Is switching to Aftermarket reeds worth it?

[dfrants]

I have a 1988 Mercury 200hp carb V6, she idles a little rough and I currently have her on a Hydrostream ski boat. It was suggested to me to try high performance reeds, that the back in the day all these Merc guys were putting in Boyesen reeds for better performance... anyone here have any experience with them? what kind of performance gains could I see???

 

[racerone]

Have you done a compression test ?

 

[cyclops222]

Is there a set of idle speed mixture and idle speed screws to adjust better ? Are the sparkplugs the correct ones ? Do they look not perfect ?

 

[Chris1956]

Some of those earlier V6 motors had fixed idle jets. The carbs must be spotless and the floats exactly set right to work properly.

 

[racerone]

Reed valves are NOT a magic fix for some issues.----Do some trouble shooting !

 

[Dukedog]

tha only thing you can do ta idle is tha timin'... all wh (used on all merc V6's from '76 ta '90) series carbs have an idle circuit that is not adjustable.. its either jack with timin" or change idle "air" jetting..

reeds are justa choice.. most change 'em looking for performance gains which really won't happen with a stock production motor.. they do, most of tha time, affect tha idle if tha metal (production) reeds are gettin' old......... jmo

 

[Dukedog]

these are a coupla more choices.. we like these better than boyesen..

TDR Reed set for Mercury 5 Petal Cages #100 - Tony Doukas Racing

Manufacturer Name: TDR TDR Reed set for Mercury 5 Petal Cages

bansheesuperstore.com

CCMS Mercury/Mariner Sport Outboard Reed 135hp-200hp 1976-1995 V6 5 Leaf PN.265S - Chris Carson Marine Service and Supply

This is a complete set of reed valves for your motor Mercury/Mariner Sport Outboard Reed 135hp-200hp 1976-1995 V6 5 Leaf PN.265S RPM Range for our Sport Reeds are 6500 at [...]Read More... from CCMS Mercury/Mariner Sport Outboard Reed 135hp-200hp 1976-1995 V6 5 Leaf PN.265S

chriscarsonmarine.com

 

[Faztbullet]

IMO Boyesen are junk and will last about 2 yrs tops. Will last 30 seconds if it ever sneezes. I only use the above, mostly Chris's reeds. If motor is new to you the intake may be crossed drilled which will effect idle a tad.