135 Mercury 4 stroke?

[Khunaus]

Hi

Firstly not looking to start a brand war, but am getting a new boat and wanted to get feed back on a Mercury 135 4 stroke? I was initially looking at 140 Suzuki but can get the Mercury at a similar price with the dealer being A LOT closer to me than the Suzuki dealer. It has the advantage of being bigger in capacity and also servicing may be easier as well.

Just wondering if there is any reason to not get the Mercury?

Cheers

[koastal]

Hi

Firstly not looking to start a brand war, but am getting a new boat and wanted to get feed back on a Mercury 135 4 stroke? I was initially looking at 140 Suzuki but can get the Mercury at a similar price with the dealer being A LOT closer to me than the Suzuki dealer. It has the advantage of being bigger in capacity and also servicing may be easier as well.

Just wondering if there is any reason to not get the Mercury?

Cheers

I cross shopped the same motors.
Chose mercury for the reasons you mentioned.
2 x 135s push our 3.5 tonne cat very easily

[FisHard]

I've got a 2014 140 Suzi and love it, but from the specs, the 135 Merc would be a torquier motor. It's 3l vs Suzi 2L. Dealer support being closer, and price similar, I would go the Merc without hesitation

[Smithy]

I think you have answered your own question. Price and who you trust to service it come into the equation for sure.

[94patrol]

Hey mate Iv had one for about 6 months now but have only clocked up 10hrs but love the thing totally changed going boating for me

[DaveR]

The 140 Suzukis are excellent. However they are a higher output 115 and their displacement reflects this. Much like the new Yamaha 130 is a higher output 115 and the Etec 130 is a higher output 115. Then you have this new breed of 150 class engines bought down to a midrange sticker, like the 135HO Etec being a detuned 150 and the 135 Mercury being a detuned 150. Forget the horsepower number on the cowling, what you are getting is the torque delivery of a 150 class outboard, that's what these engines are all about. No contest, go the 135 Mercury. The dealer being closer is icing on the cake.

[stang69]

Like everyone above has mentioned, the Mercury 135 has a heap more torque. I've driven a boat with the 135 Merc, and its got grunt. If I was looking at the 130-140hp range, this is the motor I would go for.

[Khunaus]

Thanks for the feedback. There is not that much info to be found on the net on the Mercury but lots on the Suzuki. I think the Mercury is the go cheers all.

[seashawgal]

good to have this forum its very educative I wouldn't have had any idea that a 135 merc would have an extra cylinder than a 140 zuzuki thats huge

[swof63]

good to have this forum its very educative I wouldn't have had any idea that a 135 merc would have an extra cylinder than a 140 zuzuki thats huge

It's not got an extra cylinder, they are both four cylinder motors. What the Mercury has is an extra litre of cubic capacity, or 50% more displacement than the zuk. ( 3litres versus 2 ) This should mean it has a fatter torque curve lower in the rev range ie more grunt down low/midrange.

Cheers

[myusernam]

Merc has far better gearbox (command thrust). Will cruise faster at lower rpm

[seashawgal]

so more room in the cylinders?

[Noelm]

In a way yes, bigger cylinders, however, some of these statements are theories left over from low tech days, most don't apply in the high tech world, but the poster in this instance probably should go for the Mercury, simply because there is a dealer close by, and the price is right, plus Mercs look good in shiny black!

[stang69]

Its the old HP vs Torque argument. Who cares if a motor makes 135-140 hp at 6000 RPM.
Its torque that gets you going, and more torque at lower RPM is the most practical. Thats why the Merc is the best in this HP range. And the reason? Its huge 3 litre capacity. Plus the added benefit of less stress on the motor doesnt hurt either. Also, Mercury have the best selection of factory props available.

[Duckfish]

Ditto to that Stang. I have the 150 Four and at cruising speed say 3800/3900 rpm it has a similar cruising speed as my 175 hp 2 stroke but looses out at wot but I'm happy with it.
Duck

[koastal]

I agree thier must be a large torque difference between the 140 suzi and the 135 merc

When i was shopping for motors someone recommended I get 150hp instead of the 135 merc as they had a similar Glacier Bay with 140 hp suzukis that needed 4500 rpm to make 20 knots.
The Merc 135 only requires 3700 rpm ( full fuel / 3 people) to achieve 20 knots

The suzi uses significantly less fuel at the same rpm of course tho according to this website below
http://www.boat-fuel-economy.com/mercury-outboard-fuel-consumption-liters

[stang69]

fuel use at the same rpm is a useless comparison. So is litres per hour. A true comparison has to take into account the speed that is being achieved. If both boat/outboard combos are doing 20 knots for example, which one is using less fuel at the same speed? Who is going to use less fuel getting to their destination at the same time?

[FisHard]

I agree thier must be a large torque difference between the 140 suzi and the 135 merc

When i was shopping for motors someone recommended I get 150hp instead of the 135 merc as they had a similar Glacier Bay with 140 hp suzukis that needed 4500 rpm to make 20 knots.
The Merc 135 only requires 3700 rpm ( full fuel / 3 people) to achieve 20 knots

The suzi uses significantly less fuel at the same rpm of course tho according to this website below
http://www.boat-fuel-economy.com/mercury-outboard-fuel-consumption-liters
the 140 Suzi is often bagged for being gutless etc, but it takes a while to figure out how it generates its power. I reckon they should shorten the throttle length to increase revs with less pushing of the throttle to work better with the motors strengths. I went from the big V6 200 Suzi that loved to cruise about 3800ish to the 140 that cruises at about 45-5000 (on different boat). Fuel use on the 140 is great, despite the much higher revs. On my 19' Cruise Craft, I have to push it up over 5500 rpm to get worse than 1l per nm, and that's over 30 kts!

[robcam]

Looking to buy a motor in this range in the next couple of months so have been following this thread.
The Merc 135 is going to be a bit too heavy so the Zuk 140 looks ok but was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the new Yammie 130. Any info appreaceated.

[Khunaus]

i looked at the yamaha but the prices were more than the others plus it is only a 1.8 ltr so likely less torque than the suzuki. The Mercury 115 is pretty well priced at the moment with the deals they have on, i looked at this as well. "apparently" its output is more than 115.

[DaveR]

i looked at the yamaha but the prices were more than the others plus it is only a 1.8 ltr so likely less torque than the suzuki. The Mercury 115 is pretty well priced at the moment with the deals they have on, i looked at this as well. "apparently" its output is more than 115.

It's pretty much bang on 115hp (I believe Mercury claims 113hp to be exact in EPA filings), but at 2.1L it's a big 115, so the torque curve is going to be superior to everything in class this side of a V4 E-TEC. I water tested a command thrust 115 and they are really nice, the big gearcase helps a lot.