Best OB match 4 Lund 1850xs impact

Greetings,
1850XS Lund impact

Info is scarce on the new mercury 115 pro xs and command thrust with a enertia prop.
Many dealers are stocking this boat with the new 115 merc 4 stroke and a merc test result showed 44mph top speed.
150 hp is max boasting 48 – 52 mph
I like the idea of the 115 pro xs being almost 100 lbs lighter and the speed seems fine with me.
My questions are
Would the 115 pro XS end up working to hard over time compared to the bigger displacement of the 150 ?
Does this sound like a good combination boat and motor.
Will be fishing small to medium reservoirs with little to no wave action. Boat wakes tend to run bigger.
Had an under powered boat Once…..don’t ever want to go that route again. Any info will truly be appreciated
Thank You
Jim

Dude, whatever happened to the perfect rig?

My 2 cents is think of gas consumption. First weekend with my 120hp and a little startled on the fuel this big 2 stroke is using. Not to hard to spend couple hundred bucks on a weekend of motoring, granted I have not used the TM once.

But I was looking for a possible rig with 150hp but decided against bc of this reason, and wouldn’t troll down quite as well either.

OB is going to be a compromise like anything else. What’s the fastest you want to go in that boat? Seems you could reprop to get you holeshot on many OBs, but its not gonna give you 15mph top end.

I have a 2013 1775 pro v with a 150 4 stroke and believe the boat is very similar in weight.

I have been very happy with the 150 and do top out just under 50. I know they also package the pro v with a 115 and have heard it is ok but think they are a bit new to get much feedback on the pro xs, but the command thrust would help with a bigger lower unit and prop. In the end it still has less displacement and hp so won’t get as good of performance.
My fuel consumption is also great as I have never used more than about 10 gallons in a day, weather cruising for about 8 hours strait, lead core trolling for a 12 hour day on Mikle Lacs, to putting on over 60 miles on leach lake running between spots. I would even venture to say you might get better fuel economy with the 150 as it won’t work as hard at a moderate cruising speed.

Ultimately it comes down to price, if you can find enough value in the increased price buy the 150. Keep in mind the 150 most often comes with hydraulic steering and the 115 doesn’t, I really like mine and think it is a must for the 150 and a cost and performance upgrade that should get figured in when comparing the two.

nhamm wrote:

Dude, whatever happened to the perfect rig?

That’s the million dollar question.
Had to put things on hold for awhile which gave me too much time to think and see boats and boats and boats.

The lakes I will be fishing have changed and a smaller lighter boat makes more sense to me.

Speed is not that big of deal. Getting on plane with heavier load (2 or 3 other guys and gear) and staying there at lower speeds matter most.

That’s why the command thrust lower unit and bigger prop got my attention.

Thank you for the insight.
Jim

Hi CBMN,
Thank you for the reply. I had from the start planned on the 150 4 stroke for I have heard great things about it and man maintenance on them is a breeze.

One lake I may be fishing again would take maybe 5 minutes to get to either end in the fast section of the lake. Most of the lake is no wake. The other is split in many sections with longer no wake sections as well.

I mean I would be happy with a 16 foot an 60 to 90 horse but i like the space and comforts of the bigger 18 foot boats these days and WT winshield and top and jump seats seems to be a family priority these days.

Gone are the C.C days for sure. Lol
Thanks again
Jim

I have the 1875 Impact Sport. Get the 150 hands down. 115 will work, but you will regret it. Two tanks of gas all summer and I ran all over the place. Plus, close to 50MPH doesn’t suck either.

If are planning on running a kicker too, I would definitely run with the 150 4-stroke. The following is not an apples-apples comparison, but rather my own experience. I had a 2003 17.5ft Lund Fisherman w/ jump seats. I ran a 115 4-stroke Yami with a matching kicker. The time to plane was great for my family of 5. Our boys were all under the age of 6 at the time. When my uncle in-laws came to visit, both over 250lbs, it was not fun at all. Even when it was the three of us the 3rd guy would have to walk up to the full windshield and stay there until we got on plane. IF there was a moderate chop, I had to run too fast for the conditions just to stay on up on plane.

