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Engine options

C

carson

New member
Well i just picked up my first checkmate, its a 16' predictor. Ive got 2 power plant options either a 135 black max or a 200 black max. Im going to assume there close to the same weight since there both v6, just the power difference. Im not just looking for top speed, i also wanna be able to actually use the boat and go for an afternoon cruise etc. i dont plan on pulling any tube or water skiers tho lol anyway look forward to some advice. I get the feeling its gonna be go big or go home lol
 
I looked into this a little for a friend a while back. The seems to 2.0 and 2.4 Merc are basically the same block and the 2.4 is a little lighter because the extra material removed for the bigger pistons. Go with the bigger motor, even if weight is the same you'll not regret the bigger motor.

John
 
Absolutly go with the bigger one. Yes you will get more top speed, which is always good. But, you will probably get a little better fuel economy when you are just cruising due to the fact that you will be spinning a bigger prop so the rpm's will be lower at your cruising speeds. And if you did want to pull a skier or tuber, with the extra torque from the 2.4 over the 2.0, you will get them out of the hole better. Best of all three wordls in the bigger motor!!!
 
these boats handle power very well. those two motors weigh about the same so i'd suggest the 200hp. if you wanna go fast some setup suggestions I would make are:
6" jack plate
coned lower with low water pickup
hydraulic steering (at minimum dual cable)
solid motor mounts
water pressure gauge
get propshaft about an inch under the pad, then creep up til you lose water pressure
pull the oil injection off and prop it to spin around 6k
prop of choice, but a lot of good luck with choppers, trophy's, hoss
have fun, these boats are a blast
 
What set back should i be running, theres a 5" set back and a 8" set back jack plate i can get. Wanna keep the chine walk down lol
 
Mine didn't like to go slower than 30 mph with the 200 and 5" setback. Of coarse I didn't much care to anyways. :p
 
carson said:
What set back should i be running, theres a 5" set back and a 8" set back jack plate i can get. Wanna keep the chine walk down lol
Click to expand...


There is no chine walk with these boats. Its the motor flopping around that makes it seem like its chine walking. Replace the steering with hydraulics or a GOOD dual cable steering setup along with a set of solid motor mounts and you wont have any chine walking even at 80+ MPH.

8 inch setback. Go with the 200 . You won't regret it.
 
I would go with 8in set back! I have a 16ft6in enticer with 8in setback and it handles great and allows me to run prop shaft even with pad with no low water pickup pushing 70mph (GPS) and 15psi water pressure. Although I know every boat is different! Just my opinion?!
 
Thanks for all the info guys! Couple more merc questions. Whats the difference between a black max 150 and an xr4 150? I found a good deal on an xr4 150 but dont know much about them. Second i aways see the black max 135-200 up for sale all the time with 1 or 2 burnt pistons, seems common whats the cause?
 
XR4 is a 2.4 liter 150. Black Max literally means nothing.

Pistons burn because they lean out on the top end. Crappy gas, plugged carb passages, low fuel pressure, running too long at WOT in cold air. Stuff like that.

2.5 200 HP is the way to go IMHO.
 
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