New Diesel Outboard

Lucky Day · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:06 pm Post subject: New Diesel Outboard

Just saw this reference to a turbodiesel outboard on another site. Passing it along as a C-Brat FYI:

http://www.megoutboard.com/index.html

Sneaks · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:17 pm Post subject:

Wow, heavy little beastie.

rogerbum · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:23 pm Post subject:

Yep about 120 lbs more than either a Honda or Yamaha 225hp engine.

Wefings · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:35 pm Post subject:

Looks suspiciously like diesel vaporware to me . I would wait before you invest .
However , if you can get stright pipes and a performance chip for it , count me in !
Marc

tsturm · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:37 pm Post subject:

gljjr · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:50 pm Post subject:

I wonder what 3.0L diesel they are using. I found the Mercedes 3.0L V6 Turbo Diesel. It is rated at about 210 HP (when installed in the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee). The only other 3.0l diesels I found were offered by BMW(European only) and an Isuzu used in trucks.

It is interesting that they are using a retrofitted Mercury Optimax Leg. At 250Hp the Optimax only weighs in at ~505lbs where as this thing weighs 793! Yikes! You have to wonder if the lower leg has the strength to handle that much extra weight.

thataway · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:51 pm Post subject:

The engine will have to have emissions certificiaton. Thus is must be an engine which is already certified--the process is too costly and lenghty to try and get this for a new engine. The emissions certification is what has kept the Yanmar 27 and 35 hp diesel outboards out of the US.

The Mercedes 3.0 Liter engine used in the Dodge Sprinter might be the larger of the two engines. There are a series of Mercedes engines which are from 1.8 to 3.5 liters--including a 2.5 liter--which may well be the smaller of the two outboard conversions.

I would think that gearing and prop size might be a problem with the diesels, since they are going to turn slower than the gas engines, that the lower unit was designed for. Modified Merc outboard units are used up to 500 hp in racing boats--so I suspect that they can be made robust enough.

I didn't see any prices--but I suspect that they aren't going to be cheap!

breausaw · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:45 pm Post subject:

They will only get smaller and more efferent over time, look at the aviation industry were diesels are now poised to replace gas in single engine planes with smaller and lighter engines that produce more torque along with almost twice the fuel efficiency.