Understanding that the Racing 300 is lighter, and already having owned on my '07 Z22, I'm considering the Verado Pro 300 for my next bass boat.  This time around I'm more concerned with longevity and warranty.  It's never really been about speed.  The Racing motor was LOUD.  It's my understanding that the Verado is quiet.  I believe the warranty is also much longer for the Verado. 

What would you hang off the back of a new Z522?

Verado 4stroke

With the choices provided I would go with the Verado but if it was me I would go with a Yamaha.

For quietness, potential reliability, and longevity (any of them can break), it would be the Verado, hands down on a luxury liner like the Z22 . .  I'm not real sure you would even see a big drop in speed. 

17 hours ago, scbassin said:

With the choices provided I would go with the Verado but if it was me I would go with a Yamaha.

 

16 hours ago, Way2slow said:

For quietness, potential reliability, and longevity (any of them can break), it would be the Verado, hands down on a luxury liner like the Z22 . .  I'm not real sure you would even see a big drop in speed. 

Two good choices. The racing 300 is a 250 bored & stroked  with lots of issues with improper warm up & cool down. Just ask Robert Perez of Hawgtech I was in the boat when that one blew a hole thru a cylinder.

the Verado reguires two batteries because of the steering pump requirement and high output house battery for starting.

The 400 Verado would be a better choice. The Seven Marine 627 HP would be even better.

I doubt that 522 is a speed demon, thus you would probably not get the benefits of a sportmaster gearcase for sure.  The torquemaster may help, but still that is a heavy boat that probably won't scoot too fast.

If it were me, I would go with the Verado Pro Fourstroke.  Since the Racing Pro XS 300 isn't exactly the same as the 3.0L standard production Pro XS engines, I can't tell you what efficiencies the engine would have vs a Verado.  Most of the time, the Opti is more efficient than a Vrod, but that typically is with the lower horsepower engines.  With that said, the Verado is super quiet and actually still performs quite well.

I don't know for sure, but I would see if those come standard with a Poseidon HD gearcase (the one with the 1.25" propshaft).  That would be the gearcase you would want for durability sake.  Many of the components used in this gearcase are the same as the new 400R.

 

I saw a Verado 300 on a new ranger this past summer at a tourney, it was extremely quiet. Even quieter than the SHO. I'm sure it had to do with driver and hull design, but he was getting passed by 250s and even a phoenix with a 225. Looked bad ass though

I'm not concerned with getting passed.  Knowing the hp is there is what interests me.  That and the fact that I don't do tournaments.  Strictly a weekend and sometimes weekday fishing machine. 

Can't say anything about the 300's. When I bought my boat in 2013 the 225 Vrod carried a $2500 premium over the 225 ProXS. I could by a lot of 2 stroke oil for $2500. I bought the ProXS. Dwight brings up some valid points. The ProXS has a warm up and cool down procedure that many recommend following, to prevent blowing a cylinder. It's not really a big deal to follow. A set of Mercury Smartcraft gauges should alleviate any possibility of blowing out a cylinder. If you plan on running at idle speed a lot, the Vrod is going to be smell free, quiet, and better suited for a less than WOT application.

There's a couple lakes in the area as well as the Delta that require a shallow draft, shorter motor.  I do have a concern with the heavier Verado.  I suppose at the end of the day, either motor would work.  I'm very meticulous with my things, so following a startup and shut down procedure should be no problem. 

We'll see.  Either way, I'm excited about potentially getting another new 22 ft Ranger. 

 

On December 28, 2015 at 3:44 PM, scbassin said:

With the choices provided I would go with the Verado but if it was me I would go with a Yamaha.

Ditto

Back when I was doing the co-angler thing, I fished a BFL tournament on Grand Lake in Oklahoma.   I drew a boat salesman from Flippin, Arkansas, who was fishing out of a spank brand new 20' Ranger demo boat.   It had a 250 Verado on it.   The experience of going down the lake at somewhere around 70 mph and the wind noise was louder than the motor noise was something I never forgot.  I was a couple of years away from buying a boat at the time, but I resolved then and there that when I got a boat, it would have a 4 stroke motor on it.

It seems like a no-brainer to me - get the 4 stroke.

 

The Vrod will be quieter and probably have more longevity to it over time. If that's what you're looking for that's probably what you should go for.