Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

[CarlR]

Hey I'm just curious if I can squeeze any more power outta my Mercury 60 HP Bigfoot EFI? Are there programmers for them?

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

You have the wrong motor. It's a pontoon boat motor. Power isn't the issue. That big honking High Thrust gearcase is. It's geared for pushing heavy loads, not planing fishing boats. Trade it off for the right motor, or trade the boat for a toon and keep the motor. 60 is the highest horsepower for that class of powerhead. That motor just plain and simple is inappropriate for that kind of boat. I'd really like to ring the necks of dealers that put out cobbled-up packages like that sometimes.

 

[jebeebe]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

Hi Willy,
What designates the "Big Foot" in the 60hp motor. I have a ob343140 60hp on a pontoon, it seems to be geared low or proped low. will do 6000 real easy. just wondering what the "big foot" term means and how to identify it.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

The 50 and 60 HP three cylinder engines share a power head (same discplacement). Standard (non-bigfoot) motors have a small gear case housing a 1.83:1 gearset. Your Bigfoot engine however, uses the 75 and 90 HP midrange gearcase that houses a 2.33:1 gearset. Just like in your truck or car -- a higher numerical gear ratio allows the engine to tow a heavier load at the expense of speed because the engine must run faster than an engine turning a lower numerical ratio gearset. Don't confuse lower gear with low gear ratio as they are opposite. A lower numerical ratio (1.83:1) can be related to a "higher gear". The same is true for higher numerical ratios (2.33:1) which is a lower gear. Yes -- it's confusing to those that don't care about this stuff.

 

[CarlR]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

Hey thanks for the responses guys.

I inherited this boat from my dad, who bought it new. He used it to go fishing up in Canada for a week with his buddies once a year. They were all older guys (70+) so I assume they didn't care about going fast. I'm wondering if he chose that motor because of the 4 of them (800lbs), full gas (140lbs), and any gear (100lbs). Also for whatever it's worth, the boat is 840lbs, and engine is 260lbs. Totallying 2140lbs. In an application like that, would the Bigfoot model be a good choice?


But I use the boat differently, I just like to slip it in the river 5 minutes away, usually just with my dog.
Sometimes I like to just idle in forward for an hour, other times I like to run it straight WOT and see what I can get outter her, I also like to turn sharp to make some waves and have fun.

I really like the fuel economy, thrust, and quiteness of the engine. I am probably keeping the engine anyway, but am still interested in hearing what ya think of the combination.

BTW it's 34MPH at 5500 RPM, with a 13 pitch (11" diameter I think), half gas, me and dog (260lbs). My local parts store said I should go to a 15 pitch, which should drop it to around 5200 RPM, and give me a little more top end.

Thanks,
Carl

P.S. And about squeezing more power, it's not cause I NEED to, I guess it's just spilling over from my power addiction with my trucks, LOL
So has anyone made a programmer for these EFI engines

 

[jebeebe]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

The 50 and 60 HP three cylinder engines share a power head (same discplacement). Standard (non-bigfoot) motors have a small gear case housing a 1.83:1 gearset. Your Bigfoot engine however, uses the 75 and 90 HP midrange gearcase that houses a 2.33:1 gearset. Just like in your truck or car -- a higher numerical gear ratio allows the engine to tow a heavier load at the expense of speed because the engine must run faster than an engine turning a lower numerical ratio gearset. Don't confuse lower gear with low gear ratio as they are opposite. A lower numerical ratio (1.83:1) can be related to a "higher gear". The same is true for higher numerical ratios (2.33:1) which is a lower gear. Yes -- it's confusing to those that don't care about this stuff.

Thanks for the comeback. I just wondered how I can determine if mine is a "big foot". Would it say on the motor? I guess I could turn the flywheel and count revs. Thanks a bunch..............Jerry

 

[kergoat]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

hello here in france its seem that mercury 50-60 efi and yamaha F50-F60(same 60 hp 995 cm3 4 cylinder 4T motor) can reprogram the ecm with new version that give a little more power! the pb is to have acces to this version who is reserved to competition



A friend of me have acces to this new ecm (offshore version)for his yam 4T F50 to 60++ and now change propeller from 12 " to 15" for max rpm 6000 tr/mn

i try 12" blackmax, 13"blackmax max 33 knt at 6250 tr/mn the boat is very nervous an 5.2m rib. i try 14 " blackmax top speed 34 knt at 6000 but the boat is not nervous!

normaly the wot plaqe for a 4T 60 efi is 5500-6000tr/mn the 60 hp are at 5750 rpm.

do you try 12 " it can give you more top speed and more nervosity!

see my homepage for propeller test :
http://perso.orange.fr/roland.barre/mercury3.html

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

A 13 pitch prop is what I'd expect on a regular 60 for that boat and it's doing the RPMs I'd expect it to do, and the diameter is definately a regular 60 diameter. A 13 on a Bigfoot should way overrev on anything but a toon. I wonder if you have a regular 60 with a Bigfoot hood. Typically the Bigfoot models say Bigfoot on them. But other than that there's no difference in the hood. It might have gotten mixed-up or maybe the original was damaged and the Bigfoot hood was readily available.

A Bigfoot on a planing boat is appropriate for pushing heavy loads and would be good for pulling skiers. So yeah, a fishing boat with a Bigfoot commonly holding three big guys and a lot of gear is not a bad idea.

It's easy to tell by looking at the gearcase. On a regular 60, the water intakes will be about midway between the front and back of that area. A Bigfoot's water intakes are clearly forward of midway (nearer the front).

 

[CarlR]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

Hey thanks, I'll check out the gearcase tonight when I get home from work.

I'll be pissed if my dad paid for a Bigfoot and got the standard version with the Bigfoot hood

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Can I get any more power out of my Mercury 60 Bigfoot EFI?

If it says "BigFoot" on the engine cowl, its the large gearcase. You can look at the lower unit and from its appearance immediately tell its a bigfoot. In comparison the 1.83 gearcases are tinker toys. Sometimes there is a sticker on the gearcase that indicates the ratio. The numbers will be 12/23 or something similar.