FDR

Thanks everybody for the replies and insight. Thats why I joined was to learn more then I know from those who have been there before.

Now then I want to compare a few things and bring to light as they say a few things.

Most of the dude the 115 replies have been given (thank you) from older 115’s and what I mean is prior to the 2015 models coming out in 2014.

Mercury revamped their 115 and took it from putting out less then 115 hp to putting out about 120 actual hp.

Then the 115 pro xs was brought forth Replacing the opti max (2 stroke) with a new 4 stroke with the added kick the 2 strokes are known for. Thus increasing the rpm’s by 500 which boast of more kick if you will.

Then they came up with the command thrust deal. Taking the lower unit of the 150 and gearing it down and making it possible to run the Bigger V6 props giving more tork and power and faster whole shot to name a few of the things on this new 115.

Now this set up Mercury and others claims gets a heavier boat on plane faster and holds it there under less throttle. Talking boats in the 18 plus foot range.

I am Not Arguing with any ones replies. I believe them to be truthful.

Has any one ran the new 115 or 115 pro xs and or the command thrust?
Money is not an issue and the 150 is the out board I had picked out.

However if this new deal with the 115 pro xs and command thrust is and does all they claim then to me it requires looking into.

The weight difference alone with an added kicker puts about the same weight on the transom as does the 150 4 stroke.

Again I am not setting forth to argue with any one at all……
Just looking to learn the truth with this new 115 pro xs and command thrust.

Thanks again
James W

If it doesn’t have a turbo or supercharger on it, a 115 is still pretty much a 115, ain’t it?

How many boats are rated for 115hp? If it truly was a 120 then why wouldn’t they market it for that?

If money is no object why are we having this conversation? Get the big motor, a kicker and buy a boat already

Everyone knows that dealers have been hanging 115’s off the back of 17-19 foot boats for a price point. Will it work?….sure, but I want the power to spare when I need it. There’s no replacing displacement! Max it out, and don’t look back. Resale is better too.

nhamm wrote:

If it doesn’t have a turbo or supercharger on it, a 115 is still pretty much a 115, ain’t it?

How many boats are rated for 115hp? If it truly was a 120 then why wouldn’t they market it for that?

Not necessarily true at all. I have heard the old optimax pro XS 225 runs closer to 250 hp, heard the merc 150 4 stroke runs around 160 hp, and the Suzuki 140 runs about 130 hp, just for a few examples.

I do agree if money isn’t an issue get the max hp 150, as the amount of gas savings won’t amount to anything over the average recreational boaters use over many years. Also the larger gear case will mean you won’t have any savings in buying smaller props. The resale will hand down be better also, as most buyers wont hesitate to buy a max hp rig but might second guess a sub max engine and wonder if it will do what they need. Just my opinion as if you really want to know more about the 115 pro XS, wait and find one to drive and compare for yourself against a 150.

CBMN wrote:

Not necessarily true at all. I have heard the old optimax pro XS 225 runs closer to 250 hp, heard the merc 150 4 stroke runs around 160 hp, and the Suzuki 140 runs about 130 hp, just for a few examples.

That would be interesting if those who claim that is correct. Do you know where to find any of those numbers on paper though? Until then can’t we chalk those claims up to overhyping dealers?

True story, I owned a Suzuki 140 and it was actually 128 at the prop. I believe the Yammy 150 is 162 and the Merc 150 F/s is 160 ish too.

