. 


SCB Factory


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## Team Reel Slick (Jun 16, 2009)

fishnfool said:


> They are the same powerhead - 250 pro XS vs Racing 250 XS difference is lower unit options, price, stickers on cowl, and warranty.
> 
> The only reason not to buy the racing motors is warranty (which is a valid reason). The warranty is shorter because in general those motors get run much harder than the average outboard - not because the outboard is any less reliable than the Pro XS. I'm on my 3rd 300XS and have had no major issues with any of them. Until something better comes out I won't consider anything else (ordering another one today).


Which lower unit is best the Sportsmater or Torquemaster on the 300XS? I'm putting it on a Shoalwater 23 cat with a raised platform.


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## cole (Jul 30, 2006)

Ive had two 250XS's on two different Trans with zero problems. My new boat, on order, will have a XS on it!!! If your not too much of a speed freak, and dont have to have the 300, go with the 250Pro XS. They generally always have a promotional deal were you get the standard 3, plus 2 extra years warranty, total of 5 years warranty. As far as the oil I think I was getting around 70 - 80 gallons of fuel to a gallon of oil.


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## fishinfever3577 (Aug 22, 2012)

scb factory said:


> The 250 Sport XS and 300XS are not "Racing" motors. They are Consumer Performance motors, intended for fishing & pleasure boats.
> 
> Same basic powerhead. Racing has Solid motor mounts, Gearcase options & Ratio's.
> 
> ...


Not 100% sure but I think the sport xs only has a extra 1 year available.

The sport xs comes with a sportmaster and its better to run skinnier because you can raise the motor up higher and keep water pressure with the low water pick-ups on it. Coming from the bass boat world they dont seem to work as good on the heavier 20ft boats or longer because they want hold the bow up. On my boat it works good because my boat is light(1300lbs) and has nautral bow lift so I can run it high and without useing much trim (Stroker Bassboat) which is why its fast.


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## fishinfever3577 (Aug 22, 2012)

in some cases I have where the sportmaster lower has made the boat slower


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## fishnfool (Jul 23, 2004)

Team Reel Slick said:


> Which lower unit is best the Sportsmater or Torquemaster on the 300XS? I'm putting it on a Shoalwater 23 cat with a raised platform.


I don't have much personal experieince with the Shoalwater, but I did sell and run one with a 300/sportmaster. My opinion is that hull is not going to go much over low to mid 60's normally as the tunnel works very good. Great for shallow water, not great for top speed. I think but don't know for sure that the torquemaster might be a little faster but the sportmaster will help with the shallow water on that boat. After running the one I did I think a 250 proxs with the warranty is probably the smartest decision for that hull as the gains in speed with the 300 seem to be minimal (the hull is just at its limit for top speed), BUT - if it were me I would buy the 300/sporty!


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## fishinfever3577 (Aug 22, 2012)

Also right now some mercury dealers have the 5 and drive going on. Buy a pro xs and get 5 years for free


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## Barbarian (Feb 12, 2009)

Not 100% sure on this, but at least at one time the Merc designed by the racing division (at least on cowling sticker) required minimum 93 octance fuel. Normal pro XS could handle 89 octane. I had a 2008 - 300XS up until very recently and it ran beautifully with 0 problems. Oddly, I just saw where the racing mercs were $1k less on a new motor.


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## Team Reel Slick (Jun 16, 2009)

Barbarian said:


> Not 100% sure on this, but at least at one time the Merc designed by the racing division (at least on cowling sticker) required minimum 93 octance fuel. Normal pro XS could handle 89 octane. I had a 2008 - 300XS up until very recently and it ran beautifully with 0 problems. Oddly, I just saw where the racing mercs were $1k less on a new motor.


What price did you see for the 300XS and where?


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## DM3 (Jul 7, 2009)

I currently have the 23 shoal cat with a 250xs sportsmaster lower 1.65 ratio. I'm still learning the boat but what I have found out so far is what Josh said. I actually think the 300xs with a sportsmaster in 1.75 gears would be the fastest but the smart choice would be the 250 pro with the warranty and you can run 87 octane fuel vs 93 premium for the 300xs


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## Team Reel Slick (Jun 16, 2009)

fishnfool said:


> I don't have much personal experieince with the Shoalwater, but I did sell and run one with a 300/sportmaster. My opinion is that hull is not going to go much over low to mid 60's normally as the tunnel works very good. Great for shallow water, not great for top speed. I think but don't know for sure that the torquemaster might be a little faster but the sportmaster will help with the shallow water on that boat. After running the one I did I think a 250 proxs with the warranty is probably the smartest decision for that hull as the gains in speed with the 300 seem to be minimal (the hull is just at its limit for top speed), BUT - if it were me I would buy the 300/sporty!


Thanks for the input. At this point 2-5 mph is still *faster*!! Lol I had a 250 pro xs w/ Torquemaster lower unit on my last 23 CAT and the top speed I saw was 60 with a Bravo 1 XS 23 pitch and would run 56-58 consistently loaded for fishing with 3 people on board. That boat had a larger console and 18" raised and T-Top.


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## fishinfever3577 (Aug 22, 2012)

Team Reel Slick said:


> What price did you see for the 300XS and where?


a bunch of people buy from 
http://www.jacosmarine.com/


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## Barbarian (Feb 12, 2009)

fishinfever3577 said:


> a bunch of people buy from
> http://www.jacosmarine.com/


That's it.


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## PENSTX (Jul 18, 2011)

When I was buying my Haynie 23 LS I was told that all you get out of the 300 is around 3 mph greater than the 250 xs, and a lot more problems come with the 300...


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## fishnfool (Jul 23, 2004)

BaffinPEN said:


> When I was buying my Haynie 23 LS I was told that all you get out of the 300 is around 3 mph greater than the 250 xs, and a lot more problems come with the 300...


I don't think thats accurate. I've owned and know many others that own both and don't think 300 has any more issues than 250. In fact, I've owned 1 250 and 3 300's and the only one that blew up was the 250 - just bad luck on that one....

The dowside to 300 is cost, premium fuel, and shorter warranty. The upside is obvious...neither decision is wrong, all depends on what your priorities are - 300xs for me!


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