Shipped ECU out and will be back this week. Will post results after testing. Having it upgraded to 225HP. i spoke to them at great length and they having been working on ECU's for almost 19 years. Since I am at the bottom end of the series (135,150,175,200) I will have the most to gain. All of these engines in this series can be upgraded to 225HP.
All of these engines as well have the same block and parts and the only difference is what is flashed on the ECU.
V6 Verados can also be upgraded by a simple flash except the 300HP which would require extra/changing parts
Results from a rescue boat
We operate a Protector 9M Fast Response/Rescue vessel (30' Rigid Inflatable Boat, 6700 lbs with 125 gal full fuel and water) with twin 2009 Verado 250's. Prior to modification, our most efficient cruise was 30 kts burning 17 gph at 3900 rpm with a top speed of 57 mph.
Simon motorsports modified the ECMs from 250 to 315 hp and we changed from the Mercury 14 5/8" x 21" pitch Revolution 4-blade prop to the new generation Eco Enertia 16" x 23" pitch 3-blade props. Both ECM and prop changes are reported to improve fuel economy. Generally Mercury recommends the same pitch transitioning to the Eco but with increased horsepower, we opted for more pitch to prevent red lining the motors. Max rpm at WOT prior to changes was 6100 rpm and is now 5900.
STOCK: 500 hp - Economy cruise 35 mph, 17 gph, 1.7 nmpg, 2 mpg; Max speed 57 mph
MODIFIED: 630 hp - Economy cruise 40 mph, 17 gph, 1.9 nmg, 2.2 mpg: Max speed 65 mph
Cruise increased 15% getting us there sooner at the same fuel burn of 17 gph total
Range increased 12%
Max speed increased 14%
ROI on the cost of the ECM mods and props was 1 year with $2500/yr saved each year after.
Those are real numbers based on our last 2000 nm of operation but your numbers will vary with vessel weight, hull type, props, etc.
We would gladly have made the modifications without any of those improvements based on boat handling alone. The boat has n improvement in hole shot, literally levitating off the water with minimal bow rise, and virtually claws at the water like downforce on a race car. The handling improvement was nothing less than dramatic. It's all about handling with rescue boats that routinely go out in conditions none would venture. We now have better handling in rough conditions, surf conditions, better/tighter pivot turns crucial to safe rescue swimmer deployments and recoveries. These improvements far outweigh the engine numbers mentioned above, it saves lives.