I would not take any of the numbers as proven by any means but more of a rule of thumb. Some manufactures choose to over or under rate, and in general there can be variance. For example I believe that the suzuki 140 is actually the same engine block as the 90 and 115 just tweaked in the CPU and slightly higher RPM redline, so therefore they stretch the number a bit to justify the cost difference over a 115. The Yamaha 150 horse 4 stroke is 2670cc and the 150 SHO is 2785cc, and that just happens to be the same size cc as the normal 175 and 200 hp engines. so something tells me the 150 sho has a bit more hp than 150 and also a bit more weight.The big block optimax line runs from 200 to 300 hp for basically the same engine block. These companies don’t want to make a bunch of different motors when they can just tweak a computer and I would say a motor that is rated lower in a displacement category of and block family likely has more horse power than indicated, and a motor higher in the ranking has possibly less horse power. Again not a set in stone fact just a rule of thumb that displacement increases power, but displacement also adds weight as refereed to in the original post. Again not what this post is all about but proves the point that the hp numbers are not always apples to apples.

Makes sense now, sweet deal. Thanks for info.

James,
Drive the boat with each motor, you can read till you go blue in the face, while information gathering is awesome, it does not replace getting your own tale in the actual set-up. PS, don’t forget to bring your friends to duplicate load. Also, at that time, you can also verify how the boat tracks under load. Boat control is a big deal!
Have fun fishing! :]

Dean Hi,
Yes sir I know you are right but remember not all places are like SBC. I mean finding one of these set ups would be a challenge and finding both of them darn near impossible.

Most dealers I have met in my life time have one thing in common, if we gave test rides then we might as well rent boats and not sell them.

My last New Boat I bought, my test ride came after papers signed and deal went through. Dealer and I took it out on a cold windy early winter day and then I took it home.

I got so frustrated over all this last night……I put up videos and pictures of the wx 1850 on the TV and admired the yamaha.

Thanks Dean

Just happened to ask my Mercury service manager about the 115 pro xs this afternoon when I stopped at my local dealership. He said it is a good strong motor but might have about 5 hp more than a regular 115 at best.
Also said it might have a quirk to consider if you plan to troll with the main motor a lot and that is under certain circumstances of idle or near idle operation the CPU will bump up the RPM’s to add charging output. That might not be great for precision speed control. This isn’t proven or very tested just something you might want to research if you are still looking into the 115 xs.

@CBMN
Thank much for this !!
I have heard about this feature that is supposed to bump up the idle if the batteries get low.

That brought up questions to me and I do believe you just answered them. I still do Not like this idea at all.
Thanks Again
James W

Fished with a pro once who told me that they have these huge motors mostly to race to the known hotspot to be the first there-thats not like normal fishing.
I would rather fish like Andy Taylor.

James Wascko wrote:

@CBMN
Thank much for this !!
I have heard about this feature that is supposed to bump up the idle if the batteries get low.

That brought up questions to me and I do believe you just answered them. I still do Not like this idea at all.
Thanks Again
James W

I would not like the rpm boost at all either. I was worried about how the 150 4stroke merc would troll down when I bought it and thought I would wait and see if I needed a kicker. So far it has been great. Runs about 2.3 mph in forward on flat water at regular idle of about 650 to 675 rpm and I have the smartcraft gauges troll controll and that takes it down to about 2.1 mph at 500 rpm. I also find that I don’t really troll a ton either and am just fine without a kicker going on 4 years now. I still will do all day trolling only a half dozen or so days a year.

CBMN wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>James Wascko wrote:</div>
@CBMN
Thank much for this !!
I have heard about this feature that is supposed to bump up the idle if the batteries get low.

That brought up questions to me and I do believe you just answered them. I still do Not like this idea at all.
Thanks Again
James W

I would not like the rpm boost at all either. I was worried about how the 150 4stroke merc would troll down when I bought it and thought I would wait and see if I needed a kicker. So far it has been great. Runs about 2.3 mph in forward on flat water at regular idle of about 650 to 675 rpm and I have the smartcraft gauges troll controll and that takes it down to about 2.1 mph at 500 rpm. I also find that I don’t really troll a ton either and am just fine without a kicker going on 4 years now. I still will do all day trolling only a half dozen or so days a year.

Sounds good to me. In the past I have not been much for trolling but I must admit I am going to do a lot more of it.

