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Patrick - thank you for the information, and I think you made a great decision to buy the new Merc 150 4-troke EFI for your Outrage 18. The performance figures are impressive. As you might imagine, I think it is the best 150 on the market today, hands down, considering the largest displacement (more than a Yamaha 200), top end speed and competitive pricing, and weighing only 1/2 battery weight more than a 2-stroke.

Your data matches what I have been hearing from others, including some on this site, that it is a strong engine, and underrated at only 150 HP. Plus it is a brand new engine platform with a long life into the future, with brand new high performance gear case design, instead of a two stroke running on a 25 year old engine block design and platform.

My Outrage 18, with 2006 twin 90 Mercs runs 50 MPH, so clearly your big single 150 is performing well against my 180 HP twin setup. And you are carrying 150 lb less weight. Evidently this engine is so good, and so relatively light in weight, that it caused Mercury to take the standard 150 Optimax off the market. No longer a need, or much market for it.