? About Merc Racing 250XS....

Aside from the (likely) extra money for the engine, what are some pitfalls of putting one of these on the back of your boat? I hardly see many any more, and was curious what the deal was. Not worth the extra money? Pro XS is just about as good? Weight/Performance? Hull technologies? Please chime in!

Longer warranty with the ProXS and not enough difference in performance.

Get a Pro XS and buy a 250 Racing cowl, a sportmaster case and you’ll have the same motor with a longer warranty.

Interesting...so between the gear case and the higher RPM range, is there much of a difference in fuel economy?

Switching lower units could be considered a modification and be grounds for warranty denial.

It doesn’t affect warranty. You can order a 250 ProXS with a sport master with the same warranty.

No sir, I don't believe Mercury will put a Sportsmaster on a ProXS.

The Pro XS is only available with a Verado or Torquemaster case from the factory.

The Racing 250 is available with the Sportsmaster or Torquemaster from the factory.

The dealer can switch them out, but as said before, Mercury could deny warranty coverage due to modification.

Not saying I don’t agree about what they will and won’t cover, but that would be silly to deny coverage just cause you wanted a sporty... dumb. Lol. I run a sporty. I would make your decision based on what boat you have. If you’re not running 85+ or running your propshaft over the pad, you won’t see benefit from a sporty, and I’d stick with the Pro XS.

You are correct, I just read the warranty, says "Use of the product for racing or other competitive activity,or operating with a racing style lower unit, at any point, even by a prior owner of the product, voids the warranty."

so back to the original question, knowing what we know now. The 250XS comes with a more desired (avoiding the term "better" as I'm sure they each serve a designed purpose) lower unit?

Not neccesarily. For example, if you own a Ranger then you do not desire it.

hahahaah....not a ranger owner here. 223 Champ at the moment, kicking around moving into a 21 PHX.

You won't want one for that either. I have a 21XRS Bullet and the wing master gen 2 is the best lower for my rig. Sport master is for light rigs and for running the motor high. You will want the same for yours .... a Wing Master Gen 2 on a Pro XS. You will not see any significant gains with the race motor on your rig nor would I with mine.

Either the Verado styled case, or the Torquemaster will suit most everyone's needs. Only those going faster than 85mph and a surfacing prop need the Racing edition.

the pro xs and the racing xs both make max horsepower at the same rpm. 5950 to 6050

if you run over 88mph then you will either need to run the sportmaster on the racing xs
or get the gen ii case coned to perform.

if your boat won't run that fast then your wasting money and warranty and are better off
with the warranty of the pro xs.

Agreed. I own a 2005 Triton TR-21X with an O5 Merc 250xs and I run the gen 1 torquemaster.