As to a kicker. … not sure on that one but it would be nice having something to fall back on if the main quit.

I have seen video of Merc testing putting the new 4 stroke 115 vs the 125 optimax on the same boat/load and the 115 wins in every category by a fair margin. Search youtube for it. I would max it out without a doubt though…..

“Had an under powered boat Once…..don’t ever want to go that route again.”

Enough said.

TripleA wrote:

I have seen video of Merc testing putting the new 4 stroke 115 vs the 125 optimax on the same boat/load and the 115 wins in every category by a fair margin. Search youtube for it. I would max it out without a doubt though…..

“Had an under powered boat Once…..don’t ever want to go that route again.”

Enough said.

Agreed !!

CBMN wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>James Wascko wrote:</div>
@CBMN
Thank much for this !!
I have heard about this feature that is supposed to bump up the idle if the batteries get low.

That brought up questions to me and I do believe you just answered them. I still do Not like this idea at all.
Thanks Again
James W

I would not like the rpm boost at all either. I was worried about how the 150 4stroke merc would troll down when I bought it and thought I would wait and see if I needed a kicker. So far it has been great. Runs about 2.3 mph in forward on flat water at regular idle of about 650 to 675 rpm and I have the smartcraft gauges troll controll and that takes it down to about 2.1 mph at 500 rpm. I also find that I don’t really troll a ton either and am just fine without a kicker going on 4 years now. I still will do all day trolling only a half dozen or so days a year.

Just to bring some clarification to the idle “bump” feature, if the motor is under control using the “Troll Control” feature, the idle bump is over-rode.

from the service manual:

HRG

Attachments:

1. 

   115-ProXS-idle.jpg
   

How much does this troll control switch cost? I have a 2016 Merc 115 and trolling on lakes I’m lucky to get down to 2.8. On the river it’s not a problem because I usually troll upriver.

targaman wrote:

How much does this troll control switch cost? I have a 2016 Merc 115 and trolling on lakes I’m lucky to get down to 2.8. On the river it’s not a problem because I usually troll upriver.

Targaman,
Here’s a thread we had on WC about that subject.

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=566097&highlight=troll+control

Assuming you have a wheel/console boat, there are 2 ways to proceed;
1) add the Troll Control switch only
2) change your tachometer to a Smartcraft SC1000 style, gaining more data information as well as the Troll Control

HRG

Thanks hrg. Not too costly at all and looks like it should be easy to hook up.

Hot Runr Guy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CBMN wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>James Wascko wrote:</div>
@CBMN
Thank much for this !!
I have heard about this feature that is supposed to bump up the idle if the batteries get low.

That brought up questions to me and I do believe you just answered them. I still do Not like this idea at all.
Thanks Again
James W

I would not like the rpm boost at all either. I was worried about how the 150 4stroke merc would troll down when I bought it and thought I would wait and see if I needed a kicker. So far it has been great. Runs about 2.3 mph in forward on flat water at regular idle of about 650 to 675 rpm and I have the smartcraft gauges troll controll and that takes it down to about 2.1 mph at 500 rpm. I also find that I don’t really troll a ton either and am just fine without a kicker going on 4 years now. I still will do all day trolling only a half dozen or so days a year.

Just to bring some clarification to the idle “bump” feature, if the motor is under control using the “Troll Control” feature, the idle bump is over-rode.

from the service manual:

HRG

Thanks HRG!!
This makes a lot more sense.
JW

I just picked up my new Lund 1875 ss last Monday. It has the Merc 115 ProXS and a 15 hp kicker. This is my second Lund in 8 months thanks to a drunk driver. I was worried about the 115 being underpowered for the 1875. Dealer assured me that it would have no problem. I had it on Table Rock Lake in Missouri for 3 days last week. The motor performed great! Got out of the hole fast and topped out at around 37 mph — which is plenty fast for me. Best part — that motor was extremely quiet when running full out. All three guys that rode in it commented on it.