Whipple Seeing Brisk Verado 400R And 350 ECU ‘Reflash’ Business

Dustin Whipple of Whipple Superchargers wants his customers to be perfectly clear about one of the unavoidable results of having their still-warrantied Mercury Racing Verado 400R and Mercury Marine 350 Verado outboard engines’ electronic control units “reflashed,” meaning reprogrammed, which is an increasingly popular service offered by the Fresno, Calif., supercharger giant

“It will 100-percent void your warranty,” said Whipple, who seen demand for the service skyrocket of late. “We absolutely do not recommend it to anyone with an engine that is still under-warranty.

Among owners of out-of-warranty Verado 400R and 350 outboard engines, Whipple’s Stage I and Stage II power upgrades are becoming increasingly popular. Photo courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Whipple offers Stage I and Stage II options—$795 and $895—for reprogramming Verado 400R and 350R. Depending on the which package the client chooses, power gains for the 400R range from 30 to 50 hp and from 80 to 100 hp for the Verado 350. Interested customers can send their ECUs directly to Whipple Industries, which in turn will reprogram and return them.

“Mercury did a great job building solids products and keeping them conservative with their factory-set power outputs,” said Whipple. “We give them a little more boost and a little more spark to make a little more power, though we also keep it conservative.

“But I can emphasize enough that you really don’t want to do this while your engine is under warranty because it will void it,” he added.

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