Whipple to Add Lower-Price Upgrade Kit for 525EFI

Whipple’s new kit for the Mercury Racing 525EFI will include in-house remapping of the engine’s original controller.

Whipple Industries is developing a new supercharger upgrade kit for Mercury Racing’s popular 525EFI engines that are out of warranty. According to Dustin Whipple of the Fresno, Calif., company, the kit will retail for approximately $9,000, which is about $2,000 less than the existing Stage 1 and Stage II upgrade kits for the 525EFI engine. (The Stage II kit has a larger intercooler core and prices out closer to $12,000.) The new kit should be available in early to mid November.

The price reduction in the new kit is a byproduct of in-house remapping—rather than replacement—of the engine’s existing controller. Whipple’s existing kits for the 525 come with a preprogrammed MEFI4 controller, which accounts for the higher price.

The existing Whipple kits for the 525EFI reportedly boost horsepower and torque 50 percent. Whipple said the new kit will deliver the same performance increase.

“Anytime during the install the buyer or the shop doing the work can send us the controller and we will reprogram it and send it back,” said Whipple. “It will work with all the SmartCraft viewing systems and instruments, as well as all of Mercury CAN and plug-play systems.

“We’ve had the ability to do the remapping ourselves for some time,” he added. “But with the current economy, people are keeping their boats longer and spending less money upgrading them, so anything we can do to make upgrades more affordable helps. The installation will be easier with the new kit, so the installation price for buyers using a shop will be lower.”